Abstract
In 2001 Italy, France, and Principality of Monaco instituted a protected area for marine mammals in northwestern Mediterranean Sea, named thePelagosSanctuary. The agreement foresees the commitment by signing parties to manage human activities in the area, with a special mention to whale watching. Whale watching is a form of wildlife tourism which has considerably grown in the last decades. Understanding the profile of whale watchers and their satisfaction toward the activity, is the first step toward a sustainable and effective management of this touristic activity. In this work we provide the first analysis of the whale watching activity in thePelagosSanctuary, focusing on commercial whale watching tours departing from Italian harbors in Liguria. We provide a census of the activity and the results of close-ended questionnaires filled by whale watchers during trips in summer 2016 and 2017. The aim of the questionnaires was to understand the level of awareness of experienced and new whale watchers regarding thePelagosSanctuary and some conservation initiative going on in the area. Finally, we analyzed the satisfaction level, with the aim of evidencing weakness and strengths of the service offered. Our results evidence a growth in the activity in the last 15 years, with a wider differentiation of offers and impacting a larger area than previously found. Whale watchers in the area come from a variety of countries, demonstrating the importance of the Pelagos as a hot spot for this activity. A high level of satisfaction has been evidenced, with no difference among new and experienced whale watchers. At the same time, more effort is needed to increase awareness of Pelagos and its conservation initiative both at a national and international level. This study provides useful information for the start of an effective management of whale watching in this protected area.
Highlights
Since the late 1990s, when whale-watching started in California, the whale watching industry has grown considerably worldwide (Hoyt and Parsons, 2012)
The involved operators were chosen as their activity is representative of the True Commercial whale watching definition: trip duration is about 4–6 h, organized weekly, on board of big motorboats aimed at encountering cetaceans (Parsons et al, 2006)
Seventeen commercial activities (COM), four Research whale watching (RES) and eight ECO, for a total of 29 whale watching operators were found operating along the Italian coasts of the Pelagos Sanctuary and adjacent areas
Summary
Since the late 1990s, when whale-watching started in California, the whale watching industry has grown considerably worldwide (Hoyt and Parsons, 2012). Together with the increase of whale watching popularity and the consequent proliferation of vessels and tours, the interest in understanding and measuring its impacts has grown (Parsons, 2012). The impact of whale watching is measured either by considering the potential negative impact on the exploited cetacean population, or by considering the positive impact on the tourism sector and, when sustainable managed, by considering the positive impact on the species in term of conservation (Sitar et al, 2017). Potential negative impacts of whale watching activities have been reported to be derived from disturbance reasons, with consequent stress index increases and behavioral changes (Magalhaes et al, 1999; Erbe, 2002; Lusseau, 2006; Richter et al, 2006; Visser et al, 2011; Parsons, 2012; New et al, 2015). It has been demonstrated that whale-watching can be an effective tool to raise awareness about species conservation issues and to educate tourists on cetaceans’ ecology and threats, especially when the tourist experience is enriched by good environmental education (Lien, 2001; Lück, 2003; Stamation et al, 2007; Wearing et al, 2014; García-Cegarra and Pacheco, 2017; La Manna et al, 2020)
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