(1) Manage the development of whalewatching
to minimise the risk of adverse impacts:
- implement as appropriate measures to regulate
platform1 numbers and size, activity,
frequency and length of exposure in encounters with
individuals and groups of whales;
- management measures may include closed seasons
or areas where required to provide additional
protection;
- ideally, undertake an early assessment of
the numbers, distribution and other characteristics
of the target population/s in an area;
- monitor the effectiveness of management provisions
and modify them as required to accommodate new information;
- where new whalewatching operations are evolving,
start cautiously, moderating activity until sufficient
information is available on which to base any further
development;
- implement scientific research and population
monitoring and collection of information on operations,
target cetaceans and possible impacts, including
those on the acoustic environment, as an early and
integral component of management;
- develop training programs for operators and
crew on the biology and behaviour of target species,
whalewatching operations, and the management provisions
in effect;
- encourage the provision of accurate and informative
material to whalewatchers, to:
- develop an informed and supportive public;
- encourage development of realistic expectations
of encounters and avoid disappointment and pressure
for increasingly risky behaviour.
(2) Design,
maintain and operate platforms to minimise the risk
of adverse effects on cetaceans, including disturbance
from noise:
- vessels, engines and other equipment should
be designed, maintained, and operated during whalewatching,
to reduce as far as practicable adverse impacts
on the target species and their environment;
- cetacean species may respond differently to
low and high frequency sounds, relative sound intensity
or rapid changes in sound;
- vessel operators should be aware of the
acoustic characteristics of the target species
and of their vessel under operating conditions;
particularly of the need to reduce as far as
possible production of potentially disturbing
sound;
- vessel design and operation should minimise
the risk of injury to cetaceans should contact occur;
for example, shrouding of propellers can reduce
both noise and risk of injury;
- operators should be able to keep track of whales
during an encounter.
(3) Allow
the cetaceans to control the nature and duration of
‘interactions’:
- operators should have a sound understanding
of the behaviour of the cetaceans and be aware of
behavioural changes which may indicate disturbance;
- in approaching or accompanying cetaceans, maximum
platform speed should be determined relative to
that of the cetacean, and should not exceed it once
on station;
- use appropriate angles and distances of approach;
species may react differently, and most existing
guidelines preclude head-on approaches;
- friendly whale behaviour should be welcomed,
but not cultivated; do not instigate direct contact
with a platform;
- avoid sudden changes in speed, direction or
noise;
- do no alter platform speed or direction to counteract
avoidance behaviour by cetaceans;
- do not pursue2, head off, or encircle
cetaceans or cause groups to separate;
- approaches to mother/calf pairs and solitary
calves and juveniles should be undertaken with special
care;
- there may be an increased risk of disturbance
to these animals, or risk of injury if vessels
are approached by calves;
- cetaceans should be able to detect a platform
at all times;
- while quiet operations are desirable, attempts
to eliminate all noise may result in cetaceans
being startled by a platform which has approached
undetected;
- rough seas may elevate background noise
to levels at which vessels are less detectable.
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