Rebecca Manzi After Covid, Mauritius has witnessed an increase in whale watching activities, surrounding sperm whales with boats to immortalize them or swimming with the cetaceans to post photos and videos on social media
This increased tourism around Mauritius is putting enormous pressure on sperm whales that are already vulnerable. The island nation has been one of the global hotspots with a sudden steep rise in whale-watching activities since the pandemic; scores of boats throng this marine area daily, encircling the whales and threatening their well-being in the process.
The impact on sperm whale behavior and habitat
This unlicensed practice has grossly affected the behavior of sperm whales: it changes their natural habitat and increases their exposure to injuries from boats. Not long ago, a case near Black River showed just how grave it was: a sperm whale that happened to be sleeping got wakened by a batch of tourists and was showing stress and all kinds of signs of aggression.
Specialists underline that approaching them too close endangers the cetaceans in moments when the whales are resting, as well as swimmers. Still another sperm whale is seriously injured by a propeller. This underlines other dangers created by uncontrolled marine tourism.
Social media drive demand for swimming with whales
Many tourists wish to swim with whales, all for a social network event. In this respect, local organizations have asked for more restrictions on whale-watching tourism as a means of protection for these animals. François Sarano, a seasoned oceanographer, mentions the need to put urgent limits on the number of tourists and measures that can be taken to reduce human impact on the marine ecosystem:.
Adding to these, more and more tourists come, especially from the inbound markets of China and Taiwan, to swim with the whales and snap the moments on social platforms. In fact, on social platforms like Xiaohongshu, dramatic photos abound of people swimming in proximity to the whales, thus disturbing them during their time of year for reproduction. As a result, Mauritius has just come up with tougher laws, forbidding swimming with whales, carrying substantial fines and prison sentences.
A call for marine tourism to go sustainable
But the issue remains, as tourism demand keeps increasing. In a bid to give special care to the sperm whales and humpbacks visiting Mauritian waters, experts would draw on experiences in countries like Dominica and Argentina where models of sustainable tourism have been put in place for the protection of marine ecosystems in whale-watching activities. And we ask ourselves, are we really supposed to make these beautiful animals suffer, as well as ourselves, just for the sake of a selfie?
