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Ecotourism’s Promise and Peril pp 73–96Cite as

Impacts of Marine Mammal Tourism

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Abstract

Marine mammal-based ecotourism is a well-established industry, and its pillar, whale watching, represents the most significant economic activity for many coastal communities. The fast growth of this business is due to the broad appeal that these charismatic, large animals have on many people and to coastal habitats that make some of them readily accessible. The benefits of marine mammal-based ecotourism are many and span from a better appreciation of the marine environment to sustaining local economies. The popularity of this form of marine tourism has, however, recently put in doubt its sustainability. Many species of marine mammals, at sea and on land, have been negatively affected by whale-watching and other tourism-related activities. In some cases, this “benign” ecotourism is becoming an additional threat to the survival of these animals. This chapter looks at this industry’s economic impact, its benefits and values, the negative effects on target species, and how we can mitigate negative impacts so that the welfare of marine mammals can be protected while visitors and operators alike benefit from ecotourism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While not all cetaceans are whales, cetacean-watching trips are often referred to as “whale watching.”

  2. 2.

    Nonlethal.

  3. 3.

    2008 is the most recent year where full data on the whale-watching industry is available.

  4. 4.

    http://us.whales.org/issues/responsible-whale-watching

  5. 5.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/17/are-floridatourists-loving-manatees-to-death-when-swimming-looks-like-harassment/

  6. 6.

    https://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/seal-and-sea-lion-viewing.htm

  7. 7.

    https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/management/statistics.htm

  8. 8.

    Baleen whales (Mysticeti) communicate using low-frequency acoustic signals.

  9. 9.

    https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Final%2028%20pages.pdf

  10. 10.

    http://www.mmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/manatees_three-_sisters_springs_090415.pdf

  11. 11.

    http://www.pinnipeds.org/attachments/article/199/Disturbance%20for%20SCS%20-%20text.pdf

  12. 12.

    “A Review of Whale Watch Guidelines and Regulations Around the World”: https://iwc.int/private/downloads/ZIGknj3zwgPmvixnuykJqw/WWREGS%202013.pdf. There is also a workshop report entitled “Viewing and Interacting with Wild Marine Mammals” that includes a compilation of guidelines and regulations for viewing or interacting with marine wildlife in the United States: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/education/viewing_interacting_wild_marine_mammals2011.pdf

  13. 13.

    http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/viewing/pdfs/polar_bear_viewing_information_2013_usfws.pdf

  14. 14.

    http://myfwc.com/education/wildlife/manatee/viewing-guidelines/andhttp://myfwc.com/media/3411428/protectnativewildlife-manatee.pdf

  15. 15.

    Adaptive management is about “incorporating an ongoing process of experimentation, monitoring, and revision as an ongoing social learning process” [62].

  16. 16.

    Any vessel (with or without engine), aircraft, or person in the water.

  17. 17.

    Chase (as opposed to follow), causing the whale to change its course or speed.

  18. 18.

    https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?_ID=35428

  19. 19.

    https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/mm-viewing-guide

  20. 20.

    http://www.whale-watching-label.com/label

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean Conservation Society, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Maddalena Bearzi

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  1. Maddalena Bearzi
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Correspondence to Maddalena Bearzi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and The Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Daniel T. Blumstein

  2. Ifremer, UMR MARBEC, Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation, Laboratory of Adaptation and Adaptability of Animals and Systems, Palavas-les-Flots, France

    Benjamin Geffroy

  3. Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Diogo S. M. Samia

  4. Graduate Program in Ecology, and Life and Earth Sciences Department, University of Brasília, Brasilia, Brazil

    Eduardo Bessa

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Bearzi, M. (2017). Impacts of Marine Mammal Tourism. In: Blumstein, D., Geffroy, B., Samia, D., Bessa, E. (eds) Ecotourism’s Promise and Peril. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58331-0_6

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