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Imagine … eco-tourists enjoying views of undisturbed whales and dolphins, watching them doing what comes naturally.

This is ultimately what we all wish to see when spending time in nature watching animals. We can achieve this by using quieter boats.

But why do we need quieter boats? Whales and dolphins primarily use hearing to sense their surroundings (rather than sight like humans do). Sound travels almost five times faster underwater than it does in the air, so it’s an important sense for whales. They rely on sounds to communicate, navigate, feed and detect predators.

Our new research confirms noise from a boat watching whales at a distance of 300 metres can still disturb them. And watching whales involves a lot of boats and millions of tourists each year. This multi-billion-dollar industry is active in waters off more than 100 countries. The Australian whale-watching industry is one of the biggest in the world.

Because the industry actively seeks out whales and dolphins, using quieter boats should be a priority. Yet current whale-watching guidelines, including Australia’s, do not include noise levels. They should.

As the whale-watching season begins in Australia for humpback whales and southern right whales, we offer tips here for individual operators to reduce noise from their boats.

How does noise affect whales and dolphins?

Besides income for local communities, whale watching has education and conservation benefits if tourists are inspired to care for the environment.

Despite these benefits, watching whales from a motorised boat and swimming with whales can disturb their natural behaviour. For example, it might prevent them from resting or feeding, or change their breathing, swimming and dive patterns. These impacts are especially important for whales with young.

If the cumulative effects of these short-term impacts are not considered, they can lead to long-term consequences for the animals, such as population declines or leaving an area altogether.

Such outcomes are not only negative for the animals, but also for the whale-watching industry that depends on them.

Whale-watching guidelines overlook noise impacts

Many countries have guidelines on the boat’s minimum distance from the animals (typically around 100 metres), the speed at which it passes (typically below wake speed) and the approaching angle (typically from the side-rear). Guidelines, however, do not consider the noise level of the boat’s engine. A very loud boat is, in effect, considered to have the same impact on the animals as a very quiet boat.

Research confirms louder boat noise disturbs whales more than quiet boat noise. Boats should be as quiet as possible.

We recommend a noise threshold be added to whale-watching regulations, ideally around the volume of the natural underwater background noise. At this level, boat noise is perhaps audible to the whales but with a low perceived loudness. This change to the guidelines will help minimise disturbance to whales and dolphins.

You can see how humpback whales change their behaviour in response to low, medium and high underwater boat noise in this video from our study.

What do whale-watching boats sound like underwater?

A range of different boats are used for whale watching worldwide. We have calculated the underwater noise level of whale-watching boats operating at low speeds. The quietest boat was a hybrid boat using its electric engines.

The vessel with the quieter electric engines was later used in an experiment with short-finned pilot whales. This study compared the whales’ responses to the boat’s quieter electric engines and its louder petrol engines.

What was the result? The louder engines did indeed disturb the behaviour of short-finned pilot whales compared to the quieter engines. Notably, resting and nursing of young decreased.

Ultimately, some vessels are better designed to minimise noise emissions.

Noise when arriving and departing matters too

Having a quiet boat will reduce the disturbance to animals. However, even when a whale-watch operator adheres to current best-practice guidelines, there may still be disturbance.

This is because as a vessel increases in speed to leave the whales, it produces higher underwater noise levels. Our research shows this is likely to disturb whales. So we recommend boats maintain a slow speed when approaching and departing whales – say, less than 10 knots within 1km of the whales.

We know it is exciting to zoom off towards a breaching whale, leaving a sleeping whale behind, but the sudden increase in boat speed and noise may then disturb that sleeping whale.

5 tips to reduce boat noise

On an individual level, boat operators can easily reduce disturbance to whales and dolphins by considering the following five factors.

• Speed increases noise from the propeller, so lower the speed, even when arriving/departing.
• Distance: the closer a vessel is the greater the peak in noise, so keep to the regulated distance.
• Gear shifts cause high-level noise changes, so minimise shifting.
• Approach type to the animals can cause disturbance – driving in front of their path, for example, so drive in parallel to their path.
• Movements of a boat, such as fast and erratic movements, can disturb animals, so drive consistently.

To further reduce noise, whale-watching companies can use larger, slower-moving propellers (to minimise the water disturbance that creates noise), quieter/electric engines and/or install noise absorption gear.

Both the industry and the whales will benefit from companies using quieter whale-watch boats and approaches.

