Download PDF (2.5MB) - Anchor Environmental

More documents

Recommendations

Info

not is broached several times each year, provided this does not become a reality, it does create tourism awareness and the public debate has positive impacts on the whale watching industry in Iceland. However, in March 1999, Iceland’s parliament released a motion calling for the resumption of whaling at the earliest opportunity. This statement resulted in several cancellations of holidays booked to Iceland providing an indication of the negative impact whaling would have on the tourism of Iceland. Provided whaling does not resume in Iceland, there exists outstanding potential for further growth and development of whale watching. 11.4.3 Greenland (self-governing territory of Denmark) Whale watching has been listed with the national Greenland tourism office as an activity in Greenland since the mid-1990’s and in 1998 recorded a total of 2500 whale watchers, 80% of whom are Europeans. Two main operators offer tours. Although whales are still hunted in the northern regions of Greenland, sustainable whale watching is considered to provide a valuable contribution to local economies. The potential to view rarely seen Arctic cetaceans makes Greenland a unique location for whale watching, although tourism to the area needs to be strictly controlled so as to prevent damage to the delicate ecosystems. No guidelines or legislation currently exists relating to whale watching in Greenland. 11.4.4 United Kingdom Whale watching in the United Kingdom was initiated in the mid-1980’s but only became a dedicated tourist attraction in 1989. In 1998 over 120 000 whale watchers were reported, yielding more than U$8 million in total expenditure annually. Although there are reported to be more than 40 operators offering full or part-time marine mammal watching, the majority of tourists were not attracted to the UK solely for whale watching. With more species of dolphins occurring along these shores than whales, the former tends to attract more tourists and is a more reliable marketing tool. Tours are conducted from a wide range of vessels including sailing vessels, inflatables, motor cruises and former fishing vessels. Most trips are 2-3 hours in length, some were a full day and others can be anything from a week to ten days in length. There is a strong seasonality to the whale watching industry, peaking in northern hemisphere mid-summer when winds are lightest and temperatures highest. The Moray Firth and Western Isles areas of Scotland dominate the whale watching industry in the UK with Wales and England only having three operators each. The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin trust has raised awareness and issues of conservation on the Mull and in the Hebrides, both important whale watching locations. All cetaceans in the UK are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The UK is also party to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and Northern Sea (ASCOBANS) and to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the Bern Convention). Although no formal set of legislation exists for the management of whale watching activities, a guideline document provides recommendations for minimising disturbance to cetaceans from recreation at sea. Where they exist, these guidelines compliment existing local guidelines. The general guidelines provide very broad recommendations on distance of approach, angle of approach, length of encounter etc. to minimise disturbance. The Sea Watch Foundation and the Wales Code of Conduct for watching dolphins specify for one boat to remain at least 100 m from marine mammals (these areas are more focussed on dolphin viewing) or three boats to remain one kilometre from marine mammals. The Scottish Code of Conduct for watching Minke Whales specifies that three boats are to remain at one kilometre distance from the whales and one boat, 200 m distance from minke whales, unless the whales approach the boat. Other rules, similar to those in other countries, relating to angle of approach, noise levels, speed etc. also form part of the guidelines. The best strategy for the United Kingdom seems to be to promote marine nature tours rather than focus specifically on whale tours. The strength of the British currency currently deters international tourists from engaging specifically in marine tours in the UK. Scotland appears to have the greatest potential for expansion of marine wildlife tourism requiring focussed effort and appropriate resource management mechanisms to be in place. High quality tours with emphasis on education and research are required if the UK is to remain in the global whale watching market. 87
