Whale Watching Worldwide

Every vessel entering the marine sanctuary requires a permit. In Samaná there are two classes of permit
according to vessel size – categorised as Lanchas and Barcos respectively ‐ with the former costing $200 and
the latter $400. Permits for Silver Bank, of which there are three, are $2,500 dollars each. Thus the total
revenue raised by boat permits for the Marine Sanctuary exceed $20,000 each season, on top of the revenue
generated by park entrance fees, pushing the total revenue including these fees to over $150,000. In
addition, there is a thriving cetacean‐based souvenir industry in Samaná selling t‐shirts, caps, jewellery,
videos and CDs of whale songs which is likely to inject millions more dollars into the local economy.
The Centre for the Conservation and Ecodevelopment of Samaná Bay and its Environs (CEBSE), an NGO
focused on the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable development and community participation and
education, took over the organisation and regulation of whale watching in 1998 ‐ including revising the
guidelines for whale watching practices and monitoring and policing them, educating whale watch operators
and administrating whale watch permits ‐ continuing the previous work of the Intergovernmental
Management Committee for the Silver Bank Marine Sanctuary (Comisión Rectora). CEBSE works
cooperatively with the Association of Boat Owners, the director of National Parks, the Secretary of Tourism
and the Ministry of Environment and has facilitated a co‐management system for the whale watching
industry involving all stakeholders.. CEBSE relies heavily upon local and international volunteers to
supplement its education and monitoring programmes where funding is insufficient to fully finance these
operations, continuing the comprehensive role that Hoyt noted volunteers have had in managing the
Dominican Republic’s whale watching industry (Hoyt, 1999).
Whale watching in the Dominican Republic has experienced modest growth in the decade since IFAW’s 2001
report, expanding at a slightly greater rate than the growth in tourism generally, it is reported to have
reached annual numbers of 30,000 whale watchers in 2004 and 2005.
Main species: Large cetaceans:
humpback whale
Small cetaceans:
pantropical spotted dolphin, bottlenose
dolphin, short‐finned pilot whale
Tourists:
International 90%
Domestic 10%
Types of tours: 2 to 4 hour boat‐based trips, predominantly
part of all‐ inclusive tours from resorts and
cruise ships, and week long, live aboard tours.
Average adult ticket price: $80 day tour
$2,600 for a week long live‐aboard trip.
Estimated employment
99
numbers:
Main whale watch season: October to May
Acknowledgements:
Grateful acknowledgement to Kim Beddall, a founding member of CEBSE and operator, Patricia Lamelas, the current
president of CEBSE, and Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi, President of FUNDEMAR.
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