Abstract
In 2015, an online survey was conducted to investigate public attitudes and perceptions toward key cetacean (whale, dolphin, and porpoise) conservation and 'hot topic' issues such as legislative protection and whaling (n=858). The vast majority of the participants in this study indicated their permanent residence was the United States (n=577) or India (n=251). Perceptions of participants on the conservation priority of cetacean species did not match with the factual IUCN status, where most participants assumed that the larger and more charismatic whales (blue whale, 24.01%; humpback whale, 22.14%; and killer whale, 23.43%) were more endangered or more to conserve than the small cetacean species such as the Vaquita or Hector's dolphin. Additionally, 39.74% of participants indicated the bottlenose dolphin was the most to conserve. More members of the public highlighted non-existent (fake) species (e.g. pygmy short-fined whale, lump-headed dolphin, and majestic spotted dolphin) as being of conservation concern than certain species of actual genuine concern. The majority of participants considered dolphins and whales to be under protected or only slightly protected (29.95%; 41.96%, respectively) and expressed that marine mammal conservation laws and policies were very or important (47.43%; and 37.88%, respectively). In addition, 86.83% of participants expressed opposition to the hunting of dolphins and whales (57.93% strongly opposed and 28.90% opposed); however, only 47.44% of participants were aware that several countries are still involved in whaling. A lack of awareness of the conservation status of whales and dolphins and continued whaling activities suggests that greater outreach to the public about the conservation status of whale and dolphin species is needed.
Highlights
Attitudes toward marine conservation can vary considerably depending upon country of residence and what issue is being discussed. Eagly (1992) defined attitude as “a tendency or state internal to a person which biases or predisposes a person toward evaluative responses which are to some degree favorable or unfavorable”
This study provides an initial indication of online survey participant views toward dolphins and whales, and their conservation
Most participants felt marine mammal conservation laws and policies were important with a large portion of participants indicating that dolphin and whale species are only slightly protected or are under protected
Summary
Attitudes toward marine conservation can vary considerably depending upon country of residence and what issue is being discussed. Eagly (1992) defined attitude as “a tendency or state internal to a person which biases or predisposes a person toward evaluative responses which are to some degree favorable or unfavorable” (pp. 694). Attitudes of children, ranging in ages from 6 to 9, tend to focus around emotional relationships toward animals. They shift to cognitive or factual attitudes upon becoming a young adolescent (ages 10–13) and shift again in post-adolescence to attitudes encompassing ethical concern and ecological awareness of the role of animals in their natural habitats (Kellert, 1976). The results showed that males tended to value animals for practical and recreational reasons, in contrast to females who were more inclined to express concern for the consumptive exploitation of wildlife and value animals as objects of affection (Kellert and Berry, 1980)
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