The fast growing whale watching tourism industry is outstripping marine ecology policy, and impacting on whale and dolphin numbers, conservationists warned yesterday.
Since the first sightseeing business opened in Hualien in 1997, the number of whale watching boats has increased to 25 and expanded to Ilan, Taitung, Pingtung, Taipei and Taichung.
In four years, tourism has attracted more than 100,000 people to the areas, hoping to sight the aquatic creatures, according to The Taiwan Cetacean Society (TCS,
The society made public yesterday the results of a survey that targeted approximately 1,000 tourists from 20 companies in a bid to shape the industry in Taiwan.
Boats chasing whales
The survey found that most whale watching boats observed whales and dolphins from about 100m. Some were reported to draw as close as 50m to the animals, and a handful of captains chased or besieged dolphins for close-up observation.
In addition, several whale watching boats arrived simultaneously at the same area, as dolphins and whales showed up during the peak period between July to October, which caused obvious disturbance to the marine mammals.
Chou Lien-hsiang (
"Watching from 100m and for half an hour is proper," Chou said, adding no scientific research regarding the extent of tourism's impact upon the marine mammals had been conducted.
"But the traditional tourism style is worrying," she said. She asked that the government sponsor research and enact legislation to protect the precious marine resources and sustain whale watching tourism.
So far, except a ban against the slaughter of dolphins enacted by the Legislative Yuan in 1990, there are no laws or rules limiting whale watching, according to the society.
Views have changed
Yesterday, a whale was stranded on a beach in southwestern Tainan and a group of rescuers helped move it to a safe place for rehabilitation. The action was in sharp contrast to an event that happened 10 years ago.
Taiwan's conservation of whales and dolphins started because of a 1990 incident when some conservationists from the Earth Trust, an international conservation group, shot video of people who were slaughtering a stranded dolphin on Penghu Island, west of Taiwan.
The incident was then shown on TV in the US.
Taiwan was then roundly condemned around the world, which resulted in Taiwan taking a more active stance on the conservation of dolphins and whales.
Conservation awareness has been heightened in Taiwan since that time, but a sound practice of whale watching remains underdeveloped, Chou said.
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