By Rajith Savanadasa
There have been complaints from many local and foreign tourists about whale-watching tour operators competing to provide more thrills to customers, becoming a danger to the mammals. Witnesses say boats leaving the southern coastal towns like Galle and Mirissa, especially small motor-boats, are the main offenders.
They venture past the recommended 100 metre radius from the whales, some closing in to almost 20 metres. Often there are at least seven or eight boats encircling, some crossing the path of the animals, revving their noisy engines as they give chase. Last week an over-eager French tourist leapt into the water in an attempt to swim with the whales.
The international Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) recommends that boats minimize speed; avoid sudden turns; minimize noise; do not pursue, encircle or come in between whales; approach animals from angles where they will not be taken by surprise; minimize number of boats at any one time/per day; do not coerce dolphins into bow-riding and do not allow swimming with whales and dolphins. According to witnesses, these rules are ignored by a majority of the tour operators.
Officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation said they had formulated a set of regulations and presented it for ministry approval in 2010. They had since, resubmitted those proposals when the department was reassigned under the minister for Agrarian Services and Wildlife, S.M. Chandrasena. No action had been taken as yet.
Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena said that whales were sensitive creatures and when human interference occurs there was a high probability their migration patterns, breeding cycles and behavior might change. If it continued unregulated the whale watching attraction and industry could be irretrievably lost.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=42944
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