Impact of whale-watching on Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) in Patagonia: assessing the effects from its beginnings in the context of population growth

ARIAS, MAGDALENA; COSCARELLA, MARIANO; ROMERO, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; SVENDSEN, GUILLERMO; OCAMPO REINALDO, MATÍAS; CURCIO, NADIA; CRESPO, ENRIQUE; GONZÁLEZ, RAÚL

TOURISM MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018 vol. 27 p. 1 - 9

2211-9736

Whale-watching (WW) is a growing industry around the world. By 2006,Argentina had the largest number of whale watchers in Latin America and most ofthese came to Patagonia (Argentina). The WW activities are mainly carried out onSouthern Right Whale Eubalaena australis, that every year migrates from theirsummer feeding grounds to the coasts of continents and islands, mainly to mate andcalve. The presence of whales in the northwest area of San Matías Gulf andwithin the San Antonio Bay Marine Protected Area (SABMPA) during winter andearly spring has become frequent enough to set since 2012 an experimentalprogram of WW tourism, designed and implemented according to the current legalframework and enforced by the Environment and Sustainable Development Secretary(SAyDS) of the Río Negro Province. The aims of this study were toconduct a comprehensive assessment of WW activity from its inception phase in anew area of distribution of SRW, evaluating the potential effects of theactivity on the colonizing groups. We provide an overview of the developmentand characteristics of the tourism activity from the beginning and its changesover the time, describing WW operations in SABMPA and the short-term reactionof SRW to WW vessels.