Dear MARMAM Readers,

 

The following paper has just been published:

 

Higham, J. and Bejder, L. 2008. Managing wildlife-based tourism: Edging slowly towards sustainability? Current Issues in Tourism 11(1): 75-83.

 

Abstract:

 

It is increasingly acknowledged that cetacean-based tourism may not be as low in impact as many hope or presume, and that any long term and systematic human interactions

with populations of wild animals need to be rigorously monitored and carefully managed. This paper reviews a series of recent developments in the management

of tourist interactions with dolphins at Shark Bay (Western Australia). We argue that collectively these developments represent a paradigmatic shift in the way commercial

tourism encounters with dolphins are managed. If so, they represent an important and long overdue advance in the general direction of sustainable management. However,

the paper also strikes a note of caution. Shark Bay, a well managed site of relatively low level commercial dolphin-watching activities, carries important insights and austere

warnings for the many high-intensity/low visitor management dolphin-tourism sites around the world.

 

A PDF of the paper is available from the following website: http://www.cffr.murdoch.edu.au/mucru/

 

All the best,

 

Lars Bejder

__________________________              

Research Leadership Fellow

Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit (MUCRU)

Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research

Murdoch University

South Street, Murdoch, 6150

Western Australia

Mob: ++ 61 0424 508 498

Fax: ++ 61 (0) 8 9360 6303