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8. CONCLUSIONS AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 Introduction
South Africa is one of the finest whale watching destinations in the world, and boat-based whale
watching clearly has enormous potential. The industry has already seen excellent growth in spite of
initial problems in its management 3 . In order to capitalise on the full economic potential of the
resource, management of the industry will need to address these problems and facilitate the
sustainable development of boat-based whale watching, subject to its main mandate of protecting the
resource. The opportunity for doing so is now, with the drafting of a new policy for boat-based whale
watching, and the imminent conversion of the industry from an ‘experimental fishery’ to an activity with
longer-term rights.
As it stands, South Africa has among the strictest regulations for whale watching, although these are
not well enforced. Within the current framework the country has the opportunity to market itself as
offering a high quality, intimate whale watching experience which is not marred by congestion (due to
oversized or too many boats) or a sense of harassing the animals (due to excessive competition).
These are the kind of characteristics that could swing whale watchers to choosing this country above
others, supported by the fact that the country already offers among the best quality whale watching in
the world. Encouraging an elite industry means few permit-holders who each have virtual monopolies
of the areas that they serve. On the one hand, the lack of competition will help to maximise the
extraction of foreign consumers’ willingness to pay, leaving little foreign consumers’ surplus, which is
a sound strategy for a foreigner-dominated market. On the other hand, extra effort will be required to
ensure that standards are maintained, in the absence of close competition.
8.2 Numbers of permits
This study suggests that the number of permits (= boats) could be increased by at least 20% based
on existing demand relative to supply, and possibly up to 40% in the near future, based on the quality
of resources and existing, untapped markets. These estimates do not take potential impacts on
whales into account. These are cautious estimates, nevertheless, since demand is influenced to a
great degree by marketing of the resource and the country in general, and future marketing efforts are
an unknown. Strong marketing, combined with existing growth in tourism, will undoubtedly lead to
considerable growth in demand. From a marketing perspective it would make sense to market
different regions of the country differently, perhaps in conjunction with existing marketing drives. For
example, the West Coast for its endemism and traditional charm, the Cape Town to Port Elizabeth
coast for its extraordinary mix of marine diversity and high level of close-range cetacean activity, and
the KwaZulu-Natal coast for its migrations – of both whales and fish. It is thus also envisaged that it
would be an advantage to cluster permits in the most productive areas, and to create, to some extent,
a critical mass of operators in different areas that would serve to increase the attractiveness of the
areas to whale watching tourists. This could apply either to whales or to marine tours in general, and
should be the subject of further investigation.
There is some evidence that boat-based whale watching may have a harmful impact on the whale
resource, and any increase in the numbers of permits should be vetted by appropriate cetacean
specialists or subject to impact assessment studies before being offered. In general it would appear
that having defined territories for each permit holder is crucial, as opposed to sharing areas. Thus the
addition of permits may either involve the splitting of existing areas or the allocation of additional boat
permits to existing operators. The latter is likely to provide better incentive for operators to look after
the whale resources in their area, since excessive disturbance may result in lower encounter rates. A
precautionary strategy would probably be to start by concentrating on maximising the value of existing
permits, through improved management (especially policing) and allocation of the more viable existing
permits that have not been taken up or are no longer being used. Thereafter, the possibilities for
expansion are limited only by the resilience of the resource itself.
3 See comments submitted by SABBWWA – Appendix 6.
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