Scientific Literature: Searchable Database

During June and August 2018 I was funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to travel to South Africa and Canada to discuss ways of reducing and preventing marine mammal disturbance from commercial wildlife watching vessels and from marine recreational activities. I met with government officials and advisors, whale watch operators, researchers and non-governmental organisations, providing both a national perspective and a local / regional perspective of what is undertaken in both countries, what works, or does not work and what is considered best practice........Overall, I concluded that regulations are essential. Regulations are clear and unambiguous in terms of what is allowed or not and make codes of conduct enforceable and standardised. I also came to the conclusion that permitting (i.e. the issuing of licences) works. It can provide a control on the number of vessels allowed in an area and / or the number of hours spent with animals, to ensure wildlife watching is sustainable and again it provides clarity on what is allowed. Permitting also provides an opportunity to collect scientific data, allows mandatory training of whale watch skippers and guides, and can provide education to the general public as part of permit conditions. However, enforcement is essential, otherwise there is little point in implementing regulations or permitting. Enforcement does require resourcing (which will be a challenge), but it can be done and both South Africa and Canada provided different options for how and what could be undertaken. Monitoring of disturbance incidents is also important as it allows the scale and changing nature of disturbance to be recorded. Education was more significant than I realised, both for skippers and guides as well as for the general public. Signage can raise awareness of regulations and permit conditions in terms of approach distances and what is allowed as well as provide details of a disturbance hotline number. Visitor education can also be a good enforcement and compliance tool. There are benefits to having national and / or regional whale watch associations: a single coordinated voice to government to communicate concerns and facilitate compliance and the positive impacts of sustainable wildlife watching. A world-wide whale watch association could also be useful in terms of consistent branding of responsible whale watching, providing it can be auditable. There were various other initiatives I discovered, which could be looked at in the UK to help reduce marine wildlife disturbance, including Blue Flag accreditation for responsible boat operators, information on dealing with drone usage and initiatives run by the Port of Vancouver. I have made 25 recommendations in six broad themes and hope that further discussions can be undertaken in the UK to implement some of the following options: Legislation and Regulations 1. The development of an English and Welsh national code of conduct to sit alongside the Scottish national code. An overarching code of conduct will provide consistent measures, which can be developed into regulations. 2. Regulations should be implemented in the UK, allowing enforcement of certain measures which currently only exist within voluntary codes of conduct. Such measures could include determination of maximum approach distances, maximum number of vessels, vessel speeds within certain distances of animals and maximum time to be spent with a group of animals. 3. WiSe training (a voluntary UK training and accreditation to minimise disturbance to marine wildlife) should be mandatory within any developed regulations for both commercial wildlife watching and for companies providing recreational activities / facilities. 4. A review and watching brief should be undertaken on any critical areas of habitat for UK marine mammal species that could be protected via MPAs, to further manage and reduce disturbance in key areas. Permitting 5. Review whether permitting is required on a UK or area specific basis. 6. Should permitting be taken forward, ensure WiSe training is mandatory and visitor education on board vessels is provided. 7. Should permitting be taken forward, ensure there is a mechanism to gather scientific data (independent and operator collected), including submission via an online portal or app. Discussions will be required to ensure data answers relevant questions (i.e. concerning enforcement, management and / or ecology). 8. Establish a UK commercial whale watching operators database. Enforcement 9. Establish a centralised UK hotline number to document and collate occurrences and locations of disturbance. Clear guidance to be developed on what information is required, and training and links created with the UK Wildlife Crime Unit. Appropriate signage and flyers required to publicise the hotline. 10. Early engagement with regulatory authorities in the UK in charge of enforcement to develop deliverable / realistic enforcement and monitoring options. 11. Enforcement via ‘Mystery Shopper’ visits, possibly in association with WiSe training. 12. Clear framework of enforcement process with outline of possible penalties. 13. Development of regional social media groups to allow communities to engage and be an integral part of marine mammal protection and conservation. Education 14. Training (including refresher courses) for marine wildlife guides and skippers should be accessible, mandatory and needs to include how to guide. I.e. when to speak and the most important information to impart. 15. If permitting is taken forward, scientific data collection should be mandatory, and there should be training on why it is important, and how to collect and log the data. 16. The RYA skippers training should add an additional training module on marine mammals / wildlife, the legislation that protects them and how best to behave to prevent disturbance (which could be developed in association with the RYA Green Blue guide for boaters or WiSe). 17. Engagement with the tourism industry / association to become involved in education and promoting best practice (e.g. promoting companies which have trained skippers and / or guides and / or those operations which support conservation and science. 18. Clear and consistent signage to be developed. Signage should align with any developing code of conduct. Work with government, regulators and other stakeholders to develop a ‘brand’ that the general public will recognise. 19. Develop a review platform / system such as Trip Advisor. 20. Develop a phone app that tells the general public about marine mammals, regulations and codes of conduct. Whale Watch Associations 21. Investigate the development of whale watch associations regionally or UK wide, and look at funding options to help their development and maintenance. 22. Work with the World Cetacean Alliance to increase their visibility in the UK. Other Initiatives 23. Investigate the implementation of Blue Flag accreditation for wildlife watching operators and recreational activities under their ‘sustainable boating tourism operators’ accreditation. 24. Investigate the need for specific drone regulations, guidance or operating standards around wildlife. 25. Keep up to date with the ECHO and Green Marine Programs. Investigate implementation of aspects of these programs in the UK.