Social and Economic Aspects of Sea Turtle Conservation
371
their understanding of the issue by conducting a thorough contingent valuation
study. Contingent valuation studies have been criticized for creating the very
values they attempt to measure, by forcing respondents to consider issues for
which they previously might have had no opinions (Hannemann, 1944). Despite
these criticisms, they could be a promising direction of future research if such
studies are conducted properly.
In the final analysis, it may be simple economics and fisheries stock population
dynamics rather than the activities of conservationists that have the most positive
results on sea turtle populations. If present trends continue, at some point within the
next 30 years, aquaculture operations will be providing more than half of all the fish
consumed globally as capture fisheries continue to decline in importance (FAO,
2000). It remains to be seen whether the impact of aquaculture operations on coastal
ecosystems (Masood, 1997) will offset any potential benefits that accrue to sea turtles
from reduced incidental capture rates in marine fisheries.
14.8.3 M ANAGING E COTOURISM
Sea turtles lend themselves well to being watched, and in this admiration, there is
an economic enterprise. The enterprise known as ecotourism can include sea turtles
when visitors huddle around a female turtle on a beach to closely watch her nesting
behavior, when tourists watch groups of hatchlings scrambling from nest to sea, or
when boat or diving tours bring people within sight of turtles in the water.
A definition for ecotourism offered by Ceballos-Lascurain (1996) restricts this
activity to “environmentally responsible, enlightening travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature ... that
promotes conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active
socio-economic involvement of local populations.” The stipulations to this definition
are structured to exclude entertainment activities that may harm the resource or are
of little or no benefit to the resource’s local stewards. Effects from tourism on sea
turtle nesting are harmful when recreational equipment and visitation interferes with
nesting (Arianoutsou, 1988), and when the lighting of tourist accommodations
discourages nesting (Witherington, 1992) or misdirects hatchlings (Witherington,
1997). In many ecotourism enterprises, especially those in rural areas, there is a
tendency for ecotourism revenue to leave with outside operators rather than remain
in the local community (Campbell, 1999).
Although sea turtle ecotours are likely to vary in the degree to which they
adhere to these stipulations, some of these enterprises are monitored. Guided
nightly, nesting turtle watch programs at Tortuguero, Costa Rica (Jacobson and
Robles, 1992), at Mon Repos, Queensland, Australia (Tisdell and Wilson, 2001b),
and on Florida beaches (Johnson et al., 1996a) have been monitored by governmental or nongovernmental organizations to determine whether the conduct of the
participants and the content of the educational program is in keeping with a conservation-based program. In the cases of green turtles watched at Tortuguero (Jacobson and Lopez, 1994) and of loggerheads watched in Florida (Johnson et al., 1996b),
there has also been an assessment of the turtle’s response to all this attention. Effects
range from subtle changes in the time turtles spend nesting (Johnson et al., 1996b)
1123 book.book Page 371 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM
371
their understanding of the issue by conducting a thorough contingent valuation
study. Contingent valuation studies have been criticized for creating the very
values they attempt to measure, by forcing respondents to consider issues for
which they previously might have had no opinions (Hannemann, 1944). Despite
these criticisms, they could be a promising direction of future research if such
studies are conducted properly.
In the final analysis, it may be simple economics and fisheries stock population
dynamics rather than the activities of conservationists that have the most positive
results on sea turtle populations. If present trends continue, at some point within the
next 30 years, aquaculture operations will be providing more than half of all the fish
consumed globally as capture fisheries continue to decline in importance (FAO,
2000). It remains to be seen whether the impact of aquaculture operations on coastal
ecosystems (Masood, 1997) will offset any potential benefits that accrue to sea turtles
from reduced incidental capture rates in marine fisheries.
14.8.3 M ANAGING E COTOURISM
Sea turtles lend themselves well to being watched, and in this admiration, there is
an economic enterprise. The enterprise known as ecotourism can include sea turtles
when visitors huddle around a female turtle on a beach to closely watch her nesting
behavior, when tourists watch groups of hatchlings scrambling from nest to sea, or
when boat or diving tours bring people within sight of turtles in the water.
A definition for ecotourism offered by Ceballos-Lascurain (1996) restricts this
activity to “environmentally responsible, enlightening travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature ... that
promotes conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active
socio-economic involvement of local populations.” The stipulations to this definition
are structured to exclude entertainment activities that may harm the resource or are
of little or no benefit to the resource’s local stewards. Effects from tourism on sea
turtle nesting are harmful when recreational equipment and visitation interferes with
nesting (Arianoutsou, 1988), and when the lighting of tourist accommodations
discourages nesting (Witherington, 1992) or misdirects hatchlings (Witherington,
1997). In many ecotourism enterprises, especially those in rural areas, there is a
tendency for ecotourism revenue to leave with outside operators rather than remain
in the local community (Campbell, 1999).
Although sea turtle ecotours are likely to vary in the degree to which they
adhere to these stipulations, some of these enterprises are monitored. Guided
nightly, nesting turtle watch programs at Tortuguero, Costa Rica (Jacobson and
Robles, 1992), at Mon Repos, Queensland, Australia (Tisdell and Wilson, 2001b),
and on Florida beaches (Johnson et al., 1996a) have been monitored by governmental or nongovernmental organizations to determine whether the conduct of the
participants and the content of the educational program is in keeping with a conservation-based program. In the cases of green turtles watched at Tortuguero (Jacobson and Lopez, 1994) and of loggerheads watched in Florida (Johnson et al., 1996b),
there has also been an assessment of the turtle’s response to all this attention. Effects
range from subtle changes in the time turtles spend nesting (Johnson et al., 1996b)
1123 book.book Page 371 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM