Diving Tourism in Mozambique: An Opportunity at Risk?

Tibiriçá, Yara; Birtles, Alastair; Valentine, Peter; Miller, Dean

doi:10.3727/154427311x13195453162732

Cited by 27 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In some locations, marine ecotourism operations provide significant financial benefits to communities where few alternative sources of income exist [5], [23]. In many countries, manta ray interactions are proving to be a highly sought-after experience for divers and snorkelers [11], [24]–[26], with tourists in the Maldives willing to pay more for excursions involving mantas than either sharks or turtles [27], and the number of visitors on tours to see manta rays surpassing those looking for whale sharks in Western Australia’s Bateman Bay on Ningaloo Reef [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism

O’Malley

Lee-Brooks

Medd³

2013

PLoS ONE

126

111

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As manta rays face increased threats from targeted and bycatch fisheries, manta ray watching tourism, if managed properly, may present an attractive economic alternative to consumptive use of these species. Both species in the genus Manta (Manta alfredi and Manta birostris) are classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as species Vulnerable to extinction in the wild, and are considered unsustainable as fisheries resources due to their conservative life history characteristics, which considerably reduce their ability to recover population numbers when depleted. Utilising dive operator surveys, Internet research, and a literature review, this study provides the first global estimate of the direct economic impact of manta ray watching tourism and examines the potential socio-economic benefits of non-consumptive manta ray watching operations relative to consumptive use of manta rays as a fishery resource. In the 23 countries in which manta ray watching operations meeting our criteria were identified, we estimated direct revenue to dive operators from manta ray dives and snorkels at over US$73 million annually and direct economic impact, including associated tourism expenditures, of US$140 million annually. Ten countries account for almost 93% of the global revenue estimate, specifically Japan, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mozambique, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, United States, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau. In many of the areas where directed fisheries for manta rays are known to occur, these activities overlap with manta ray tourism sites or the migratory range of the mantas on which these sites depend, and are likely to be unsustainable and detrimental to manta ray watching tourism.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism

O’Malley

Lee-Brooks

Medd³

2013

PLoS ONE

126

111

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“…These reef habitats are rocky with low hard coral diversity. The depth of surveyed reefs ranged from 11 to 30 m. Ocean conditions are dynamic, with underwater horizontal visibility varying from 5 to 30 m (Tibiriçá et al 2011) and water temperature varying seasonally from a high of 30°C during summer months (Dec−Mar) to 16°C during the winter (Jul−Sep) (Rohner et al 2013). Current strength is also variable, with stronger currents potentially affecting the search ability and coverage of divers.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data on their distribution, migration and nesting areas in the country are scarce and restricted to a few locations (Costa et al 2007). Inhambane Province, in southern Mozambique, is an emerging marine tourism destination (Pierce et al 2010, Tibiriçá et al 2011) and has been proposed as a potential Marine World Heritage site based on its outstanding mar-ine wildlife (Obura et al 2012). However, this region also has the highest recorded levels of turtle mortality in Mozambique (Pereira et al 2010), despite all turtle species having been legally protected from consumptive use since 1965 (Pereira et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of recreational divers for monitoring sea turtle populations

Williams¹,

Pierce²,

Fuentes³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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Five sea turtle species, all globally threatened, are found in southern Mozambican waters. Illegal hunting of foraging turtles, nest raiding and modification of coastal habitat are assumed to affect local sea turtle populations, but a lack of capacity and resource constraints hamper monitoring and compliance activities. Enlisting the recreational SCUBA diving community to report sea turtle sightings is a potential solution for population monitoring. The effectiveness of recreational divers as monitors was tested through the review of 2 approaches: the use of a routine dive logbook with sightings, and data from a dedicated survey. These approaches provided 37 consecutive months of data between 2008 and 2011 from dive sites in Inhambane Province, Mozambique. A total of 317 sightings of loggerhead Caretta caretta, green Chelonia mydas, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and unidentified turtle species were reported from 918 dives. While the dedicated survey collected more detailed behavioural data (e.g. response to divers and feeding behaviour), independent logbook records provided a more robust data set for analysis of sighting trends. Useful data on sea turtle species composition, size and distribution were obtained from both approaches, although there were concerns with regard to species identification and size estimates. With refined methodology, particularly the incorporation of photographic verification of species identification, reports from divers can provide cost-effective and useful data for monitoring foraging turtle populations.