11.4.5 Ireland Cetacean watching in Ireland was instigated by the presence of a solitary wild dolphin which took up residence near the town of Dingle in 1986. In the early 1990’s the south coast and the Shannon River Estuary also started marine wildlife tours, however, the majority of marine tours in Ireland are focussed on dolphins with very few whales (minke whales occasionally present) featuring. There are at least 12 boats offering trips to see the solitary dolphin at Dingle and two operators offering tours in the Shannon River. The operators in the Shannon River estuary have accepted a code of conduct for cetacean tours, but again, this pertains specifically to dolphins, as whales are very rarely seen in this area. There is considered to be scope for growth and development in cetacean and marine life tours in Ireland although the current focus at Dingle is only expected to persist while the solitary dolphin remains resident to the area. 11.4.6 Spain (not including Canary Islands) The wide diversity of cetacean species frequenting the coast of Spain has allowed whale watching to expand from its inception in the late 1980’s to 38 000 whale watchers being recorded in 1998. Andalucía along the southern Spanish coast experienced an explosion in whale watching between 1997 and 1999 with as many as 24 boats and 14 operators starting up whale watching tours in this area. Gibraltar and Ceuta on the northern coast of Spain are beginning to develop their whale watching industry. The sudden growth of whale watching in this country provides a classic example where the legislation and regulations are not developing fast enough for the growing industry. There is an urgent need for regulations or guidelines in the whale watching industry in Spain, along with enforcement, training and developing education and scientific research. Whale watching in Andalucía is currently of a casual nature and unregulated. With the growing tourist market in Spain, there is outstanding potential for further development of whale watching, but this requires strict guidelines and management to attain a high quality growth, with the associated benefits. 11.4.7 Azores Islands (Portugal) Whale watching started in the Azores Islands in 1998 and is predominantly focussed on the areas of Pico and Faial in the south. In 1998 the Azores Islands attracted 9500 whale watchers, which contributed a total expenditure of over US$3 million to the region. As many as ten companies with more than 12 rigid-hull inflatable boats offer whale watching tours, although at least three unlicensed vessels also view whales, mainly for underwater film crews. This ex-whaling nation is able to offer whale tours for up to five months of the year and sightings of rare beaked whales are frequent, making this area popular for whale watching enthusiasts. In 1999 the government declared regulations for the whale watching industry of Azores Islands but there remains a need for better control over boat numbers, licensing and enforcement. There is also a strong need for development of the educational and scientific aspects associated with other successful whale watching ventures. The regulations provide rules relating to distance (no closer than 50 m), direction of approach, speed and time (maximum of 30 minutes) spent viewing whales, similar to that of other countries. If other boats are in the vicinity, they should not be closer than 200 m to the whales and females with calves should never be approached closer than 100 m. Commercial whale watching companies must apply for a permit to conduct such business activities and must state, among other things, the characteristics of the boats to be used (although details of other requirements are not provided). 88
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 22 and 23:
west coast up to February or March
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
Page 72 and 73: The most important enabling criteri
Page 74 and 75: The Cape Metro area is a major tour
Page 76 and 77: focused on harbour trips and until
Page 78 and 79: Wetland Park, Pondoland, the Greate
Page 80 and 81: 8.3 The permit system, conditions a
Page 82 and 83: Monitoring will also be vital for e
Page 84 and 85: 15. Data collected by operators and
Page 86 and 87: Woods-Ballard, A.J., Parsons, E.C.M
Page 88 and 89: 11. APPENDIX 2. SUMMARY OF COMMERCI
Page 90 and 91: used for whale watching must be acc
Page 92 and 93: Both the National and state governm
Page 94 and 95: effort to be controlled through res
Page 98 and 99: 11.5 South America 11.5.1 Ecuador T
Page 100 and 101: The Dominican Republic has strict c
Page 102 and 103: 12. APPENDIX 3: NOTIFICATION OF PER
Page 104 and 105: 4. Applicants must be willing to si
Page 106 and 107: SIMONSTOWN AREA Cape Point Lighthou
Page 108 and 109: PLETTENBERG BAY AREA The Western Bo
Page 110 and 111: (iii) the extent to which the appli
Page 112 and 113: Table I. Rating of the whale resour
show all

Download PDF (2.5MB) - Anchor Environmental

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?