The Socio-economic Impact Of The Dolphin Watching Industry In The Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area (KMMPA)
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphins, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, bottlenose dolphins | Date: Oct 29 2009 | By: gvikenya
The activity of dolphin (whale)-watching is described as “the commercial observation of cetaceans in their habitat from a platform on land, sea or air” (Hoyt 2001).
The dolphin-watching industry constitutes an emergent business in many coastal areas around the world and has seen spectacular growth over the last fifteen years. The industry began in the 1950’s in San Diego (California) and has since expanded as far as Antarctica. During the 1960’s, the industry grew significantly in the United States and Canada, followed by Australia, New Zealand, the Canary Islands, Japan and Norway in the 1980’s (Hoyt 1995, 1996) and, Iceland, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Tonga in the middle of 1990’s.
In 1998, the number of dolphin-watching tourists totalled around 9 million, estimating the volume of income generated to be 1 billion US Dollars, doubling the income in 1994 (Hoyt, 2001). In 1998, of those nine million participating in dolphin-watching trips, one million were from the United States alone. More recently, other countries and regions such as the Canary Islands and Canada have reached similar volumes. Australia and South Africa are expected to double their numbers from 500,000. (Hoyt, 2001)
This activity has been developed in more than 492 communities with the majority experiencing a real transformation. Dolphin-watching provides important incomes, creates new activities which generate new employment and moreover, constitutes a very useful tool to study marine mammals and marine environments.
Whale and dolphin watching have become an increasingly popular and financially important tourist activity along the East African coast. Currently, dolphin research and conservation efforts are being undertaken in Tanzania (Zanzibar) and Mozambique within the Sustainable Dolphin Tourism in East Africa Project. However, to date, few studies of cetaceans have been undertaken in Kenya and there is an urgent need to initiate research to aid future conservation and management of the species found in Kenyan coastal waters.
A bottlenose dolphin being watched by tourists in the KMMPA
Global Vision International (GVI) Kenya has set up a new project focused on the dolphin-watching activity of Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area (KMMPA). The objectives of this project are to collect information about the socio-economic impact of tourism operation on the area and to analyze the sustainability of increased levels of human-dolphin interaction. Further, to identify existing problems and to propose constructive changes to respective government institutions that would help boat operators, tour companies, and the local residents in running the activity sustainably. These objectives will in turn add value to the Code of Conduct for KMMPA, developed by Kenya Wildlife Service in 2007.
Aims:
1. Analysis of the socio-economic activity (dolphin-watching) in KMMPA.
2. Impact of tourist dhow boats on the cetacean population.
3. Education and awareness of boat operators and tour guides.
The data will be collected through interviews to tourist, boat operators, hoteliers and local community members in Mkwiro, Shimoni and Wasini. Also, GVI research vessel will assess the impact of this tourism investigating the abundance, distribution and behaviour of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). Moreover, we will compare sightings and behaviour on different areas and with different levels of tourism activity that will allow us to evaluate the Code of Conduct. And finally, GVI will create awareness and education of local dolphin species and habitats engaging the boat operators and tour guides in different projects so as to promote conservation issues.
References:
Hoyt, E. 1995. The Worldwide Value and Extent of Whale Watching: 1995. Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Bath, UK. pp. 1-36.
Hoyt, E. 1996. Whale watching and community development around the world. Keynote lecture to the International Whale Watching Festa ’96. The International Whale Watching Forum (Japan). Zamami, Okinawa, Japan, 9 Mar. 1996.
Hoyt, E. 2001. Whale watching 2001: Worldwide tourism numbers, expenditures and expanding socioeconomic benefits. International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth Port, MA, USA, pp. i –vi; 1-158.
Tags: , abundance, Antarctica, Australia, behaviour, boat operators, California, Canada, Canary Islands, cetaceans, coastal areas, code of conduct, commercial observation, conservation efforts, constructive changes, distribution, dolphin research, dolphin-watching, East African Coast, emergent business, financially important, generate new employment, Global Vision International, government institutions, habitat, Hong Kong, human-dolphin interaction, Iceland, important incomes, indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenyan coastal waters, local residents, marine environments, marine mammals, mkwiro, Mozambique, new activities, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, platform, real transformation, research vessel, San Diego, shimoni, socio-economic impact of tourism, South Africa, spectacular growth, sustainability, Sustainable Dolphin Tourism in East Africa Project, Tanzania, Tonga, tour companies, tourist activity, United States, useful tool, Wasini, whale watching, Zanzibar
Monitoring The Health Of Kenya’s Reefs
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphins, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kisite Mpunguti MPA, Reef fish research | Date: Aug 31 2009 | By: gvikenya
My name is Aaron. I am a conservation student from England. I have joined Global Vision International (GVI) as a conservation intern to gain experience in the marine biology field. I have been with GVI for 9 weeks with a further 11 weeks to go.
This week on Marine represented a new opportunity to expand GVI’s research in Kenya. The majority of GVI’s marine research has concentrated on monitoring tourist and fishing activity against dolphin behavior and abundance. Whilst this research has been, and continues to provide essential data to Kenya Wildlife Service, it is only focused on the effects to cetaceans.
Setting up the survey
This week we were able to begin monitoring reef fish abundance, with the intention of creating a long term data capture, similar to that of the dolphin surveys. This means that not only will we be able to see effects of tourism and fishing on dolphins, but we will also be able to see the effects on not only reef fish, but also coral reef habitats as the abundance of reef fish can indicate the health of reef habitats, which also act as feeding grounds for dolphins.
The way reef fish surveys are done is by sampling 5 random sections of coral reef habitats. Reef fish species and size are noted down. This gives a snapshot of the reef fish abundance at any one point in time and provides data on an exciting and important aspect of the marine ecology of Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area. It’s an honour to help set up this research and I am proud to be contributing to something that can make a real difference.
Survey training underway
Tags: abundance, cetaceans, coral, data capture, Dolphins, ecology, fishing, habitat, Kenya Wildlife Service, kisite mpunguti marine protected area, long term, marine, reef fish, surveys, tourists
Dugongs are back on Kenya’s south coast
Category: Cetacean research, Dolphins, Dugongs, Humpback whales | Date: Jan 18 2009 | By: gvikenya
Before we move completely in to a new and exciting of year of GVI and Kenya, some of our research and community development team have put together their highlights and memories of the end of last year to share. So, from the research boat, Bardan…
Not forgetting the beautiful humpback whales, including their calves, that we saw and blogged during our first couple of weeks on the marine research programme back in October, the rest was equally exciting. On many occasions we could count ourselves lucky enough to spend time in the wake of large groups of Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins… the coolest part though? Thanks to a lot of office time and more photographs of fins than we care to dwell on, we could recognise many of the dolphins and know them by name! Mothers, juveniles, calves all leaped from the water demonstrating elegance and playfulness in equal measure.
Indo-pacific humpback dolphins also put in an appearance but remarkably… and for the first time ever… the cetaceans (our whales and dolphins) were upstaged by another marine mammal. And one that we never truly, honestly expected to see, however much we had hoped. On 4th November 2008, our dedicated observers on board Bardan, whilst tracking bottlenose dolphins in to Funzi bay, recorded the first confirmed sighting of a dugong on Kenya’s south coast in the three years we have been here, and to our knowledge, in over a decade; none were recorded south of Mombasa in a 1998 aerial survey, whilst Kenya’s entire population, concentrated around the Lamu archipelago, could be down to single figures by now.
Tags: cetaceans, Dolphins, Dugong, Humpback whales, Kenya, marine research
-
100% of your donation, minus a small bank fee, will go to your intended purpose.
Donations made here are safe.
