OMAN: Dolphin Watching Craze Worries Conservationists

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Meena Janardhan

MUSCAT, Jan 3 2006 (IPS) - The sight of a spinning, swirling dolphin or a whale leaping and diving in the clear blue waters off the coast of Oman rarely fails to delight tourists.

‘‘After almost an hour’s boat ride into the sea, we had lost all hope of seeing anything, let alone dolphinsàand suddenly, there they were leaping, jumping and frolicking! It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen,” exclaimed Bhuvana, a tourist from Dubai.

‘‘There were hundreds of them. Our boat was surrounded by somersaulting glistening bodies – every few seconds many of them would leap out sending sprays of water high up into the air. It was amazing,” she added delightedly.

While tourists are delighted, conservationists are worried at the speed with which cetacean-watching is becoming a major industry in this Middle Eastern country with limited oil resources.

Cetaceans are groups of marine mammals that include whales, dolphins and porpoises. Of the recorded 81 different species of cetaceans in the world, the Oman seas have about 20 varieties – 14 are toothed whales and dolphins, and six are baleen whales.

‘‘Although located well within the tropics, Oman’s waters experience upwelling of very cold, nutrient-rich water, which makes Oman’s marine environment much more productive than most tropical regions. This provides an abundant source of food for many species of whales and dolphins, hence the large numbers,” explained Gianna Minton, a member of the Oman Whale and Dolphin Research Group (OWDRG), which is part of the Environment Society of Oman (ESO).

However, the easy sightings of these species and the growing number of commercial tour operators are raising questions of threats to and conservation of these beautiful mammals. While there are conservation organisations like the ESO that promote ecotourism trips which serve both tourist and conservation efforts alike, commercial operators often ignore safety guidelines and conservation warnings.

‘‘We are most often fully booked, especially during the winter months. We do try to keep all the guidelines in mind but they often get ignored due to the rush,” said Ahmed, a tour operator.

Tourism has, of late, become one of Oman’s main industries, as authorities realise the immense foreign-exchange earning potential of its beautiful landscape, regal forts, sandy and shallow beaches, awe-inspiring desert and rolling hills.

In a recent statement, Oman’s under-secretary for tourism Salem al-Muaameri said that while tourism accounts for one per cent of GDP now, it is expected to rise by 2020 to three to five per cent and that more than one million tourists visit Oman every year. Britons form the largest group, followed by Germans, French and Italians.

Whale and dolphin watching is a star attraction and Oman has the potential of attracting a chunk of the industry’s annual global revenue of over 317 million U.S. dollars from four million people worldwide who venture out to sea every year just to watch frolicking sea mammals.

The government and several regional and international experts are, therefore, instituting and formulating several measures to ensure that these species are not threatened by increasing tourist activities.

The OWDRG has been conducting research on whales and dolphins in Oman for many years and works hand-in-hand with the government to ensure that research findings are translated into conservation action. As part of the ESO, the OWDRG is also able to work within a wider effort to protect Oman’s natural resources and encourage environmental awareness.

‘‘Whales and dolphins in Oman face many of the same threats that whales and dolphins experience throughout the rest of the world, such as entanglement in fishing gear, loss of habitat or habitat degradation through coastal development, pollution and oil exploration, and disturbance from increased shipping, recreational, and ecotourism related boat traffic,” said Gianna.

‘‘While there are no formal measures in place to protect whales and dolphins in Oman, other than a ban on direct hunting, and various marine pollution laws, the OWDRG and ESO are working to encourage the development of such measures,” she added.

The government is also taking action to reduce the number of whales and dolphins accidentally caught in fishing nets every year. A team of volunteer divers is on 24- hour standby, ready to react to reports of cetaceans in distress.

Oman has played an important role in stopping international whaling and is the only country in the Arabian peninsula that is a member of the International Whaling Commission. It is also a strong supporter of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and enforces the global ban on hunting and killing of these marine mammals and secures and conserves their natural habitat.

The majority of sightings are quite close to land, making it easy for tour operators.

Further out fishermen may follow groups and are rewarded by catches of tuna, a fish that fetches high prices at the local market. Dolphins are usually easier to find than whales as they tend to swim in larger groups and surface more frequently.

‘‘As the local industry grows, tour operators will need to take special care to protect the resource that they are exploiting. Some operators may be tempted to speed through groups of dolphins to make them jump, or approach whales losely so that they slap their tails or fins. These operators may not be aware that such displays are actually signs of warning or discomfort,” said Gianna.

‘‘Customers who participate in these tours may unwittingly contribute to the harassment of whales and dolphins. If continued, these practices could eventually drive the animals away from areas where they can be easily observed and operators would ultimately destroy their own business,” she added.