The First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas

<strong>The</strong> Whale Watch story
Kauahi Ngapora
Whale Watch is committed to providing a world-class whale watching experience while
carefully managing the use of a rare natural resource within a unique environment. We
are visitors to the world of the whales and respect it as such at all times. As a Maoriowned
company, Whale Watch cherishes the twin values of manaakitanga (hospitality) to
visitors and reverence for the natural world. Ngati Kuri also assumes the role of Kaitiaki
(guardian) of the natural environment. This philosophy embraces people, the land, the
sea, and all living things as one. Our people have lived with whales for more than a
thousand years, and we intend to live with them for another thousand.
Whale Watch was founded in 1987 by the local Ngati Kuri people of Kaikoura (east
coast of South Island, New Zealand), where sperm whales, dusky dolphins, Hector’s
dolphins, and New Zealand fur seals can be encountered year-round, along with
numerous other migratory cetacean species. <strong>The</strong> people raised the capital required to
start the business by mortgaging their homes. Although Whale Watch was established to
create employment for local Maori and to give Ngati Kuri an economic base, it has
developed into more than that. It has created employment for the whole community and
it has been instrumental in the growth and development of the entire town. In the first
year, a single 6.7 m inflatable was used to take 3,000 passengers out to see whales and
only a handful of staff was employed. In recent years, the staff has grown to 55 full-time,
with 20 more employed during peak season. <strong>The</strong> whale watching fleet now consists of
five 18 m, 48-seat catamarans that carry more than 90,000 passengers per year. Whale
Watch Kaikoura has become one of the leading tourism attractions in New Zealand.
<strong>The</strong> company has two permits from the Department of Conservation (DOC)
authorizing 16 commercial tours per day to observe sperm whales. Although it also has
swim-with permits for dolphins and seals, these have not yet been acted upon. New
Zealand’s Marine Mammal Protection Regulations provide a basis for minimizing the
effects of cetacean watching, e.g., by limiting the number of vessels that can view an
animal or group of animals at one time, limiting the number of swimmers permitted in
the water at one time, specifying allowable speeds and angles of approach, and
discouraging close approaches to whales. Local operators are requested to share with
DOC (on a 50:50 basis) responsibility for covering the costs of administration and
research on the effects of whale-, dolphin-, and seal-watching and of the dolphin and
seal swim-with operations in Kaikoura. Whale Watch Kaikoura contributes the largest
proportion of funding of any operator.
Our experience shows that a commercial cetacean-watching and swim-with operation
can be successful and sustainable in a sensitive area if the following conditions are met:
• A precautionary approach is taken by the authority on the number of watching
and swim-with with permits issued for an area, allowing for both the long term
protection of marine mammals and the sustainability of the industry.
ICMMPA <strong>Conference</strong> Proceedings
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