Workshop on Whale Watching 



As noted above, efforts to assess and prevent or mitigate 

 the effects of whale watching and other vessel activities on 

 humpback and other cetaceans have generally been approached 

 from a local or regional perspective. As similar problems 

 have developed in different geographic areas, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service has begun to consider the possible 

 advantages of promulgating regulations that would be generally 

 applicable and provide a more consistent approach to regulating 

 whale watching and otner activities in different areas. 



In 1988, the National Marine Fisheries Service contracted 

 with the Center for Environmental Education (now the Center 

 for Marine Conservation) to organize and convene the Whale 

 Watching Workshop, held 14-16 November 1988 in Monterey, 

 California. The Workshop participants, which included a 

 representative of the Marine Mammal Commission, generally 

 agreed that: (1) whale watching provides useful opportunities 

 for educating the public, for developing an ecologically 

 sound conservation ethic, and for obtaining basic information 

 on the distribution, abundance, and behavior of whales; (2) 

 whale watching can disturb and alter the behavior of whales 

 which, in turn, may affect vital processes, such as feeding 

 and reproduction, and cause decreases in the survival or 

 productivity of whales; and (3) a licensing or permit system 

 should be developed to help insure that operators of whale 

 watching vessels are aware of applicable regulations and 

 operate accordingly. 



The Workshop report, expected to be completed and submitted 

 to the National Marine Fisheries Service early in 1989, will 

 be used by the Service, in consultation with the Commission 

 and others, to develop a long-term strategy for assessing 

 and, as necessary, regulating whale watching in U.S. waters. 



Other Efforts To Protect Humpback Whales 



The North Atlantic population of humpback whales breeds 

 and calves during the winter months in the area of Silver, 

 Navidad, and Mouchoir Banks in the Caribbean. Of these whales, 

 about 85 percent winter in the vicinity of Silver Bank, which 

 is located primarily in waters of the Dominican Republic, 

 about 80 miles north of the island. 



As discussed in the previous Annual Report, in 1985, the 

 Center for Environmental Education initiated a public education 

 program in the Dominican Republic to promote efforts to protect 

 the region's humpback whales. In addition, the Center provided 

 support to the Center for Marine Biological Research at the 

 Autonomous University of Santo Domingo for a biological inven- 

 tory of marine resources in the Dominican Republic. A report 



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