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Whale Watching: Keeping the Tourists at Bay

In over ninety countries, over ten million tourists around the world watch whales each year. This is good and bad news for whales. Over seventy-five percent of the countries adhering to global policies set by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) have whale watching tourism industries, vastly outnumbering those nations that wish to keep whaling. Japan does its best to keep poor Caribbean nations on its side in IWC votes and tries to recruit more pro-whaling nations to join the treaty. Meanwhile environmental organizations promote whale watching industries among countries not yet enjoying these tourist dollars.

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Whale Watching: Keeping the Tourists at Bay

Whale watching has become a billion dollar a year business, breathing new life into coastal towns that once had little hope of attracting high-spending international eco-tourists. The shift to watching instead of killing whales has been a major industrial shift. With today’s stringent restrictions placed on the whaling industry, the dollars generated by doing nothing to whales far outweighs what the remaining whaling nations can generate by killing them.

The wide array of whale species inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere has made whale watching to destinations south of the equator a popular pastime. Some 100,000 tourists take whale watching trips to Costa Rica each year. Watching whales is a big draw for Antarctica tours as well as travel to Argentina Patagonia. Coastal communities in Panama, Chile, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador offer whale watching opportunities as well.

The more people want to observe animals in the wild such as whales, the more likely it is that human incursion will disturb the species’ habitat and habits. In order for the whale watching industry to continue to thrive, the whale watching countries must establish enforceable standards to protect whales from the watchers. Scientists suspect that too many people in close proximity to whales, even when they mean the species no harm, can disrupt their traditional lifestyle and geography. Avoiding whale watching boats may send whales into waters for which they are unsuited, injuring them. Though research is underway, data is as yet insufficient to understand the long term effects of whale watching on the breeding, birthing and feeding habits of different whale species.

As yet, no international rules govern whale watching practices. Many are looking to the IWC to ensure that boat operations adopt and adhere to species-specific policies for visitor limits, minimum distances, appropriate boat speed, proper approach and viewing time. Visitors who wish to see whales during their Central America tours or travel to South America should seek out companies that employ knowledgeable guides and conduct whale watching tours that don’t disturb the animals. Adequate safety procedures and lifejackets are of course a must. Southern Explorations offers many trips which can accommodate whale watching from Antarctica tours to travel to Costa Rica.

Though today most whale species are protected from commercial slaughter, they still must share the same waters, and as a result, human activities still threaten the remaining whales. The species that inhabit shallow waters to feed are particularly vulnerable to getting entangled in fishing lines or colliding with a ship.

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