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Both the National and state governments responded to a need for regulations and management of the
industry and in February 2000 National Guidelines for Cetacean Observation were introduced. The
guidelines provide detailed information on why they are needed, the aims of the guidelines, who they
apply to, what areas they cover, what species they apply to and explain the difference between a boat
approaching a cetacean and a cetacean approaching a boat. The guidelines are described as being
the first tier of a two-tiered management system for State and Commonwealth jurisdictions and that
jurisdictional authorities may choose to enforce additional conditions and controls under the second
tier of management. The guidelines are fully comprehensive and restrict the distance of a boat from a
whale to 100 m, stipulate a caution zone of 300 m from a whale with a maximum of three boats
permitted in this zone, place restrictions on the angle of approach to whales and provides details of all
other regulations similarly proposed by other countries. Australian guidelines even recognise
surfboards as being a whale viewing platform and, for the safety of the person onboard a surfboard,
recommend a distance of at least 30 m from a whale to be maintained at all times. Additional
guidelines in Australia include the requirement of maintaining the vessel and engines in good
condition especially to limit the extent of noise and oil/fuel leakages into the water. While vessels are
encouraged to make use of underwater microphones to listen to whale noises underwater, they are
strongly discouraged to introduce any additional noise (biological or non-biological) into the water. In
Australian waters it is strongly discouraged to approach foetal fold whale calves (very young calves
which can be identified by the presence of pales lines on the side of the body) and if such a calf is
encountered, the operator should slowly move away from the group and cease the encounter
immediately. Areas of special interest for cetacean viewing in Australia have been recognised as
such and have established specific additional management considerations to ensure tourism activity
does not negatively impact the whales. The majority of such special interest areas are declared as
such, due to them being critical breeding areas for Southern Right whales, including South Australia,
Queensland and Western Australia. New South Wales is located along the migration route of
humpback whales and boat-based whale watching is discouraged in some areas due to the high
quality and lower disturbance of land based whale watching here. Logan’s Beach, Victoria is similarly
a prime location for land based whale watching and boat-based activities are discouraged in this area.
The Queensland Government, Department of Environment, provided a Whales and Dolphins
Conservation Plan in 1997 forming part of the Nature Conservation Act 1992. This conservation plan
incorporates all the national guidelines as previously discussed and additionally requires a
commercial whale watching business to obtain a permit. The commercial whale watching is restricted
to within marine parks and permits are issued under the Marine Parks Act 1982. A new entrant to the
industry will be granted a permit initially for a single whale watching season, based on the experience
and performance of the permittee. The duration of the permit will then be increased with the first
renewal being for two years, the second for three years and the third for six years. The permit holder
is required to regularly submit prescribed information about their whale watching business to the
Department of Environment. Fees and levies from commercial whale watching will contribute to the
cost of monitoring and enforcement. Applications for commercial whale watching permits will be
assessed on criteria such as, inter alia, previous experience in the industry, participation in
training/educational programs and local physical and environmental knowledge. The proposed vessel
for use will be evaluated on the level of noise generated, level of comfort and adequate seating,
manoeuvrability, quality and type of onboard waste disposal and exhaust systems, wheelchair access
and existence of contingency plan in case of an emergency. Four areas within the Queensland
jurisdiction are listed as being of special interest for whale watching, namely, Whitsunday
management area, Hervey Bay, Moreton Bay to Fraser Island and Gold Coast to Moreton Island. The
Great Barrier Reef region also has special regulations pertaining to whale watching within its
boundaries. Specific limitations in these areas are summarised below:
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