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Abstract. Djunaidi A, Jompa J, Nadiarti N, Bahar A, Tilahunga SD, Lilienfeld D, Hani MS. 2020. Analysis of two whale shark watching destinations in Indonesia: status and ecotourism potential. Biodiversitas 21: 4511-4523. Botubarani in Gorontalo, on the northern coast of Tomini Bay and Labuhan Jambu in Teluk Saleh, Sumbawa recently became whale shark tourism destinations in Indonesia. Both sites offer visitors opportunities to interact with whale sharks, either watching from canoes or snorkelling and diving. In this study, we investigated the status and ecotourism potential of whale shark watching as a form of marine wildlife tourism development in eastern Indonesia by examining the existing operations in both sites. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to local community members and visitors to understand their perceptions, and how this opportunity was valued. Secondary data were collected to explore and understand influencing factors. Findings revealed that whale sharks commonly emerge near bagan lift-nets and other interactive areas as a response to the presence of their favorite prey, anchovies, and rebon shrimp. In general, whale sharks most commonly visit bagan lift nets and can be found in the interaction areas in the morning and stay for couple of hours before swimming away to deeper waters. Out of 119 community respondents in Labuhan Jambu village (Teluk Saleh) and Botubarani, Gorontalo, 80.7% knew about the occurrence of whale sharks in their locality. Of the 111 visitor respondents, 67.6% knew about the whale shark watching sites from word of mouth. The study results also suggest a correlation between chlorophyll-a concentration, anchovies, rebon shrimp and whale sharks. Regarding management approaches to this type of tourism, a local community-based management model is strongly recommended, with 87.4% of respondents showing interest in this approach. The roles and responsibility of local government in developing such tourism is very significant, especially with respect to facilitating appropriate competency within the local community throughout training and education, as suggested by nearly 26% of respondents.

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Manta rays are flagship species for marine conservation because of a number of threats including anthropogenic, overfishing, plastics (microplastics), over tourism, commercial trade (gills for medicine), and chaotic shipping lines where they often injured or killed. Because of these reasons, manta ray face risk of extinction and listed on the Red List of IUCN. A number of studies present the value of this fish estimated millions of dollars per year from tourism which show much greater valuable alive than dead. Responsible manta ray tourism encourages stakeholders to protect the species by generating incentives from tourism while develop conservations initiatives to protect the species. Desk study on current literatures were reviewed to identify the role of stakeholders in supporting the sustainable management of manta ray tourism. This chapter explored the operations of manta ray tourism in Indonesia as the study areas. In summary, to reach the positive contributions from manta ray tourism, there is an important role of co-management between stakeholders to ensure the sustainable operations and conservation of the ecology, economy, and socio-culture.

Manta ray tourism has both positive and negative impacts. Therefore, this type of tourism should be managed appropriately, especially in protected areas. There are a number of protected areas in Indonesia which have become popular as manta ray tourism destinations. These tourism destinations are visited by thousands of tourists every year. Excessive tourist numbers with uncontrolled behaviour can potentially impact the species. This study was conducted to examine effective management strategies to mitigate overtourism in manta ray tourism at three sites: Komodo, Nusa Penida, and Raja Ampat. The target respondents included 73 relevant stakeholders. This descriptive research conducted during 2017-2018 involved the collection of quantitative information and utilised questionnaires. The results identified seven existing approaches to effective management of manta ray tourism in order to mitigate overtourism in the study areas. Key recommendations to improve mitigation are highlighted.