State whale sanctuary good for brand, revenues and whales

STATE WHALE SANCTUARY: GOOD FOR BRAND, REVENUES & WHALES

Cassy O’Connor MP
Greens Environment & Animal Welfare spokesperson
Friday 6 July 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today (Fri) said the whale-watching industry was worth millions to the State’s economy, and would be boosted further if State waters became a whale sanctuary.

Greens Environment and Animal Welfare spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said that a whale sanctuary in State waters would give greater protection to whales, and give Brand Tasmania an international boost.

“Tasmanians have recently been marvelling at the return of whales to our waters, albeit in a fraction of their historic numbers. These are the magical mammals South Korea wants to kill,” said Ms O’Connor.

“There is an opportunity for a series of wins here: a boost for tourism, State revenues, Brand Tasmania and protection for whales, many of which are in decline and endangered.”

“Our whale-watching industry is worth the best part of $2m annually [1], and $300m nationally [2], which is the same value put on the live-cattle export trade to Indonesia.”

“In 2008, more than 24,000 tourists came to Tasmania to watch whales. Declare State waters a sanctuary and that figure could increase.”

“Despite Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott condemning South Korea’s plan, both State parties voted against the Greens’ the Whales Protection (State Sanctuary) Amendment Bill 2010, which would have made State waters a whale sanctuary.”

“Given that the Australian Whale Sanctuary, established under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, starts from the Exclusive Economic Zone, three nautical miles out from Tasmania, there is a missing link in the protective framework for whales. The Greens want to close it and boost Brand Tasmania in the process.”

“South Korea is exploiting another loophole in the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling which Japan notoriously exploits to hunt whales under the guise of scientific research.”

“Tasmania’s lucrative and precious brand is rightly seen the world-over as a ‘clean, green, clever and creative’, and declaring State waters a whale sanctuary would enhance that and offer whales real protection too.”

“If we as Tasmanians want to do something meaningfulfor the whales in our waters that we find so wonderful, the very least we can offer them is a sanctuary.”

“It’s not just the continued commercial hunting of whales that threatens them. Ship collisions, bycatch and fishing nets, pollution, illegal fishing, undercounting of whales caught, climate change and warming seas are also hitting their numbers.”

“We must do more to protect the whales we love with such awe,” said Ms O’Connor.

References

[1] Former environment minister Peter Garrett noted this year that whale-watching was worth $300 million to the Australian economy – the same amount as its live-cattle trade to Indonesia. Internationally, it’s worth more than $2 billion and growing at 10 per cent a year.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/hunt-threatens-300m-whalewatching-industry-20111223-1p7rz.html

[2] Whale Watching Worldwide – Tourism Numbers, Expenditures and Expanding Economic Benefits

Numbers in Australia (2008)

http://www.ecolarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/WWWW09.pdf

See also

The number of tourists participating in whale watching has grown to over 1.6 million people per year.

http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/whale-watching/

Over 1200 Humpback Whales migrate up the East Coast of Australia, and this number increases more and more each year now that whales are protected in Australian waters and no longer hunted here.

http://sydneywildlifeandadventuretours.com.au/whale-migration-patterns-in-australia

Bruny Island was named as one of the Top 10 Whale Watching Spots in Australia

“This year we’re expecting between 2400 and 2500 whales,” says Geoff Ross, the coordinator of marine fauna programs for NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. “Each year the number of whales we see increases by a couple of hundred whales; we know the population is increasing by 10 to 14 per cent.”

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/top-10-whale-watching-spots-in-australia.htm