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used for whale watching must be accredited with SEMARNAP. All permit holders must display a
badge or mark on the registered vessel identifying it as such. Additional specific restrictions for whale
watching are applied to San Ignacio lagoon and Magdalena Bay. The number of permits issued in
these areas are regulated by the National Ecological Institute. Permit holders are also required to
submit a report on the activities developed during the whale watch season to the State offices of
SEMARNAP, Baja California Sur. A study conducted by Heckel et al. (2003) reports that the current
legislation governing whale watching in Mexico is insufficient and that boats are influencing the
migration route of grey whales. Alternative management strategies are suggested, most importantly
to create self-regulation and to enhance the level of service offered onboard.
Although over the past decade the whale watching industry in specific parts of Mexico have shown
exceptional growth (Heckel et al. 2003), overall Mexico is considered to still have outstanding
potential for further growth in this industry. The annual grey whale festival at Laguna San Ignacio
provides an economic boom specifically to this community and similar such initiatives should be
encouraged. Whale watching in this area has provided an alternative income for fisherman and has
helped provide year round employment. Whale watching has helped raise environmental awareness
of local people, organisations and institutions. The whale watching industry in Mexico is expected to
expand rapidly but requires assistance from the government.
11.2 Africa (other than South Africa)
11.2.1 Canary Islands (Spain)
Whale watching only began in the Canary Islands in the late 1980’s and the number of whale
watchers has already reached one million. The total expenditure is however, lower than would be
expected, at only US$62 million (compared to Canada’s US$200 million for a similar number of whale
watchers). Whale watching occurs in three main regions of the Canary Islands namely, Tenerife, La
Gomera and Gran Canaria with a total of 27 permit holders being registered for 1997, although only
24 were evidently operational. Whale watchers in this region are mainly foreigners from United
Kingdom, Germany or other European countries and with 315 of 365 days of the year being suitable
for whale watching, most visitors to the area generally take part in some level of whale watching. The
preferred vessels for whale watching in this area are the larger catamarans that can accommodate
more passengers and reduces the number of boats visiting whale groups.
Whale watching activities in the Canary Islands are regulated by the ‘Decreto 178/2000’ which
generally forbids direct encounters with cetaceans within the water, regulates distances and total boat
numbers as well as boat movements in the vicinity of whales and requires all whale watching vessels
to be licensed with the government for this activity. It has been indicated that the reason for limiting
the number of permits for whale watching was due to the availability of moorings for boats in the
marinas rather than for the well being of the whales or the industry. Nonetheless, the legislation is as
comprehensive as that of other countries and serves to restrict disturbance of whales by boats. The
Canary Islands legislation requires that the minimum distance to be maintained from whales is 60 m.
With the combination of ideal weather conditions and the presence of whales for the majority of the
year, the whales of the Canary Islands are possibly the most intensively watched whales in the world.
Regulating the industry was only initiated in 2000 and enforcement thereof is still poor, with the result
that many illegal (unregistered) operators continue to watch whales, increasing the pressure on this
resource.
11.2.2 Namibia
Although Namibia only initiated whale watching in 1998, it already attracted 7000 whale watchers in
that year alone. The presence of Heaviside’s dolphins (endemic to Namibia and South Africa) and
occasionally Southern Right whales along this coast attracts whale watchers to this region. The
majority of whale watchers are from Germany (70%) with French, Italian, South African and
Namibians making up the remainder. Three operators offer whale watching tours from Walvis Bay,
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