title: Effects of non-consumptive wildlife-oriented tourism on marine species and prospects for their sustainable management.
abstract: Marine non-consumptive wildlife-oriented tourism, whereby tourists observe and/or interact closely with animals, without purposely having a detrimental effect on them, has been growing globally in recent decades. Human-mediated feeding (provisioning) is widely used by tour operators to attract target species, facilitate viewing and interaction with tourists. Although potential effects of such provisioning on terrestrial fauna have been given moderate scientific research attention, equivalent research in the marine environment is limited. Effects of provisioning marine wildlife may include direct habituation, behavioural change, and/or dietary impacts among individuals and species. There may also be disruption to the species associated assemblage. It was found that the literature on the effects of non-consumptive wildlife tourism is fragmented and results from different areas and taxa are frequently contradictory. Most studies appeared to be of a few years duration, at most. This reflects the relative immaturity of the industry - many enterprises studied typically commenced within the 1990 s. Studies (other than fish) tended to focus on a focal species with few addressing the wider implications for the associated assemblage. Supplementary feeding may also have impacts on the health and wellbeing of provisioned animals. It is concluded that such nature tourism is often not benign - focal species and their assemblage are often disrupted. We conclude that funding to better understand the impacts and thus address them is imperative. To supplement funding for the research and monitoring required, an additional charge could incorporated into the fee charged to those engaging in marine wildlife tourism.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast 4229, Australia. Electronic address: sburgin@bond.edu.au.
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burgin
authors.affiliation: University of Kent, School of Anthropology and Conservation, Canterbury Campus, Kent CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hardiman
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002591:Cetacea / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D014195:Travel
keywords: Animal behaviour modification; Marine wildlife tourism; Recreation management; Sustainable management; Wildlife management; Wildlife provisioning