The Bluff, South Africa

The Bluff Whale Heritage Area

Information

Visitor centres or museums

Description

The Bluff is a coastal suburb that forms part of the port of Durban on the eastern seaboard of South Africa. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty, with stunning landscapes and an abundance of wildlife both on land and at sea. As one of the main enclosing elements of the Bay of Natal, the Bluff Headland has extraordinary geographical, environmental and historical significance.

People at the Bluff have a strong desire to retain their heritage and links with cetaceans through festivals, trails, guided walks, and whale watching opportunities.

The Bluff has a Whale Watching Route and celebrates the arrival of humpback whales with the Welcoming of the Whales Festival every year. The Old Whaling Station is being transformed by the Sodurba community tourism organisation into a Heritage Site and Eco Tourism Hub point where they can share their history with tourists and guests. The vision is to showcase how the local community has evolved from whaling to become protectors and admirers of the whales, and to educate the public about wildlife and the importance of ocean conservation.

Sodurba has also recently registered this destination as the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) Whale Coast®, which will further strengthen and foster the community’s sense of pride and leave behind a legacy.

The Bluff became the world’s first certified Whale Heritage Area (along with Hervey Bay) in October, 2019.

Motivation

Durban Tourism has an invested interest in promoting the destination and ensuring that it’s sustainably managed, while The Bluff stakeholders have a plan in place to promote and support conservation and responsible tourism. The steering committee recently launched a Whale Watching Route and also held the first "Welcoming of the Whales" festival in June 2017 for local people to celebrate the cetaceans along their coast. Educational projects are in place to inform and educate local children to protect the planet and cetaceans. Tourism projects are also in place with the local community to promote business and employment opportunities.

Achieving Whale Heritage Area status has been of immeasurable importance to the communities, authorities and organisations that represent this region. The WHA designation has helped to change attitudes towards the environment, ocean habitat preservation, and the importance of protecting cetaceans.

Species or habitats

From May to December, humpback whales can be seen as they migrate along the east coast of South Africa. There are estimated to be over 7,000 humpbacks migrating through the waters of Durban now, compared to only 340 when the whaling station was closed in 1975. Other whales occasionally seen in the area include dwarf minke whales and Southern right whales.

Humpback dolphins and long-beaked common dolphins are commonly sighted between May and July, while bottlenose dolphins are seen year-round.

Area Features

Humpback whale, Dwarf minke whale, Bottlenose dolphin, Humpback dolphin, Long beaked common dolphin - Species

Stability

Humpback whale - Increasing

Dwarf minke whale - Stable

Bottlenose dolphin - Unknown

Humpback dolphin - Decreasing

Long beaked common dolphin - Unknown

Threats

The Durban port acts as a sink for waste entering the port from canals and city storm water drainage pipes. This waste is then released into the ocean and washes up on adjacent beaches along the KZN coastline and within the WHA area. Proper waste management and disposal practices are needed to prevent such instances and protect the marine ecosystem. Community beach clean-up efforts are crucial in order to prevent the waste from building up on the shores and impacting the local environment and wildlife.

Whales and dolphins can also become trapped in abandoned nets or caught by accident by fishing vessels.

Actions taken for protection

To maintain and improve biodiversity (both marine and terrestrial) and to address the threats relevant to cetaceans and their habitat, projects and initiatives are carried out by stakeholders, such as WILDOCEANS, Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBRE), EZEMVELO.

Some of these initiatives include the implementation of measures to reduce plastics, discarded fishing gear and other solid waste entering waterways, and the provision of sustainability training for local tourism businesses.

Community Importance

The designation of the Whale Heritage Area has motivated communities and groups, with WILDTRUST clearing over 96 tons of waste from Durban's waterways. Environmental measures at Bluff National Park Golf Course have reduced ocean pollution.

Recognition of the Whale Heritage Area has not only raised awareness for marine conservation but also driven sustainable progress and employment in the area. Durban Tourism and Bluff stakeholders have embraced eco-consciousness, fostering economic gains and job opportunities through sustainable tourism. The Youth Employment Services programme has partnered with WILDOCEANS (and their WhaleTime initiative), as well as Whale and Dolphin Tours, to offer workplace opportunities for young, unemployed people in the local community.

Wildlife Watching Guidelines

Whale watching guidelines are adopted and adhered to in the WHA. Only operators with valid boat-based whale watching permits, allocated by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs – DEA (now Dept. of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries – DEFF), are allowed to conduct boat tours, of which there are two permit holders within the area.

This permit stipulates regulations on: performance monitoring, acts and government gazettes that operators need to abide by, submission of information such as sightings and number of passengers for every cruise, the area of operation, vessel requirements and specifications, prohibited actions and regulations of how to approach wildlife.

Recommendations include guidelines on safe distances for approaching cetaceans, responsible practices when calves are present, and time limits for encounters.

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.

1.4 The community regularly monitors the impact of cultural heritage linked to cetaceans and takes action to strengthen that impact based on the latest evidence.

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.

Meeting_with_Locals.jpg

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.

Regulations_and_enforcement_for_whale_watching.pdf

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.

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