Kate Sprogis is an adjunct research fellow for the UWA Oceans Insitute at the University of Western Australia, Fredrik Christiansen is a senior researcher in marine biology at Aarhus University and Patricia Arranz Alonso is a researcher in marine biology at the Universidad de La Laguna.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The world’s oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat and energy generated by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

But, as the oceans keep warming, rising sea temperatures generate unprecedented cascading effects that include the melting of polar ice, rising seas, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.

This in turn has profound impacts on marine biodiversity and the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities, especially in island nations such as New Zealand.

In our latest research, we focused on great whales – sperm and blue whales in particular. They are crucial for maintaining healthy marine ecosystems, but have limited options to respond to climate change: either adapt, die, or move to stay within optimal habitats.

We used mathematical models to predict how they are likely to respond to warming seas by the end of the century. Our results show a clear southward shift for both species, mostly driven by rising temperatures at the sea surface.

Computing the fate of whales

Data on the local abundance of both whales species are deficient, but modelling provides a powerful tool to predict how their range is likely to shift.

We used a combination of mathematical models (known as correlative species distribution models) to predict the future range shifts of these whale species as a response to three future climate change scenarios of differing severity, as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

We applied these models, using the whales’ present distributions, to build a set of environmental “rules” that dictate where each species can live. Using climate-dependent data such as sea-surface temperature and chlorophyll A (a measure of phytoplankton growth), as well as static data such as water depth and distance to shore, we applied these rules to forecast future habitat suitability.

We chose a scenario of “modest” response to cutting greenhouse gas emissions (the IPCC’s mitigation strategy RCP4.5), which is the most likely given the current policies, and a worst-case scenario (no policy to cut emissions, RCP8.5), assuming the reality will likely be somewhere between the two.

Our projections suggest current habitats in the ocean around the North Island may become unsuitable if sea-surface temperatures continue to rise.

These range shifts become even stronger with increasing severity of climate change. For sperm whales, which are currently abundant off Kaikōura where they support eco-tourism businesses, the predicted distribution changes are even more evident than for blue whales, depending on the climate change scenario.

While our results do not predict an overall reduction in suitable habitat that would lead to local extinctions, the latitudinal range shifts are nevertheless bound to have important ecological consequences for New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

How whales maintain ecosystems

Great whales are marine ecosystem engineers. They modify their habitats (or create new ones), to suit their needs. In fact, these activities create conditions that other species rely on to survive.

They engineer their environment on several fronts. By feeding in one place and releasing their faeces in another, whales convey minerals and other nutrients such as nitrogen and iron from the deep water to the surface, as well as across regions. This process, known as a “whale pump”, makes these nutrients available for phytoplankton and other organisms to grow.

This is very important because phytoplankton contributes about half of all oxygen to the atmosphere and also captures about 40% of all released carbon dioxide. By helping the growth of phytoplankton, whales indirectly contribute to the natural ocean carbon sink.

On top of this, each great whale accumulates about 33 tonnes of carbon dioxide in their body, which they take to the ocean floor when they die and their carcass sinks.

Ultimately, the impact of warming oceans on whale distribution is an additional stress factor on ecosystems already under pressure from wider threats, including acidification, pollution and over-exploitation.

A way forward to help whales

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales (odontocetes) and deep-diving apex predators. They primarily feed on squid and fish that live near the bottom of the sea.

Blue whales are baleen whales (mysticetes) and filter small organisms from the water. They feed at the surface on zooplankton, particularly dense krill schools along coastlines where cold water from the deep ocean rises toward the surface (so-called upwelling areas).

These differences in feeding habits lead to divergent responses to ocean warming. Blue whales show a more distinct southerly shift than sperm whales, particularly in the worst-case scenario, likely because they feed at the surface where ocean warming will be more exacerbated than in the deep sea.

Both species have important foraging grounds off New Zealand which may be compromised in the future. Sperm whales are currently occurring regularly off Kaikōura, while blue whales forage in the South Taranaki Bight.

Despite these ecological differences, our results show that some future suitable areas around the South Island and offshore islands are common to both species. These regions could be considered sanctuaries for both species to retreat to or expand their habitat in a warming world. This should warrant increased protection of these areas.

