Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V9

Seal watching management: Codes of conduct as a management tool for conservation

Elin Lilja Öqvist (1), Sandra Granquist (1, 2, 3), Georgette Leah Burns (4), Anders Angerbjörn (1)

1. Stockholm University, Sweden 2. The Icelandic Seal Center, Iceland 3. Institute of Freshwater Fisheries, Iceland 4. Department of Rural Tourism, Hólar University College, Iceland

Kynnir / Presenter: Elin Lilja Öqvist

Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Elin Lilja Öqvist (elin.lilja@live.se)

The wildlife watching industry is growing worldwide, and tourist interest in seals is increasing. Disturbance from tourists can cause changes in behavior and have a direct and indirect negative effect on the fitness and survival of seals. Creating sustainable seal watching activities where disturbance to seals is limited is crucial in ensuring future conservation and protection of seal species. One way to control tourism activities around wildlife is through codes of conducts with guidelines for how to behave around the animals. Codes of conduct are convenient management tools because they are often quicker and easier to implement than laws. The aim of this study was to find and analyze codes of conduct for seal watching available online. In total, thirty-three codes of conducts intended for seal watching were found. In many areas where seal watching occur there were no guidelines in place. The majority of the codes were not based on pinniped specific research. The content and detail varied between the codes and was often insufficient to protect seals from tourist disturbance. We suggest developing a general code of conduct for seal watching that could be applied anywhere with local and species specific additions. This code could be implemented in newly established seal watching areas where extensive local research is currently lacking. More research on the effects of tourism on seals is needed to improve seal watching management.