Tonga's whale-watching industry grows on sea and land [1]
Tuesday, September 25, 2012 - 14:30. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
Humpback whale plays off Ha'atafu Beach, Tongatapu. September 2012. Photo courtesy Shane Egan, Blue Banana Beach Resort.
Twenty four licenses have been issued to whale watching operators for the 2012 season, a growing industry for tourism in Tonga, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism and Labour.
Vava'u remained as the main whale-watching destination with the most operators having been awarded 15 licenses for this season, which runs from June to October.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism and Labour said 15 licenses were issued to operators in Vava'u, five for Ha'apai, three for Tongatapu and one for 'Eua.
Vava'u averages about 3,500 whale-watching visitors per based on the visitor's statistics for tourism in the past 10 years.
"It's a growing industry for tourism and a potential sector for driving the economy of the Kingdom," she said.
In the 2011 season, 20 licenses were issued for operators.
In Tongatapu the whales mostly appear at the western side around the Kanokupolu and Ha'atafu beaches. The whale-watching season is from June-October however, whales are still on sight in November.
Humpback whales can weigh 40 tonnes, with a length of 15 meters and they can live for over 50 years. The species migrates from the Antartic to the tropical waters in winter, to mate and give birth.
Currently, whales can be seen playing off Tongatapu's western coast as they have moved southward from the breeding grounds around Vava'u and Ha'apai.
Concern over swimming
Meanwhile, some members of Tonga's tourist industry are expressing increasing concern over Tonga's promoted activity of "swimming with the whales", an activity that is illegal in some other Pacific countries such as Australia which imposes heavy fines for getting close to whales and warns of the risks involved.
After witnessing clashes between the whales and the tourists who get too close, Shane Egan of the Blue Banana Beach Resort on Tongatapu's western coast is one who is trying to promote the idea of "land-based" whale watching.
"This allows all resort guests and others visiting the beach to share the enjoyment watching the whales do their thing - uninterrupted or harassed by boats and swimmers," he said.
"We've observed that even kayakers will disturb a mother at rest trying to feed her baby. A scene enjoyed by dozens of people from the beach is ended by just one insensitive person on a kayak trying to get a closer look. Earlier this month, a whale displayed his disapproval when a pair of kayakers came too close to his family. The huge whale fully breached, landing where the kayakers had just paddled. A very close incident!," he said.
Shane also believed that there was a risk posed by the large sharks that follow the whales from the Antarctic waters to Tonga. "Divers in Ha'apai have seen them in the waters where they 'whale swim'. The sharks are there to pick off the weak or undefended calves," he said.