66
– Maintaining the long-term monitoring of visitor feedback, implementing specific
studies to evaluate visitor perception, educational value and attitudinal changes
(e.g. Needham et al. 2011; Bentz et al. 2015, 2016a, b)
– Implementing studies to assess the cumulative anthropogenic impacts of whalewatching and other human activities in the area (see Wright and Kyhn 2015)
– Revising the existing national whale-watching legislation to include: a reduced
observation time of up to 15 min for groups containing calves; a 300 m buffer
zone within which vessel speed must be gradually reduced and no sudden
changes of speed or direction must be made; make compulsory the presence of a
trained naturalist guide and the provision of interpretative information on whale
biology and conservation on all whale-watching operations; make compulsory
specific training for all staff involved in whale-watching activities
– Developing and implementing a Management and Public Use Plan for the North
Coast Continental Shelf PA, involving different stakeholders, such as NGO’s,
tourism operators, local community and government authorities. The Management
Plan, according to ordinance N° 117, must: determine the maximum number of
vessels allowed to operate simultaneously and the routes and speed these vessels
can operate in inside the PA. We also suggest the delimitation of areas where
whale-watching is allowed, taking into account where the activity is already in
place, such as Praia do Forte, and where it has potential to develop, and establishing closure areas to allow for long-term monitoring through control sites.
Additional management measures could include the use of specific boat and
engine types, as well as regular maintenance requirements, to reduce the amount
of noise around the whales
– Establishing a whale-watching operators association could improve the activity’s
self-regulation and promote shared management, with initiatives such as the
implementation of standard procedures and prices, permit and passenger sharing
to reduce the amount of vessels in the water when demand is below capacity and
the adoption of well-established certification schemes such as Blue Flag or
Whale Heritage Sites
– Implementing data collection in areas where the whale-watching activity can
potentially develop in the near future along the Brazilian coast, such as Vitoria/
ES, to obtain baseline data and to allow the observation of changes over time as
the activity develops (New et al. 2015)
3.9 Conclusions
In this study, we examined the current literature on the sustainable management of
whale-watching tourism and on tourism carrying capacity, in an attempt to assess
the whale-watching carrying capacity for Praia do Forte, northeastern Brazil. We
proposed an integrated framework to assess whale-watching carrying capacity, taking into account biological, social and economic factors, as well as management
considerations.
L. Fernandes and M.R. Rossi-Santos
– Maintaining the long-term monitoring of visitor feedback, implementing specific
studies to evaluate visitor perception, educational value and attitudinal changes
(e.g. Needham et al. 2011; Bentz et al. 2015, 2016a, b)
– Implementing studies to assess the cumulative anthropogenic impacts of whalewatching and other human activities in the area (see Wright and Kyhn 2015)
– Revising the existing national whale-watching legislation to include: a reduced
observation time of up to 15 min for groups containing calves; a 300 m buffer
zone within which vessel speed must be gradually reduced and no sudden
changes of speed or direction must be made; make compulsory the presence of a
trained naturalist guide and the provision of interpretative information on whale
biology and conservation on all whale-watching operations; make compulsory
specific training for all staff involved in whale-watching activities
– Developing and implementing a Management and Public Use Plan for the North
Coast Continental Shelf PA, involving different stakeholders, such as NGO’s,
tourism operators, local community and government authorities. The Management
Plan, according to ordinance N° 117, must: determine the maximum number of
vessels allowed to operate simultaneously and the routes and speed these vessels
can operate in inside the PA. We also suggest the delimitation of areas where
whale-watching is allowed, taking into account where the activity is already in
place, such as Praia do Forte, and where it has potential to develop, and establishing closure areas to allow for long-term monitoring through control sites.
Additional management measures could include the use of specific boat and
engine types, as well as regular maintenance requirements, to reduce the amount
of noise around the whales
– Establishing a whale-watching operators association could improve the activity’s
self-regulation and promote shared management, with initiatives such as the
implementation of standard procedures and prices, permit and passenger sharing
to reduce the amount of vessels in the water when demand is below capacity and
the adoption of well-established certification schemes such as Blue Flag or
Whale Heritage Sites
– Implementing data collection in areas where the whale-watching activity can
potentially develop in the near future along the Brazilian coast, such as Vitoria/
ES, to obtain baseline data and to allow the observation of changes over time as
the activity develops (New et al. 2015)
3.9 Conclusions
In this study, we examined the current literature on the sustainable management of
whale-watching tourism and on tourism carrying capacity, in an attempt to assess
the whale-watching carrying capacity for Praia do Forte, northeastern Brazil. We
proposed an integrated framework to assess whale-watching carrying capacity, taking into account biological, social and economic factors, as well as management
considerations.
L. Fernandes and M.R. Rossi-Santos