Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales

a b s t r a c t Tongans have a long history of interaction with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) ranging from imbuing whales with religious and cultural significance to commercial exploitation, originally through hunting and later through whale watching and swimming activities. Excessive com...

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Main Authors: Megan Kessler, Robert Harcourt
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1054.7384
http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf
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spelling ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.1054.7384 2023-05-15T17:10:51+02:00 Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales Megan Kessler Robert Harcourt The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 2012 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1054.7384 http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1054.7384 http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf text 2012 ftciteseerx 2020-04-12T00:20:22Z a b s t r a c t Tongans have a long history of interaction with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) ranging from imbuing whales with religious and cultural significance to commercial exploitation, originally through hunting and later through whale watching and swimming activities. Excessive commercial harvesting, mostly outside of Tongan waters, means that the number of humpback whales in the Oceania region remains low despite a ban on commercial harvesting since 1978. Concurrently, the opportunity for fee paying tourists to swim with this endangered population is a significant source of income for the Kingdom of Tonga. The Ha'apai island group has until recently experienced only a low density of whale focused tourism compared to the Vava'u island group, but it is showing signs of significant expansion. Photographs of the animals using the Ha'apai region identified a maximum of 331 unique individuals over the period 2006-2010, which generated 26 resightings of 22 individuals. In light of the low whale numbers and the industry expansion it is an appropriate time to implement a precautionary management system in the region. This is particularly important if, as suggested here, individual humpback whales are moving through all Tongan waters meaning management changes in one area impact on the entire population. Options to minimise the impact on these animals include limiting the number of licences issued for Ha'apai and zoning activities to ensure that there are areas closed to whale watching/swimming that can act as a refuge for the animals. Text Megaptera novaeangliae Unknown Tonga ENVELOPE(7.990,7.990,63.065,63.065)
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description a b s t r a c t Tongans have a long history of interaction with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) ranging from imbuing whales with religious and cultural significance to commercial exploitation, originally through hunting and later through whale watching and swimming activities. Excessive commercial harvesting, mostly outside of Tongan waters, means that the number of humpback whales in the Oceania region remains low despite a ban on commercial harvesting since 1978. Concurrently, the opportunity for fee paying tourists to swim with this endangered population is a significant source of income for the Kingdom of Tonga. The Ha'apai island group has until recently experienced only a low density of whale focused tourism compared to the Vava'u island group, but it is showing signs of significant expansion. Photographs of the animals using the Ha'apai region identified a maximum of 331 unique individuals over the period 2006-2010, which generated 26 resightings of 22 individuals. In light of the low whale numbers and the industry expansion it is an appropriate time to implement a precautionary management system in the region. This is particularly important if, as suggested here, individual humpback whales are moving through all Tongan waters meaning management changes in one area impact on the entire population. Options to minimise the impact on these animals include limiting the number of licences issued for Ha'apai and zoning activities to ensure that there are areas closed to whale watching/swimming that can act as a refuge for the animals.
author2 The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
format Text
author Megan Kessler
Robert Harcourt
spellingShingle Megan Kessler
Robert Harcourt
Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
author_facet Megan Kessler
Robert Harcourt
author_sort Megan Kessler
title Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
title_short Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
title_full Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
title_fullStr Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
title_full_unstemmed Management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
title_sort management implications for the changing interactions between people and whales
publishDate 2012
url http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1054.7384
http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf
long_lat ENVELOPE(7.990,7.990,63.065,63.065)
geographic Tonga
geographic_facet Tonga
genre Megaptera novaeangliae
genre_facet Megaptera novaeangliae
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op_relation http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1054.7384
http://www.otionos.com/uploads/1/4/7/4/14743660/humpback_interactions-_tonga.pdf
op_rights Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it.
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