Key elements for managing whale shark tourism in the Gulf of California

More than 10 years of monitoring have been a key factor in establishing La Paz Bay as a critical habitat of the whale sharks where an increasing tourist industry exists. Problems occurred as a result of increased boat traffic... [ view full abstract ]

More than 10 years of monitoring have been a key factor in establishing La Paz Bay as a critical habitat of the whale sharks where an increasing tourist industry exists. Problems occurred as a result of increased boat traffic coupled with a lack guidelines to perform the activity, patrolling and enforcement. The first management plan was generated in 2006 and it remained permanent and without change until 2016, although the number of authorized boats increase from 26 in 2006 to 109 in 2013. Since 2009, the tour operators have been trained and a dissemination program was designed with the aim of communicating a code of conduct focusing on private boats. While the monitoring from 2004 to 2016 showed that up to 64% of sharks has been hit by boats, the monitoring also showed changes in abundance and seasonality dynamics that have to be considered on the seasonality of tour operators and in the carrying capacity study. In order to reduce the number of sharks affected by boats, government actions were taken based on the information from the monitoring and resulted in modifications to the current management plan: 1) Adjustment to the polygon, 2) Establishment of effective carrying capacity, 3) Changes in the tourist seasonality, 4) Implementation of a satellite tracking system, 5) Patrolling and 6) Integrated training and coaching strategies for service providers. These modifications and enforcement actions started in the 2017-2018 season. The success of the management plan will be measured with the fresh injury analysis.