67
By analysing the whale-watching industry in Praia do Forte under the light of
this integrated framework, we concluded that: whale-watching in Praia do Forte is
currently a low-impact activity, with no evident deleterious biological effects on the
target population. It is economically viable and produces income and jobs for the
local community. It has educational value and visitor satisfaction levels are high.
However, there is a lack of involvement from the government authorities in the
management and enforcement of this activity, which relies mostly on self-regulation
and on the collaboration with a non-governmental organisation for its management.
Although we currently lack all necessary information to establish its carrying capacity, we make recommendations to improve our understanding of the impacts of this
activity and its sustainable management in this locality and suggest limiting it to its
current level until more data and management capacity become available.
Acknowledgements This paper is part of the first author’s Master’s degree in Ecology Applied to
Environmental Management at Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. We are most grateful to the entire Instituto Baleia Jubarte team, especially to Sergio Cipolotti and Márcia Engel, for
her support and encouragement. We are grateful to Milton Marcondes, José Truda Palazzo and
David Lusseau for constructive conversations. We thank Guilherme Maurutto for his help with the
map and Enrico Marcovaldi for the use of his photographs. We are grateful to PETROBRAS for
the continued financial support of Projeto Baleia Jubarte.
References
Ahn BY, Lee B, Shafer CS (2002) Operationalizing sustainability in regional tourism planning: an
application of the limits of acceptable change framework. Tour Manag 23:1–15. doi:10.1016/
S0261-5177(01)00059-0
Allen S, Smith H, Waples K, Harcourt R (2007) The voluntary code of conduct for dolphin watching in Port Stephens, Australia: is self-regulation an effective management tool? J Cetacean
Res Manage 9:159–166
Andriolo A, Kinas PG, Engel MH, Martins CCA (2006) Monitoring humpback whale (Megaptera
novaeangliae) population in the Brazilian breeding ground, 2002 to 2005. International
Whaling Commission Saint Kitts paper present to Int Whal Comm Sci Comm SC/58/SH15
1–12
Andriolo A, Kinas PG, Engel MH et al (2010) Humpback whales within the Brazilian breeding ground: distribution and population size estimate. Endanger Species Res 11:233–243.
doi:10.3354/esr00282
Au WWL, Green M (2000) Acoustic interaction of humpback whales and whale-watching boats.
Mar Environ Res 49:469–481
Avila IC, Correa LM, Parsons ECM (2015) Whale-watching activity in Bahía Málaga, on the
Pacific coast of Colombia, and its effect on humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) behavior. Tour Mar Environ 11:19–32. doi:10.3727/154427315X14398263718394
Avila-Foucat VS, Sánchez Vargas A, Frisch Jordan A, Ramírez Flores OM (2013) The impact of
vessel crowding on the probability of tourists returning to whale watching in Banderas Bay,
Mexico. Ocean Coast Manag 78:12–17. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2013.03.002
Baker CS, Herman LM (1989) Behavioral responses of summering humpback whales to vessel
traffic: experimental and opportunistic observations. Alaska, USA
Baracho CG, Cipolotti SR, Lima F, et al (2006) Resultados preliminares sobre o estudo de fotoidentificação da baleia jubarte (Megaptera novaeangliae) no litoral norte do estado da Bahia,
3 An Integrated Framework to Assess the Carrying Capacity…
By analysing the whale-watching industry in Praia do Forte under the light of
this integrated framework, we concluded that: whale-watching in Praia do Forte is
currently a low-impact activity, with no evident deleterious biological effects on the
target population. It is economically viable and produces income and jobs for the
local community. It has educational value and visitor satisfaction levels are high.
However, there is a lack of involvement from the government authorities in the
management and enforcement of this activity, which relies mostly on self-regulation
and on the collaboration with a non-governmental organisation for its management.
Although we currently lack all necessary information to establish its carrying capacity, we make recommendations to improve our understanding of the impacts of this
activity and its sustainable management in this locality and suggest limiting it to its
current level until more data and management capacity become available.
Acknowledgements This paper is part of the first author’s Master’s degree in Ecology Applied to
Environmental Management at Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. We are most grateful to the entire Instituto Baleia Jubarte team, especially to Sergio Cipolotti and Márcia Engel, for
her support and encouragement. We are grateful to Milton Marcondes, José Truda Palazzo and
David Lusseau for constructive conversations. We thank Guilherme Maurutto for his help with the
map and Enrico Marcovaldi for the use of his photographs. We are grateful to PETROBRAS for
the continued financial support of Projeto Baleia Jubarte.
References
Ahn BY, Lee B, Shafer CS (2002) Operationalizing sustainability in regional tourism planning: an
application of the limits of acceptable change framework. Tour Manag 23:1–15. doi:10.1016/
S0261-5177(01)00059-0
Allen S, Smith H, Waples K, Harcourt R (2007) The voluntary code of conduct for dolphin watching in Port Stephens, Australia: is self-regulation an effective management tool? J Cetacean
Res Manage 9:159–166
Andriolo A, Kinas PG, Engel MH, Martins CCA (2006) Monitoring humpback whale (Megaptera
novaeangliae) population in the Brazilian breeding ground, 2002 to 2005. International
Whaling Commission Saint Kitts paper present to Int Whal Comm Sci Comm SC/58/SH15
1–12
Andriolo A, Kinas PG, Engel MH et al (2010) Humpback whales within the Brazilian breeding ground: distribution and population size estimate. Endanger Species Res 11:233–243.
doi:10.3354/esr00282
Au WWL, Green M (2000) Acoustic interaction of humpback whales and whale-watching boats.
Mar Environ Res 49:469–481
Avila IC, Correa LM, Parsons ECM (2015) Whale-watching activity in Bahía Málaga, on the
Pacific coast of Colombia, and its effect on humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) behavior. Tour Mar Environ 11:19–32. doi:10.3727/154427315X14398263718394
Avila-Foucat VS, Sánchez Vargas A, Frisch Jordan A, Ramírez Flores OM (2013) The impact of
vessel crowding on the probability of tourists returning to whale watching in Banderas Bay,
Mexico. Ocean Coast Manag 78:12–17. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2013.03.002
Baker CS, Herman LM (1989) Behavioral responses of summering humpback whales to vessel
traffic: experimental and opportunistic observations. Alaska, USA
Baracho CG, Cipolotti SR, Lima F, et al (2006) Resultados preliminares sobre o estudo de fotoidentificação da baleia jubarte (Megaptera novaeangliae) no litoral norte do estado da Bahia,
3 An Integrated Framework to Assess the Carrying Capacity…