Boardings
BOARDING OF WHALE-WATCHING BOATS
Whale-watching, according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), is any tourist activity that provides the public with the opportunity to watch cetaceans in their natural habitat.
Whale-watching is one of the fastest growing tourist products in the world and Madeira is no exception. In fact, the demand keeps growing and currently in the region, it is estimated that the activity attracts about 60,000 tourists a year. Despite this growth, the activity is still a supplement to tourist sight-seeing cruises along the coast. But in the face of demand, the tour operators have been directing their attention to whale-watching, with 10 boats of various companies operating at the moment, one company being exclusively dedicated to this activity.
Besides generating socio-economic benefits, the whale-watching activity can also contribute to the conservation of these species, through the important role it can play in the education and raising of the general public's awareness to the conservation of cetaceans and the marine environment. The IWC recognised the activity as "contributing largely for the economy, education and scientific knowledge in several countries". However, there are also risks inherent in the activity that may even raise new challenges to the conservation of some cetacean populations. Marine mammals may react in a different way to the noise or other impacts of human presence, whether these impacts are transitory or medium and long-term, altering their behaviour and/or physiology. But they may also become used to them and/or simply ignore them. In the long run, the sum of the impacts may actually cause altered behaviour, lower success in predation, failure in reproduction, changes in social structure and even a change of habitat. The inference, then, is that the sustainability of the activity depends on the mitigation of the impacts on the cetaceans caused by the boats involved. Consequently, it is very important to assess and characterise the activity, in order to define a set of rules and measures that will help minimise the impacts.
With the goal of establishing operational areas for the whale-watching boats, and their corresponding carrying capacity, it is fundamental that an inventory be made of the number of boats involved in the activity, their areas of operation and corresponding duration. For this purpose, surveys will be carried out with the operators and on-board project observers, and records will be made of the efforts, routes, sightings and the time with the animals.
FISHING VESSELS (TUNA BOATS)
For the offshore waters, including the seamounts, there is little or no information on the impact of human activity on cetaceans. It is important that these distant waters, which are an important habitat for cetaceans, be taken into account in the assessment of the conservation status of cetaceans in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
For the surveillance of the conservation status of cetaceans in the offshore waters of the EEZ of Madeira fishing boats (primarily tuna boats) will be used as platforms of opportunity for observing cetaceans and human activities. The data gathered during the course of this action relate both to the cetaceans of different species and to the human activities in the offshore waters and their impact on the cetaceans and the marine environment. For example, data will be recorded on the number of animals in each sighting, the number of cetaceans observed, the impact of human activities (shipping traffic, bycatch, wastes, etc.) on the cetaceans and their habitat, and whether there is any interaction between the cetaceans and the fishing activities. The conservation status of cetaceans in the offshore waters will be determined according to the guidelines of the IUCN Red List guidelines (ICN 2005).
This action will be carried out between January 2010 and March 2012. Later, this action will be an integral part of the Permanent Cetacean Monitoring Programme in the Archipelago of Madeira.
Whale-watching, according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), is any tourist activity that provides the public with the opportunity to watch cetaceans in their natural habitat.
Whale-watching is one of the fastest growing tourist products in the world and Madeira is no exception. In fact, the demand keeps growing and currently in the region, it is estimated that the activity attracts about 60,000 tourists a year. Despite this growth, the activity is still a supplement to tourist sight-seeing cruises along the coast. But in the face of demand, the tour operators have been directing their attention to whale-watching, with 10 boats of various companies operating at the moment, one company being exclusively dedicated to this activity.
Besides generating socio-economic benefits, the whale-watching activity can also contribute to the conservation of these species, through the important role it can play in the education and raising of the general public's awareness to the conservation of cetaceans and the marine environment. The IWC recognised the activity as "contributing largely for the economy, education and scientific knowledge in several countries". However, there are also risks inherent in the activity that may even raise new challenges to the conservation of some cetacean populations. Marine mammals may react in a different way to the noise or other impacts of human presence, whether these impacts are transitory or medium and long-term, altering their behaviour and/or physiology. But they may also become used to them and/or simply ignore them. In the long run, the sum of the impacts may actually cause altered behaviour, lower success in predation, failure in reproduction, changes in social structure and even a change of habitat. The inference, then, is that the sustainability of the activity depends on the mitigation of the impacts on the cetaceans caused by the boats involved. Consequently, it is very important to assess and characterise the activity, in order to define a set of rules and measures that will help minimise the impacts.
With the goal of establishing operational areas for the whale-watching boats, and their corresponding carrying capacity, it is fundamental that an inventory be made of the number of boats involved in the activity, their areas of operation and corresponding duration. For this purpose, surveys will be carried out with the operators and on-board project observers, and records will be made of the efforts, routes, sightings and the time with the animals.
FISHING VESSELS (TUNA BOATS)
For the offshore waters, including the seamounts, there is little or no information on the impact of human activity on cetaceans. It is important that these distant waters, which are an important habitat for cetaceans, be taken into account in the assessment of the conservation status of cetaceans in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
For the surveillance of the conservation status of cetaceans in the offshore waters of the EEZ of Madeira fishing boats (primarily tuna boats) will be used as platforms of opportunity for observing cetaceans and human activities. The data gathered during the course of this action relate both to the cetaceans of different species and to the human activities in the offshore waters and their impact on the cetaceans and the marine environment. For example, data will be recorded on the number of animals in each sighting, the number of cetaceans observed, the impact of human activities (shipping traffic, bycatch, wastes, etc.) on the cetaceans and their habitat, and whether there is any interaction between the cetaceans and the fishing activities. The conservation status of cetaceans in the offshore waters will be determined according to the guidelines of the IUCN Red List guidelines (ICN 2005).
This action will be carried out between January 2010 and March 2012. Later, this action will be an integral part of the Permanent Cetacean Monitoring Programme in the Archipelago of Madeira.
Projecto executado por:
Projecto co-financiado por:
