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6.2.1 West Coast (Areas 1-3; Permits: 1 of 3)
The West Coast region is well known for primary production linked to fisheries, though this has
suffered in recent times and has led to investigations of alternate industries including tourism (DEAT,
1999). The region is characterised by a low income, with the majority of wealth centred around
developed areas linked to active harbours and ports such as Saldanha and Langebaan (DEAT 1999).
Tourism is based mainly on the well-known flower season during August and activities along the coast
such as fishing and boating.
Permitted activity
The West Coast is the only region in the Western Cape in which not all potential permits have been
taken up. There has never been a permit holder in Area 1, although at least one application has been
made in the past. Areas 2 and 3 were previously occupied by two permit holders, but these permits
were revoked in 1999 and 2003, in part due to their failure to supply logbook data to MCM.
Promotional material for both of the past permit holders is still highly visible and tour offices contacted
referred researchers to these operators. One of the previous permit holders did admit being active in
boat-based tourism but claimed whales were no longer his main focus, attributing their importance to
him as “less than 1%”. Meanwhile, the permit for Area 3 has recently been re-issued (at the end of
2004), this time to the Veldrift Community Forum, and is unusual in that it forms part of a poverty relief
program, initiated and partly funded via MCM. The permit holder is now considering initiating an
application for the permit linked to Area 2, subject to the performance and perceived success of the
operation.
Non-permitted activity
In addition to the current permit holder, two to three non-permitted operators appear to be active and
advertising boat-based whale watching as an element of their trips in Areas 1 and 3. At the time of
their interviews, one of the active operators had been in operation for at least 10 years while the
second had only begun operating in October 2004, and may represent a temporary operator. A third
operator, well known in the region for the past 8 years as the preferred whale watching service
provider to a number of tourist operators and accommodation establishments, claims to have ceased
operations in 2003 in order to focus on other business interests. In addition to these some fishing
charters offer occasional pleasure trips to view whales and are apparently active on an opportunistic
basis during the whale watching season in Areas 2 and 3. Due to the apparent difficulties of
operating in the region, new operators such as these reportedly tend to find whale watching unviable.
All but one of the non-permitted operators interviewed indicated that they considered boat-based
whale watching as an incidental contribution to their overall income. Nevertheless, all operators
admitted or were seen to market the presence of whales on their tours to varying degrees. It is likely
that whales serve some use in attracting potential clients but these trips do not guarantee or appear to
see whales as a specific aim of their trip. Claims by some operators that they were currently inactive
were difficult to assess as interviews were conducted out of season, yet whales and whale watching
were clearly visible in marketing material and poster boards still in use, particularly in Area 2.
The majority of active whale watching in this region is undertaken by non-permitted operators and is
facilitated by a lack of policing by any official bodies in large parts of the area. Exceptions to these
were Langebaan (Area 2) and Yzerfontein (Area 3), where MCM fisheries inspectors were claimed to
occasionally play a deterring role, but the extent of this appears minimal. In Area 1, the most active
policing elements were claimed to be the non-permitted operators themselves, particularly those who
had been active for some time. Similarly, reports suggest that the ex-permit holder for Area 2 was the
most visual policing element but subsequent follow ups appeared minimal. This was supported in
statements by other stakeholders in the local tourism industry, including unpermitted operators.
These operators also demonstrated superior knowledge of legislation and restrictions around the
viewing of whales from boats compared to newer operators. The extent of their own compliance with
these rules was however unclear. The extent of policing and actual knowledge of restrictions thus
appeared linked to the level and duration of activity and dependence on boat-based whale watching.
The two currently active operators expressed no interest in applying for permits. Reasons included
the threat of bureaucracy and unnecessary controls, including potentially restrictive BEE
requirements. One non-permitted operator, under the impression that he could approach whales to
within 100m, felt that it was not worth getting a permit.
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