Tenerife-La Gomera Marine Area, Tenerife

Tenerife-La Gomera Marine Area Whale Heritage Area

Information

Description

The Whale Heritage Area encompasses the marine area along and between the west coast of the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera, along the coast where whale watching tours depart from.

Tenerife is the largest and most populated island of the eight Canary Islands. Approximately six million tourists visit Tenerife each year, making it the most visited island of the archipelago, and one of Spain’s most important tourist destinations.

Cetacean biodiversity is the main natural treasure that the local community are proud of, and whale watching is the main touristic activity of the area.

With its unique resident population of pilot whales that can be found alongside a high diversity of other whales and dolphin species, all within a designated Special Area of Conservation, it’s no wonder that the Tenerife-La Gomera WHA has become a thriving whale watching destination.

After seeing this rapid rise in recent years, there is now a recognised need to cap that growth to ensure that the local marine mammal populations aren’t overexploited or negatively impacted by excessive tourism, as well as continuing to improve standards and encouraging further collaboration between operators. The Tenerife-La Gomera WHA designation is a recognition of the incredible work being done by a diverse range of engaged stakeholders doing just that. The collective efforts of not-for-profit organisations, government departments, whale watching operators, the scientific community and many others is a true example of how collaboration is making great strides towards the unified goal of protecting whales and dolphins and their habitats.

Motivation

The WHA designation is an excellent opportunity for the community to have bigger and more powerful tools to achieve their goals towards cetacean conservation, respect, value and celebration.

The benefits are numerous, but the main one is to have the recognition this wonderful cetacean hot spot deserves. This international recognition will apply pressure to the local government to not leave whale watching and cetacean conservation management as a secondary task. It will also help the community to feel part of something big and to feel pride in this treasure of nature, hopefully motivating the people of the island to participate and take action in all initiatives.

The aim is to honour the marine area and the cetaceans inhabiting it; work together to mitigate all possible impacts on cetaceans created by human activity; and to raise awareness by involving and benefiting the local community.

Species or habitats

As well as being famous for short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins, both of which have resident populations in the area and show strong social units, the Tenerife-La Gomera marine area is also an important migration stop for 21 other cetacean species:

Risso’s dolphin, sperm whale, killer whale, false killer whale, short-beaked common dolphin, striped dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, rough-toothed dolphin, Fraser’s dolphin, Cuvier’s beaked whale, Blainville’s beaked whale, Gervais’ beaked whale, Northern bottlenose whale, humpback whale, fin whale, sei whale, blue whale, Bryde’s whale, common minke whale, North Atlantic right whale, pygmy sperm whale.

Area Features

Short-finned pilot whale, sperm whale, common bottlenose dolphin - Species

Stability

Short-finned pilot whales: Vulnerable

Sperm whales: Vulnerable

Common bottlenose dolphins: Vulnerable

Threats

The Whale Heritage Area is located next to one of the biggest tourist hotspots in Tenerife. Many marine tourism activities interact with cetaceans, making harassment one of the biggest threats to cetaceans. There are too many whale watching boats, many of which are illegal, and some do not respect the code of conduct established by the law when in the proximity of cetaceans. The government is taking action, providing surveillance, and issuing economic penalties. Further action is required, like more information displayed to tourists and whale watchers encouraging them to choose only legal and responsible tour operators.

Entanglement is the second biggest threat. Many cetaceans and other marine life like turtles often become entangled. Successful strategies are in place with volunteers and rescue teams to help these animals. However, it would help to have a patrol at sea dedicated to removing any possible debris that can cause entanglement.

Actions taken for protection

There are research groups, associations and naturalists that are monitoring the cetaceans and the anthropogenic impacts to their populations using both land and sea observations. Bad practices, such as the reckless approach at high speeds or the accumulation of boats around groups, are included in reports and presented to the proper authorities.

In recent years, responsible whale watching operators in Tenerife have been making great efforts towards best practice, including: eliminating single-use plastic; having trained personnel on board, including a certified guide for interpretive talks about local conservation needs; collaboration with conservation initiatives; collaboration with wildlife rescue organisations; posting relevant information on social media.

Community Importance

Whale and dolphin watching is a hugely important industry for Tenerife’s economy; it is the second most popular activity for tourists visiting the island. The Tenerife government confirmed that at least 23% of visiting tourists practice whale and dolphin watching. This means that for 2019, with a total of 6,110,838 visitors to Tenerife, 1.4 million of them went whale and dolphin watching (Data from Cabildo de Tenerife).

Wildlife Watching Guidelines

There are various national and international regulations and laws that protect cetacean populations in the proposed area.

The following is a summary of the regulations for whale and dolphin watching.

Required:

• Boats should not approach a cetacean closer than 60m.

• Maximum observation time: 30 minutes.

• Navigate at reduced speed.

• Avoid concentration of boats.

• Leave the area if the animals are disturbed.

Criteria

1. Cultural Importance Of Wildlife

Cetacean species within the Whale Heritage Area are of exceptional cultural importance and key features of the local community's identity.

1.1 Cultural heritage links people to cetaceans demonstrating an understanding and on-going respect for cetaceans and habitats.

1.2 The presentation and interpretation of cultural heritage that is linked to cetaceans is respectful and sensitive to those living and working in the Whale Heritage Area.

1.3 Efforts are in place to continually revive, reimagine, and enhance cultural heritage linking people to cetaceans.

Criteria

2. Respectful Human-Wildlife Coexistence

The community working to protect the Whale Heritage Area has developed a responsible framework to manage the relationship between people and cetaceans.

2.1 The community works collaboratively to ensure cetaceans are protected through research, nature conservation, regenerating biodiversity, and safeguarding individual animals from harm.

2.2 The community raises awareness about the protection of cetaceans, including ways for everybody to help contribute to solutions.

2.3 The community influences the protection of cetaceans through strategies that are based on practical, scientific, or traditional knowledge.

2.4 The community recognises that there may be differences in opinion, interests or values related to the protection of cetaceans, and meets this challenge through continual dialogue, collaboration, and mediation where necessary.

2.5 The community supports and implements sustainability and environmental initiatives that have a positive impact on cetaceans and the marine environment.

2.6 The community regularly monitors the health and protection of cetacean populations and adopts strategies based on the latest evidence.

Criteria

3. Responsible Wildlife Tourism

The community providing cetacean tourism experiences within the Whale Heritage Area uses collaborative management and ongoing research to put the needs of cetaceans before commercial interests.

3.1 The community has strategies in place to identify and raise awareness about exploitative, extractive, or consumptive captive or wild cetacean tourism attractions.

3.2 The community promotes responsible wild whale and dolphin watching experiences.

3.3 Responsible whale and dolphin watching guidelines are adopted within the Whale Heritage Area and regularly updated to follow expert or science-based best practice. These guidelines conform to international, national, or local legislation where it exists.

3.4 Efforts are made to enforce responsible whale and dolphin watching guidelines and international, national, or local legislation where it exists.

3.5 Tourism and the behaviour of tourists are well managed to reduce negative impacts on cetaceans and habitats.

3.6 The community plays a key role in designing and operating responsible whale and dolphin watching experiences, which provide direct social and economic benefits.

3.7 The community monitors the impacts of tourism on targeted species and habitats and regularly acts to reduce those impacts based on the latest evidence.

Criteria

4. Steering Committee

The Whale Heritage Area is guided by an active steering committee that represents the community.

4.1 The steering committee is an elected body that seeks to be inclusive and representative of all stakeholders.

Stakeholders_and_local_community_participation.pdf

4.2 The steering committee makes substantial efforts to engage the wider community, including those not traditionally associated with cetaceans or conservation.