Whale Watching Season Starts

Whale Watching Season Starts
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 01/15/2012

Starting this Sunday, January 15th, the Bancos de la Plata y laNavidad  Marine Mammal Sanctuary (also known as the Silver Bank Sanctuary) will be the place to be for thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to come and enjoy one of the most beautiful natural spectacles in the world: hundreds of humpback whales that return each year to the warm waters of our Atlantic coast to mate and have their young.

At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism will promote Whale Watching season as an ecotourism event that is environmentally sustainable. It will also evaluate the levels of tourist satisfaction.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Tourism, the Navy, the Samaná Mayor’s office, the Samaná Bay Center for Conservation and Eco-Development (CEBSE in Spanish), Atemar, Fundemar and the Samaná Bay Boat Owners Association with the aim of protecting and respecting the whales’ habitat and guaranteeing compliance with the established regulations for their observation.

With this agreement, the Ministry of Environment and its constituents promise to establish and apply a surveillance system to guarantee compliance with the established regulations and reinforce the monitoring system for marine mammals in Silver Bank and La Navidad, to certify that the whales are being observed without interrupting their normal reproductive activities.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment will earmark part of the money earned during Whale Watching season to improving the management of the Marine Mammal Sanctuary.

At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism will promote Whale Watching season as an ecotourism event that is environmentally sustainable. It will also evaluate the levels of tourist satisfaction.

The Dominican Navy will assure that only vessels registered by the Ministry of Environment transport visitors to and from the whale watching activity and that the vessels do not emit clouds of smoke or make unnecessary engine or horn noises.

The Samaná Mayor’s Office will promote whale watching at a local level in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism and make sure that public spaces being used by visitors are well kept and full of information about the season.

Through the signed Memorandum of Understanding, the CEBSE will evaluate tendencies in population shifts, possible environmental impact and will dispense technical assistance where needed.

The responsibilities assumed by Atemar include the monitoring of the of dolphin and whale population using non-invasive adequate techniques; Fundemar will make a final report about the entire season.

The Boat Owners Association of the area will promote the regulations governing whale watching among its captains. These regulations that have been adopted by all those involved in the co-management of the event.

The whale watching season bolsters the area’s economy during the months of January, February and March due to the 30,000 domestic and international tourists that make the trip to see a spectacle that is worth admiring.