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west coast up to February or March (Best et al. 1995). On the east coast, the whales are most common in May-June and in October-November. Individuals seen along the South African coast are thus generally moving to and from these areas and are not as easily approached or sighted as Southern Right Whales. Whales on migration commonly move at about 5km/h, though it is possible to find more static groups displaying interesting surface activity (K. Findlay, pers. comm.). The whales tend to come through in loose aggregations, so that sighting rates vary widely and can approach 100 on a single trip. Findlay & Best (1996) estimated the population of this species migrating along the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast to be at least 1700 individuals in 1991. More recent estimates suggest that the east coast breeding population has recovered to over 6000 animals, with rates of increase in the order of 8 – 10%, and the population is now thought to be close to 70% of its carrying capacity (K. Findlay, pers. comm.). The species has been protected since 1963. Bryde’s Whale is present in South African water year round, undertaking local migrations between the western and eastern limits of its South African range which extends from the west coast round as far as Port Elizabeth (Apps 1996). It occurs in waters less than 200m deep but relatively little is known about its natural history (Apps 1996). This species probably represents the most underutilised whaleviewing resource at present and is the focus of attempts by some permit holders to establish yearround boat-based whale watching operations. The most potential for this is in areas such as False Bay (including Gordon’s Bay), Hawston, Kleinbaai and Plettenberg Bay. While not a great viewing species, tending to avoid vessels and exhibiting little surface activity, Bryde’s is of particular interest to dedicated whale-watchers because of the difficulty associated with sighting them. Other cetaceans that potentially add to trip quality include Sperm Whales Physeter macrocephalus, which occur in deeper waters off South Africa, and Killer Whales Orcinus orca, which are seen around much of the coast. The various dolphin species present in the region provide an important part of many boat-based whale watching operations, though their management is not addressed by the permit system. Dolphins add to the diversity of cetaceans viewed on trips and also form good attraction to both ‘generalist’ and ‘specialist’ viewers. For example, Heaviside's dolphins are a good attraction for specialist viewers on the West Coast. A number of other boat operators throughout the country offer trips to view and in some cases, though currently illegal, to swim with dolphins. The control of boats in and around dolphins thus deserves further investigation. Other marine attractions that are also relevant to the boat-based whale watching industry include seals and seabirds, mainly located at discrete colonies around the coast (mainly west and south), and the “sardine run”, a migration of sardines Sardinops ocellatus that occurs annually along the east coast. 4.2 Management of boat-based whale watching Boat-based whale watching began in South Africa in the early 1990s. The growing number of operators led to concern that the industry would mushroom and become difficult to control, with unknown impact on the whale resource. This concern also arose from observations of the sharkdiving industry, which had become well-established before controls were instituted, making restrictions on established operators particularly difficult. The rationale for controlling the industry arose out of concern about potential impacts on whales, which are considered to be energetically stressed during the breeding and migratory period, and thus potentially sensitive to excessive disturbance. Following a series of workshops (1994-7), it was decided to divide the coast into areas that could each withstand a single operator with minimal impact. The rational for single operator areas was that there would be no confusion as to who was at fault when transgressions were reported, and that the lack of competition would avoid problems of pushing the animals too hard to provide a better service than competitors. Boat-based whale watching became legal in South Africa in 1998, and is managed by the Department of <strong>Environmental</strong> Affairs and Tourism: Marine and Coastal Management (MCM). MCM has been designated as the government body which oversees all resources which fall under the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), thus including the whale resource. The industry is regulated by a system of permits, whereby permit holders are allowed to operate within designated sections of the coast (see below), usually with one permit available per coastal section. MCM is currently charged with the administering and processing of permit applications, collection and dissemination of data received from permit holders and the policing of whale watching activity, except in KwaZulu-Natal, where KZN 13
