Source: Andrew Parker
The Hunter's whale and dolphin watching tourism industry is under threat due to new legislation and rules that have been introduced by the NSW national parks and wildlife's service.
Our coastline abounds with dolphins and for a large part of the year we play host to quite significant traffic as whales migrate up and down our coastline for two thirds of the year. As they enter our territorial waters NPWS are charged with the protection of these mammals and quite sensibly we have developed protocol and rules for watching whales and dolphins. The fact that whales for the most part are traveling through our area and do not stay around for lengthy periods (unless they do) makes it pretty easy for operators of whale watch vessels to keep a decent distance and because of their immense size (up to 60 tonnes and 60 feet long) still have an exciting encounter that many of us pay operators to experience.
Now we come to the dolphins. Most of us in Newcastle have at least seen the dolphins that live in and around our local beaches. If you surf like I do then more than likely you have had an extremely close encounter. The pod that frequents Merewether is exceptionally cheeky and playful and I have personally witnessed surfers (myself included) being surrounded and even used as a hurdle and jumped over. The new approach distances state that you must be 150 metres from a dolphin if they have a calf and that you must not enter the water if there are dolphins and leave the water if a dolphin approaches you. There are quite hefty fines wielded by NPWS of up to $250,000 for those who breach this attempt to separate two intelligent species from interacting.
Now honestly I can't see NPWS ever fining a surfer or swimmer for being in the water with a dolphin though what about those of us who can't swim and who have disabilities that prevent us from surfing or swimming in surf? What about the tourism industry that brings tens of thousands of people to Newcastle and Port Stephens and millions of dollars to the local economy every year? With many of those visitors who wish to simply view a dolphin. This legislation brought in with arguably the best intention for cetaceans IE supposedly to protect dolphins from boats has effectively knee-capped our dolphin watch industry. A local industry that has set the standard for eco-tourism over the past 10 years. 150 metres is a long way for a small mammal such as a dolphin and to put it in context 150 metres is one and a half football fields!
Dolphins approach boats! Anyone who has a boat or has been on a boat knows this. The new legislation says that if a dolphin approaches your boat you must move away. What next? Hit them with a stick? We are talking about extremely intelligent mammals here. We are talking about highly evolved lifeforms that are sentient, that means they know who they are and quite possibly who we are. They can move with great speed, hold their breath for up to 16 minutes, navigate in complete darkness with highly evolved and adapted bio-sonar, they have their own language and can talk to each other and they don't do anything they don't want to do for they are free, in open ocean. How will we keep them away? Why should we even consider trying?
Lets take the busiest dolphin watching port in Australia Port Stephens for example. There are 10 licensed dolphin watch boats in this Port. All adhering to a strict code of ethics, self imposed limits on their activities, actively supporting government initiatives like the marine park who have now been effectively shut out of an area they have supported and grown. Now I am not saying that there is no pressure on the dolphins, there is. Though it is not through approach distances, it is boat traffic. High speed private vessels moving through areas that are frequented by dolphins at times that dolphins are feeding or resting are more likely the culprits of recent mortalities in the local population. Not the slow moving and careful tour operators. Increased traffic in our waterways, expanded business interests and unexperienced maritime vessel pilots and acoustic pollution are main causes of stress for dolphins in bays. Once you get outside into oceanic populations there are few if any threats, save large predators and pod numbers are in the thousands. Yet the same rules apply even in open ocean! No approaching dolphins, viewing only at 150 metres when calf's are around.
I say these laws are unworkable. I say that the science they are using is incomplete and lacks objective comparative data. Even the scientists own papers state that in the case of Port Stephens it is not the approach distances that are the issue though the number of operators that work the waters. Yet a cap on operators was rejected. I wonder what underlying issues are at play here. I have studied whale and dolphin behavior for over 10 years now. I have swam in various locations around the world with dolphins and whales. I have observed and studied how operators who are licensed to swim with dolphins do their job in various locations around the world and I tell you that the operators in Port Stephens have a great respect for the dolphins and whales and are to be worked with not against.
It seems that Port Stephens is the first place the this legislation is to be tested.
Andrew Parker owns and operates DolphCom Solutions. Broughton island dolphin adventures and I enjoy taking people to meet with and swim with whales and dolphins both locally and internationally. I invite comments on this article! Images of dolphins courtesy of Imagine Cruises Frank Future
