Latest News

Back to Latest News back

 

Whale-watching book questions industry sustainability worldwide

Whale-watching book questions industry sustainability worldwide
March 29, 2014

Whale and dolphin-watching may not be the low-impact, sustainable industries many believe them to be, according to a new evidence-based book containing contributions from some 50 international experts.

Whale-watching: Sustainable Tourism and Ecological Management critically explores the complex issues associated with the sustainable management of whale watching, highlighting the spectacular growth in demand for tourist interactions with cetaceans in the wild, and the challenge of effective policy, planning and management.

Whale-watching is edited by New Zealand's University of Otago Tourism Professor James Higham; Associate Professor Lars Bejder from Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Unit; and Dr. Rob Williams, a Canadian marine conservation biologist and a Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow with the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

Professor Higham explains “the book centres on one key point of debate. Whale watching has developed very quickly around the world and has been strongly advocated by non-governmental organisations, governments and tourism development agencies, which highlight the assumed sustainability of ‘non-consumptive' enterprises. This book really puts the spotlight on that.

“The rationale is very appealing. If you don't hunt and kill whales or dolphins, but shoot them with cameras rather than harpoons, then it may intuitively be considered non-consumptive.

"But as the industry has grown, animal populations have come under more and more pressure and the ‘non-consumptive' nature of whale watching has been drawn into question.

“While whale watching has been widely portrayed as a sustainable alternative to whale hunting since the early 1980s, simply assuming that whale watching is sustainable obscures the potential unsustainable whale-watching practices.”

Associate Professor Bejder's own research in Shark Bay, Western Australia, a popular site for people to view bottlenose dolphins, demonstrates that as the level of interaction increases, so too does the effect on the animals' biology, habitat use and numbers.

He explains “Whales and dolphins frequent certain ecological regions because they are good places to feed, or rest, or raise young.

“Take the spinner dolphins of Hawai'i. They feed at night in offshore waters and go into shallow, protected bays to rest and socialise during the day – but that's where and when tourists gather to watch them, potentially disturbing their critical daily resting period.”

Professor Higham adds “the book highlights that, in considering the relationships that exist between humans and cetaceans, terms such as ‘exploitative' and ‘consumptive' must be used advisedly.

“The transition from physical extraction (hunting) to the selling of ‘services' (tourist experiences) should acknowledge that both may be exploitative and consumptive in different ways and to varying degrees.”

All three editors say that while the book critically explores the challenges of sustainability, it is also solutions-focussed book. Many of the book's 25 chapters offer various ways of trying to overcome the potential for impact on these animals, taking account of different regional and national contexts, and employing insights from relatively successful models such as Shark Bay and Kaikoura in New Zealand.

Professor Higham adds “for example, the book includes a chapter by Wiebke Finkler, a current University of Otago PhD student, who addresses science communication and the yawning gap that exists between the good science that has emerged about this in the last 30 years and the uptake of that science by management agencies, NGOs and tourism operators.

The book came about following lengthy conversations between Professor Higham and Associate Professor Bejder at a conference in Perth in mid-2006. They agreed there was a real need to comprehensively address the subject of human interaction with whales and dolphins. The proposal to edit a book, bringing together contributions by international experts, moved quickly to contract.

Professor Higham concludes “the publisher, Cambridge University Press, has been very supportive right from the start. But it's a book that has taken several times longer to complete than any other I have worked on. It has been quite a minefield. This is a contentious and political subject.”

Whale-watching: Sustainable Tourism and Ecological Management is published by Cambridge University Press and costs AU$140. It is available from www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/life-sciences/ecology-and-conservation/whale-watching-sustainable-tourism-and-ecological-management

Related Articles

7th September 2013 - Sightseeing boats endanger whales

15th August 2013 - Southern Right Whales returning to NSW

11th September 2012 - Whales helping to boost tourism on the NSW South Coast

23rd May 2010 - Sea World Whale Watch Spots Season’s First Whales


Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.

 

supplier directory

The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.

See the directory see all

TicketSearch Pty Ltd

TicketSearch is focused on providing businesses, organisations, and venues with affordable, efficient, and powerful self-managed ticketing solutions. The organisation has offices in Australia, New…

read more

Attractions / Entertainment / Technology / Ticketing / Venues

 
 

HIDROPLAY

Hidroplay welcomes you to the exciting world of children's Playscapes, waterslide's and Water Attractions. Appealing to families, Hidroplay increases patronage in your facility during those…

read more

Aquatics / Play / Recreation

 
 

Quayclean

Quayclean are a national cleaning and waste services partner with proven results in the understanding and delivery of cleaning needs and challenges faced by facilities including; major venues and…

read more

Aquatics / Hospitality / Surfaces / Venues

 
 

PaySmart

Headquartered in Brisbane with an Australia-wide network of satellite offices, PaySmart is one of Australia’s largest and longest-standing direct debit billing companies. In 1996 we began…

read more

Access / Billing / Fitness / Technology

 
 

Pico Play

Pico Play is a global leader in the planning, design, development and construction of world-class themed attractions and entertainment that deliver extraordinary and memorable experiences to millions…

read more

Attractions / Consultants / Design / Recreation / Tourism

 
 

SENtag

Developed in Europe, this innovative system offers a safety management solution for swimming pools that checks individual swimmers via their wristband - monitoring their depth and time. Sensors…

read more

Aquatics / Hospitality / Safety / Technology / Waterparks

 
 

BH Fitness

BH Fitness, part of the long-standing and iconic bike manufacturer BH Group, is a global leader in fitness equipment for both Commercial and Home markets. The company, with the headquarters based in…

read more

Fitness / Recreation / Sport / Technology / Wellness

 
 

Goplay Commercial Playground Equipment

Goplay designs and manufactures specialised playground equipment for indoor play centres, hotels, food chains, clubs and resorts. If our years of experience and dedication have taught us one thing,…

read more

Play

 
 
 
 

get listed with our suppliers directory

Get your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!

list your business