Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka
February 20-21, 2012, BANGKOK, THAILAND Blue whales inhabit the coastal waters off southern Sri Lanka throughout the year, due to a narrow continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed o...
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ftkyotouniv:oai:repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp:2433/176191 2023-05-15T15:36:23+02:00 Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka ILANGAKOON, ANOUKCHIKA D. 2013-03 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2433/176191 https://doi.org/10.14989/176191 eng eng Kyoto University Design School http://hdl.handle.net/2433/176191 PROCEEDINGS of the Design Symposium on Conservation of Ecosystem (2013) (The 12th SEASTAR2000 workshop) 45 50 doi:10.14989/176191 blue whale unregulated whale-watching displacement impact mitigation Conference Paper 2013 ftkyotouniv https://doi.org/10.14989/176191 2017-10-28T22:45:00Z February 20-21, 2012, BANGKOK, THAILAND Blue whales inhabit the coastal waters off southern Sri Lanka throughout the year, due to a narrow continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the subspecies status and genetic affinities of this northern Indian Ocean population is not well understood. Since 2009 a rapidly expanding, boat-based, commercial whale-watching industry has developed off the south coast, but remains unregulated due to the non-existence of national regulations or codes of conduct. As a result, unethical practices are leading to harassment of the targeted whales. Comparison of sightings data from before and after whale-watching began, shows a shift in the area of occurrence and concentration of whales. Simultaneously there is an increase in the number of stranding and vessel collision related mortality. These factors indicate that current whalewatching practices are displacing whales from their preferred feeding areas and inadvertently pushing them offshore into the shipping lane, causing an increase in fatal vessel collisions. It is recommended that a precautionary principal is followed and whale-watching activities are regulated as a priority, in order to mitigate any adverse impacts. Conference Object Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Kyoto University Research Information Repository (KURENAI) Indian |
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Kyoto University Research Information Repository (KURENAI) |
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English |
topic |
blue whale unregulated whale-watching displacement impact mitigation |
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blue whale unregulated whale-watching displacement impact mitigation ILANGAKOON, ANOUKCHIKA D. Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
topic_facet |
blue whale unregulated whale-watching displacement impact mitigation |
description |
February 20-21, 2012, BANGKOK, THAILAND Blue whales inhabit the coastal waters off southern Sri Lanka throughout the year, due to a narrow continental shelf and upwelling, related feeding opportunities. A busy, international shipping lane also lies off the south coast. While blue whales are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the subspecies status and genetic affinities of this northern Indian Ocean population is not well understood. Since 2009 a rapidly expanding, boat-based, commercial whale-watching industry has developed off the south coast, but remains unregulated due to the non-existence of national regulations or codes of conduct. As a result, unethical practices are leading to harassment of the targeted whales. Comparison of sightings data from before and after whale-watching began, shows a shift in the area of occurrence and concentration of whales. Simultaneously there is an increase in the number of stranding and vessel collision related mortality. These factors indicate that current whalewatching practices are displacing whales from their preferred feeding areas and inadvertently pushing them offshore into the shipping lane, causing an increase in fatal vessel collisions. It is recommended that a precautionary principal is followed and whale-watching activities are regulated as a priority, in order to mitigate any adverse impacts. |
format |
Conference Object |
author |
ILANGAKOON, ANOUKCHIKA D. |
author_facet |
ILANGAKOON, ANOUKCHIKA D. |
author_sort |
ILANGAKOON, ANOUKCHIKA D. |
title |
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
title_short |
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
title_full |
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of Whale-Watching on Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off Southern Sri Lanka |
title_sort |
impacts of whale-watching on blue whales (balaenoptera musculus) off southern sri lanka |
publisher |
Kyoto University Design School |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2433/176191 https://doi.org/10.14989/176191 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/2433/176191 PROCEEDINGS of the Design Symposium on Conservation of Ecosystem (2013) (The 12th SEASTAR2000 workshop) 45 50 doi:10.14989/176191 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14989/176191 |
_version_ |
1766366728824029184 |