Frédérik Saltré is a research fellow in ecology for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage at Flinders University, Karen A Stockin is a professor of marine ecology and Rutherford Discovery fellow at Massey University, and Katharina J. Peters is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

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Subject to overfishing, marine megafauna – such as sharks, rays, and turtles – are among the world’s most threatened species groups. Somewhat paradoxically, these species also have widespread appeal.

Tourist activities, such as scuba diving place considerable economic value on these species. One study values global manta ray tourism at US$140m (NZ$220m) each year.

Marine tourism is often promoted as a more conservation-compatible substitute to unsustainable fishing. However, despite its value, marine tourism rarely contributes directly towards conservation. The economic value of these species is typically extracted by the tourism industry and rarely filters directly into conservation actions.

Coastal communities that depend on marine megafauna for food and income are, in contrast, rarely well placed to benefit from marine tourism.

And subject to restrictive regulations, the costs of marine conservation also often fall on these communities. One study estimated, for example, that catch limits on endangered shark species could cost low-income Indonesian fishers up to 17.6% of their annual revenue.

A ‘beneficiary pays’ approach

A potential solution to this inequity is a “beneficiary pays” conservation approach.

Here, a fee is levied on tourists or tourist-focused businesses. The proceeds are then invested into community-based conservation projects, which provide coastal communities with the resources to facilitate conservation, while supporting their livelihoods.

In a recent study, my colleagues and I investigated the feasibility of this approach.

Using an online survey of people with a general interest in travel, we established the willingness of international marine tourists to pay towards community-based shark conservation. Participants were presented with a scenario in which they were at a tropical beach destination. They were also informed of a nearby community highly dependent on catching endangered sharks.

Given this scenario, participants were asked the maximum amount they would pay for a marine conservation fee. The fee, added to the price of marine activities, would directly compensate local fishers for reducing their catch of endangered shark species.

By combining the average willingness-to-pay per person with market data from two popular Indonesian holiday destinations – Lombok and Pulau Weh, both home to several endangered shark species – we estimated how much conservation revenue could be raised annually.

Wide support for tourism levies

Our results show wide support for tourism levies.

Survey respondents were willing to pay a daily average of US$10–15 per person towards community-based marine conservation projects.

This corresponds to US$2.3–$6.8m (NZ$3.6–$10.7m) per year in Lombok and US$300,000–$900,000 ($472,000–$1.4m) per year in Pulau Weh in potential revenue for coastal communities. The lower estimate is based on a levy of US$10 per day and one day of marine activities per tourist, and the upper based on US$15 per day and two days of marine activities per tourist.

These revenues exceed the estimated costs of community-based shark conservation in nearby fisheries. Pilot projects are already ongoing in these communities, whereby fishers are compensated for releasing critically endangered species, with some early success.

Direct investment

Marine tourism is an underutilised source of revenue for marine conservation. However, financing mechanisms must be appropriately designed.

Respondents in our study expressed strong preferences for funding environmental NGOs or direct payments to local communities. There was less support for paying a levy to national or local governments. This implies that for marine tourism levies to be successful, the revenues must be openly distributed to locally-run projects.

Our research also found that travellers’ willingness to pay depended on their holiday budget. Therefore, conservation revenue may be higher in luxury destinations and far lower for budget destinations. This highlights the need for mechanisms to be adapted to local contexts and markets.

We would also suggest, based on our findings, that offering information about marine conservation at the “point of sale” may not be needed. We found that existing pro-environmental behaviours led to a greater willingness to pay. Providing information on shark conservation issues directly prior to the survey had little effect on the willingness of participants to pay.

Over 80% of respondents also agreed that they would be more likely to purchase goods and services from environmentally conscious tourism companies. This further raises the possibility that companies who incorporate conservation levies into their prices may even be deemed more attractive by customers.

Reef areas attract about 70 million tourists annually. If each tourist is willing to pay just US$10 per trip, marine tourism levies could generate at least US$700m (NZ$1.1bn) for marine conservation annually, and in doing so ensure that vulnerable coastal communities do not bear the full costs.

Marine tourism levies can become a key financing mechanism for delivering global biodiversity goals and addressing mismatches between the costs and benefits of marine conservation. But only if they are correctly designed.

There is a clear opportunity for tourism operators, governments, NGOs, and coastal communities to develop partnerships to ensure the potential of marine tourism levies can be realised.

Hollie Booth is Nature Positive senior specialist at The Biodiversity Consultancy, and post-doc research associate at the University of Oxford.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

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