7 minute read
Not only underwater
Not only underwater
…the phenomenon of whale & dolphin watching tours
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Text and photos: Jakub Banasiak
The endorphins pump in the body, people scream with joy, camera shutters click, sometimes someone cries out of happiness and elation. No wonder whale & dolphin watching tours are so popular and attract crowds of tourists. They are, a great and, above all, ethical alternative to visits to dolphinariums and paying there for the slavery of animals.
There are more and more such tours, there are also more ships offering the possibility of encounters with dolphins and whales. Today, whale watching is the fastest growing form of ecotourism in the world, with more than 13 million participants each year. Many communities, for example, of the islands of the Pacific and New Zealand, consider whale watching an important part of the national economy. Whale watching is becoming more and more popular in countries that continue to hunt whales, such as Iceland, Norway and Japan, and the profits coming from this activity often outweigh those that are generated from the sale of whale meat. The number of people using such trips has increased significantly since the 1990s, from 4 million in 31 countries in 1991 to 13 million in 119 countries in 2008. In 2008, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a charity organisation dedicated to the protection of animals, estimated the value of the industry at 2.1 billion dollars. The validity of this data is confirmed among others by World Cetacean Alliance.
On the one hand, it is very good that so many people have the opportunity to experience encounters with the dolphins or whales in the wild. It seems that we really protect only what we love, and we love what we know. It is better that we learn about marine mammals in the sea than by buying tickets to marine parks, which are nothing more than prisons and a watery variation of the circus.
And is there is another side of whale and dolphin watching cruises? Hmm… Everywhere, where tourism becomes massive, there are problems. A dozen or so years ago, we may have been unaware of this, but now, when our knowledge of the noise and plastic pollution of the sea water and of the scale of collisions of cetaceans with boats and ships is bigger and bigger, we cannot pretend that there is no problem.
To date, dozens of studies have been conducted on the impact of whale watching activities on marine mammals, primarily on dolphins, humpback whales, sperm whales, minke whales, pilot whales and killer whales. The results as for the scale of the phenomenon and the level of risk for animals are not entirely clear because of the methodological difficulties. However, we already know that such cruises have specific influence on the behaviour of cetaceans, on the pollution of the ecosystem in which they live and on the well-being of at least some species. The research on minke whales in Iceland showed that whale watching boats following these mammals cause reactions such as those that are caused by predators that threaten their lives in the wild: faster swimming, increased respiration, disturbed rest and preying. In that way they spend more time on moving and their energy balance is worse. The study of humpback whales in the waters of New Caledonia published in 2013 and in Alaska in the years 2016–2018 has shown that the presence of the boat increases the energetic cost of these marine mammals.
Similar observations were made in relation to bottlenose dolphins in the reefs of Egypt, in Shark Bay in Australia and in relation to other species of dolphins in Hawaii. At least one study of bottlenose dolphins confirmed that such long-lasting behavioural disorders affect the reproduction rate and the survival rate of calves. In turn, research on killer whales in Canada and the US shows that the noise of the engines results in the so-called masking effect of their vocalization, drowns out or significantly
impedes communication, and thus affects the cohesion of the pod or the efficiency of hunting. Consequently, this leads to a greater energetic cost in the communication process.
The problem is not just coastal zones, where most such voyages take place. Research in New Zealand shows that also on the high seas, the presence of whale & dolphin watching boats affects the way and efficiency of hunting by common dolphins. The dolphins spent less time looking for food when interacting with boats and sought food much longer after such meetings. It is worth noting that acquisition of sufficient quantities of food in the open ocean environment, where food resources are usually very scattered and unpredictable, can cause serious difficulties and involve large energetic cost.
In different places in the world, among others the Canaries and Hawaii, research is ongoing over the level of stress hormones in the bodies of animals (mainly in the fat tissue of short-finned pilot whales) exposed to intense contacts with the whale watching boats. The changes observed in the breathing patterns, mobility, communication and time for rest indicate that this is a very important topic.
Boat operators are arguing that since the animals do not move to other areas, then the threat level for cetaceans is marginal, and these mammals have become accustomed to human activity. From the point of view of biology and research, however, this is not convincing. Areas intensely haunted by tourist boats can be great feeding areas, abounding in food, and further locations can in turn be full of predators. It can also happen that the cetaceans of a given population have developed specific methods and strategies of hunting only suitable to current conditions and are not able to obtain food so effectively on other waters. Therefore, even though they are disturbed by boats with tourists, they do not leave their habitat.
A separate issue is the physical threat from a boat and a high probability of a collision with a whale or a dolphin or injuring them with propellers. For example, boats at a dolphin reserve in Bocas del Toro, Panama, in the years in 2012–2013 struck and killed at least 10 animals in the population of around 250. The more boats in the water where they dolphins and whales live, the higher the risk of collision is higher. When we add to this the fact that many operators use more and faster boats and try for their clients to get as close as possible to the animals, this problem becomes very important.
In many places in the world, the so-called code of conduct has been introduced to minimize the impact of whale watching ships and boats on populations of cetaceans. In such codes it is very specifically defined how the boat could and how it should not approach a pod, or individual animals, at what angle, and at what speed. The guidelines for the number of boats that can get close to whales at the same time, the time spent near the flock, how to deal with mothers with calves, and so on, are also clear.
However, there are still problems with these provisions. Two thirds of such codes relating to the observation of dolphins and whales is voluntary, and many of them are missing important information, such as the limitations and/or ban on feeding or swimming with the animals. And most importantly, the level of monitoring compliance with these rules is negligible. Another problem is often the lack of consistency in the event of breaking the law. Whilst in Hawaii, or in general in the United States the approach to this topic is quite restrictive, in the Canary Islands for example, which are visited by many of us, the law in this matter works very badly.
Tenerife is an important example. In the past year about 700,000 people went on whale & dolphin watching cruises. There are 41 boats and ships that have permission to carry out such activities (they are marked by Blue Boat Flag). In addition, however, there are more than 70 illegal operators of whale watching cruises who to a negligible extent comply with the code of conduct. Despite the many complaints and demands of both NGOs dealing with the protection of cetaceans as well as scientists and operators from the Blue Boat Flag, local authorities are passive and are not eager to sort out this situation. It is not exactly known what in this matter belongs to whose competence. Requests, complaints and letters addressed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, to the Maritime Office and the Guardia Civil in the Canary Islands most often remain unanswered. According to the report of Tonina Association prepared in cooperation with the Foundation for Biodiversity, the Ministry of the Environment and the University of La Laguna – the southern colony of whales residing off the coast of Tenerife, most
often visited by boats with tourists, is characterized by a level of cortisol (stress hormone) much higher than the specimens that inhabit the northern, much quieter area of Anaga. And this is just one of many reasons to heal the situation in Tenerife and similar places as soon as possible.
What was supposed to be part of ecotourism, gradually ceases to have anything to do with ecology, care for animal welfare or love for marine mammals.
Jakub Banasiak – Member of the Dolphinaria-Free Europe Coalition, a volunteer at the Tethys Research Institute and the Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit, a Marine Connection contributor. For 10 years he has been involved in research on wild dolphin populations and dolphinariums audits. Together with the team "NO! For the Dolphinarium", he takes actions against keeping dolphins in captivity and promotes such knowledge about the dolphin assisted therapy, which is concealed or hidden by the centers profiting from this form of an animal assisted therapy.
More information on the protection and welfare of dolphins on the following sites:
delfinaria.pl czydelfinoterapia.pl niedladelfinarium.pl delfinoterapiawpolsce.pl https://www.facebook.com/naratunekdelfinom/