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“…Interview-based surveys with fishing communities are presently underway to provide more information on catches. Whale sharks within the Indian Ocean are listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Pierce & Norman, 2016), and they are locally important to a burgeoning marine tourism industry (Pierce et al, 2010;Tibiriçá et al, 2011;Haskell et al, 2015). The lack of habitat-level protection, coupled with poor regulation of inshore fisheries in Mozambique, is a clear threat to this population.…”

Section: Conservation and Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "Satellite tagging highlights the importance of productive Mozambican coastal waters to the ecology and conservation of whale sharks (v0.1)"

2018

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The whale shark Rhincodon typus is an endangered, highly migratory species with a wide, albeit patchy, distribution through tropical oceans. Ten aerial survey flights along the southern Mozambican coast, conducted between 2004-2008, documented a relatively high density of whale sharks along a ~200 km stretch of the Inhambane Province, with a pronounced hotspot adjacent to Praia do Tofo. To examine the residency and movement of whale sharks in coastal areas around Praia do Tofo, where they may be more susceptible to gill net entanglement, we tagged 15 juveniles with SPOT5 satellite tags and tracked them for 2-88 days (mean = 27 days) as they dispersed from this area. Sharks travelled between 10 and 2,737 km (mean = 738 km) at a mean horizontal speed of 28 ± 17.1 SD km day -1 . While several individuals left shelf waters and travelled across international boundaries, most sharks stayed in Mozambican coastal waters over the tracking period.We tested for whale shark habitat preferences, using sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration and water depth as variables, by computing 100 random model tracks for each real shark based on their empirical movement characteristics. Whale sharks spent significantly more time in cooler, shallower water with higher chlorophyll-a concentrations than model sharks, suggesting that feeding in productive coastal waters is an important driver of their movements. To investigate what this coastal habitat choice PeerJ reviewing PDF | Manuscript to be reviewed means for their conservation in Mozambique, we mapped gill nets during two dedicated aerial surveys along the Inhambane coast and counted gill nets in 1,323 boat-based surveys near Praia do Tofo. Our results show that, while whale sharks are capable of longdistance oceanic movements, they can spend a disproportionate amount of time in specific areas, such as along the southern Mozambique coast. The increasing use of drifting gill nets in this coastal hotspot for whale sharks is likely to be a threat to regional populations of this iconic species.PeerJ reviewing PDF | AbstractThe whale shark Rhincodon typus is an endangered, highly migratory species with a wide, albeit patchy, distribution through tropical oceans. Ten aerial survey flights along the southern Mozambican coast, conducted between 2004-2008, documented a relatively high density of whale sharks along a ~200 km stretch of the Inhambane Province, with a pronounced hotspot adjacent to Praia do Tofo. To examine the residency and movement of whale sharks in coastal areas around Praia do Tofo, where they may be more susceptible to gill net entanglement, we tagged 15 juveniles with SPOT5 satellite tags and tracked them for 2-88 days (mean = 27 days) as they dispersed from this area. Sharks travelled between 10 and 2,737 km (mean = 738 km) at a mean horizontal speed of 28 ± 17.1 SD km day -1 . While several individuals left shelf waters and travelled across international boundaries, most sharks stayed in Mozambican coastal waters over the tracking period. We tested for wha...

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Diving Tourism in Mozambique: An Opportunity at Risk?

Cited by 27 publications

References 10 publications

The Global Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism

The Global Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism

Effectiveness of recreational divers for monitoring sea turtle populations

Peer Review #2 of "Satellite tagging highlights the importance of productive Mozambican coastal waters to the ecology and conservation of whale sharks (v0.1)"

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