Wildlife takes responsibility for policing. Boat-based whale watching has up till now been classed as an ‘experimental fishery’, with permits being renewable annually. This is set to change with the drafting of a new policy on the management of the industry during 2005. The permit holders are represented by the independently-organised South African Boat-based Whale Watching Association (SABBWWA). Active since 1998, the association was officially recognised by DEAT under an amendment to the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) by Government Gazette 1338 of 8 December 2000. In addition to liaison and marketing, the organisation has developed a Code of Conduct for permitted operators, and a training course for guides. 4.3 Designated boat-based whale watching areas Permits for viewing whales have been available since 1998, when 20 areas were designated with one permit per area. These areas were based on discussions by a body of South African marine scientists, including members of MCM and SABBWWA. The potential for permitting of kayak-based operators was considered at this stage but subsequently rejected. The Department of <strong>Environmental</strong> Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) officially gazetted the existing 25 potential boat-based whale watching areas and sub-areas in July 2002. These areas cover a stretch of coastline from the Lambert’s Bay area in the far west (32°42.0’S, 18°11.20’ E) to the Sodwana Bay area in the extreme north-east (27°43.056’S, 32°37.592’ E) (Figure 4.1, Table 4.2). See Appendices 3 and 4. Provincial boundaries BBWW Areas Closed area Permitted area 25 24 23 22 1 21 2 20 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Figure 4.1. The extent of boat-based whale watching areas gazetted under Notice 1171 of 2002 (DEAT, 2002). The numbers indicate the numbering system used to identify these areas in the text, and are based on the order of the areas from west to east. Note that Area 9 is not indicated on the map, as this represents a “roving permit” which alternates use of areas 7 and 8 on a weekly basis during the whale watching season. 14
Page 3: BOAT-BASED WHALE WATCHING IN SOUTH
Page 6 and 7: owners, who felt that a smaller, fa
Page 8 and 9: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..
Page 10 and 11: 1. INTRODUCTION The whale watching
Page 12 and 13: the main whale watching season. All
Page 14 and 15: 3. WHALE WATCHING: AN INTERNATIONAL
Page 16 and 17: location. Most cetaceans spend the
Page 18 and 19: 3.2 South Africa in perspective Boa
Page 20 and 21: Table 3.3 excludes countries where
Page 24 and 25: The designated areas also include a
Page 26 and 27: 5. PERMIT-HOLDER CHARACTERISTICS, S
Page 28 and 29: The majority of permitted operators
Page 30 and 31: Two very large boats excluded, a ty
Page 32 and 33: November. This is probably due to a
Page 34 and 35: holder, with a total of just over 3
Page 36 and 37: Based on rack rates and the estimat
Page 38 and 39: 5.12 What determines success Based
Page 40 and 41: impact along the Garden Route, anot
Page 42 and 43: 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20
Page 44 and 45: 6.2 Western Cape The Western Cape P
Page 46 and 47: Equipment and infrastructure The fu
Page 48 and 49: around 30 to 35 passengers were per
Page 50 and 51: advertising material which offered
Page 52 and 53: generally variable in their length,
Page 54 and 55: Non-permitted activity One dedicate
Page 56 and 57: Equipment, trip characteristics and
Page 58 and 59: 6.4 KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal cur
Page 60 and 61: visitors can be accommodated before
Page 62 and 63: Run on its way past Durban. Trips w
Page 64 and 65: Operators in Area 25 also offered d
Page 66 and 67: 6.5 Summary of legal and illegal ac
Page 68 and 69: 7. FUTURE POTENTIAL OF THE INDUSTRY
Page 70 and 71: Overall demand is heavily influence
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The most important enabling criteri
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The Cape Metro area is a major tour
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focused on harbour trips and until
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Wetland Park, Pondoland, the Greate
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8.3 The permit system, conditions a
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Monitoring will also be vital for e
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15. Data collected by operators and
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Woods-Ballard, A.J., Parsons, E.C.M
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11. APPENDIX 2. SUMMARY OF COMMERCI
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used for whale watching must be acc
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Both the National and state governm
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effort to be controlled through res
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not is broached several times each
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11.5 South America 11.5.1 Ecuador T
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The Dominican Republic has strict c
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12. APPENDIX 3: NOTIFICATION OF PER
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4. Applicants must be willing to si
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SIMONSTOWN AREA Cape Point Lighthou
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PLETTENBERG BAY AREA The Western Bo
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(iii) the extent to which the appli
Page 112 and 113:
Table I. Rating of the whale resour
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