Whale Watching as a Type of Ecotourism and a Research on Its Potential in Türkiye

Year 2024, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 50 - 60, 30.06.2024

Cenk Durmuşkahya , Efecan İştipliler

https://doi.org/10.30625/ijctr.1401848

Abstract

According to the International Whaling Commision (IWC), whale watching, which is defined as “commercial activity aimed at observing whales in their natural habitat” and is valid for all whale and dolphin species, emerged in America in the early 1950s, but gained momentum after the 1980s and spread to many parts of the world, and has established itself as a billion-dollar industry globally. After the anti-whaling movements that started in the 1970s resulted in the IWC initiating a whaling ban in 1986, whales became an important charismatic species for marine conservation efforts. When the potential of our country was examined in terms of this sector, which has had successful examples worldwide since the 1980s, it was predicted that the presence of eight whale and dolphin (Cetacea) species in different seas of our country could make a significant contribution to the local economy and marine conservation efforts. It is known that when applied correctly, it can contribute to many topics such as socio-economic, education and conservation, as well as providing a continuous data flow for cetacea species in our country with its studies on the axis of citizen science. In this study, the potential of commercial cetacean observation in our country, together with its positive and negative effects, was evaluated.

Keywords

Ecotourism, Cetacean, Whale Watching, Sperm Whale, Cetacean Watching

Ekoturizm Çeşidi Olarak Balina Gözlemi ve Türkiye’deki Potansiyeli Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Uluslararası Balinacılık Kuruluna (IWC) göre “Balinaları doğal ortamlarında gözlemek amaçlı yapılan ticari aktivite” olarak tanımlanan balina ve yunus türlerinin hepsi için geçerli olan balina gözlemleri, 1950li yılların başında Amerika’da ortaya çıkmış olsada 1980li yıllardan sonra hız kazanarak dünya’nın birçok bölgesine yayılmış ve küresel olarak Milyar dolarlık bir sektör olarak kendine yer edinmiştir. 70’li yıllarda başlayan balina avcılığı karşıtı hareketlerin 1986 yılında IWC tarafından balina av yasağını başlatmasıyla sonuçlanmasının ardından balinalar denizel koruma çalışmaları için önemli karizmatik türü haline gelmiştir. Dünya çapında 80li yıllardan itibaren başarılı örnekleri olan bu sektör açısından ülkemiz potansiyel incelendiğinde 8 balina ve yunus (Cetacea) türünün ülkemizin farklı denizlerinde bulunmasının lokal ekonomiye ve denizel koruma çalışmalarına önemli katkı yapabileceği öngörülmüştür. Doğru uygulandığı örneklerinde sosyo-ekonomik, eğitim ve koruma gibi birçok başlıkta katkı sağlamasının yanında vatandaş bilimi ekseninde olacak çalışmalarıyla ülkemizdeki cetacea türleri için sürekli veri akışı sağlayabileceği bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmada pozitif ve negatif etkileriyle beraber ülkemize ticari amaçlı cetacean gözleminin potansiyeli değerlendirilmiştir.

Keywords

Ekoturizm, Cetacean, Balina Gözlemi, İspermeçet, Cetacean Gözlemi

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