Description
Book SynopsisMarine environments have long been places of exploration, subsistence, transport and trade, but it is only recently that marine tourism has extended beyond coastal resorts and beaches. Demand for marine wildlife experiences has grown considerably in recent decades but a corresponding increase in the conservation of these environments as well as adequate legislative and management responses aimed at sustainability has not yet followed. This book demonstrates that through scientific approaches to understanding and managing tourist interactions with marine wildlife, sustainable marine tourism can be achieved. Drawing from disciplines such as marine and conservation biology and behavioural ecology, the effects of human disturbance on marine wildlife as well as management approaches to moderate these impacts are explored. Social science perspectives are also used to understand consumer demand and the ethical and legislative problems that this demand creates. This comprehensive volume provides valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners in marine conservation and tourism.
Table of Contents1: Marine Wildlife and Tourism Management: In Search of Scientific Approaches to Sustainability Part I: Demand for Marine Wildlife Tourism 2: Marine Wildlife Tours: Benefits for Participants 3: Shark! A New Frontier in Tourist Demand for Marine Wildlife 4: Tourist Interactions with Sharks 5: Human–Polar Bear Interactions in Churchill, Manitoba: The Socio-ecological Perspective 6: Specialization of Whale Watchers in British Columbia Waters 7: Captive Marine Wildlife: Benefits and Costs of Aquaria and Marine Parks Part II: The Impacts of Tourist Interactions with Marine Wildlife 8: The Economic Impacts of Marine Wildlife Tourism 9: Effects of Human Disturbance on Penguins: The Need for Site- and Species-specific Visitor Management Guidelines 10: Impacts of Tourism on Pinnipeds and Implications for Tourism Management 11: Understanding the Impacts of Noise on Marine Mammals 12: Shooting Fish in a Barrel: Tourists as Easy Targets Part III: The Legislative and Ethical Contexts 13: Marine Wildlife Tourism Management: Mandates and Protected Area Challenges 14: Marine Wildlife Tourism and Ethics 15: Protecting the Ocean by Regulating Whale Watching: The Sound of One Hand Clapping 16: Wildlife and Tourism in Antarctica: A Unique Resource and Regime for Management Part IV: Marine Wildlife and Tourism Management 17: Managing the Whale- and Dolphin-watching Industry: Time for a Paradigm Shift 18: Managing Marine Wildlife Experiences: The Role of Visitor Interpretation Programmes 19: Marine Wildlife Viewing: Insights into the Significance of the Viewing Platform 20: New Frontiers in Marine Wildlife Tourism: An International Overview of Polar Bear Tourism Management Strategies 21: Marine Wildlife and Tourism Management: Scientific Approaches to Sustainable Management
