New paper on the sustainability of dolphin watching industries in Asia

The title of our new paper

Closing this 2016, my colleagues and I are very happy to announce the publication of our collaborative paper on the sustainability of dolphin watching tourism in Asia in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. The citation and abstract are below. We have also written a piece in The Conversation (lead author Gerard E. Ryan) here.


Video Abstract - A rapid assessment of wildlife tourism risk posed to cetaceans in Asia from Taylor & Francis on Vimeo.

Bapak, Ibu, rekan kerja sekalian, dengan bahagia dan lega saya sampaikan peer-reviewed publication berikut ini tentang wisata lumba-lumba di Asia yang barusan dimuat di Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Kami juga sudah menuliskan satu artikel di The Conversation (penulis utama Gerard E. Ryan) di tautan ini.

Abstract and citations are below. Abstrak dan sitiran di bawah ini.

The US National Marine Animal Health and Stranding Response Conference (September 2016)

The Indonesian country update poster

The US National Marine Animal Health and Stranding Response Conference that I attended in early September (6-9 Sept 2016) was not the first of its kind that I attended at a national level, but it was certainly the most impressive one. My sincere thanks to International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for their generous contributions so that I could attend this event, and for NOAA for extending the invitation to me.

The conference enabled me to learn many things to apply to Indonesia’s own national marine mammal stranding network. The followings are lessons I learned during some sessions of the conference. Granted, I couldn’t attend all sessions as much as I wanted to. For instance, given my limited medical/veterinarian knowledge, I only attended some veterinary sessions that my Indonesian vet colleagues would have not missed for the world. However, what I’ve learned from the sessions I did attend was a treasure. The followings are things that I learned the most during the conference, not necessarily in the order of magnitude nor importance. 

BBC Earth article on my work in Lovina

The spinner dolphins in Lovina (Mustika@JCU)

BBC Earth correspondent Lesley Evans Ogden interviewed me last December in San Francisco during the 21st Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. The interview is now at the BBC Earth website here. I copy and paste the part that has my research below, but the article covers many other aspects of whale watching from other researchers, so it's a really good read. 

Putu Mustika, an adjunct researcher at James Cook University in Australia, and co-founder of the non-profit Cetacean Sirenia Indonesia, has also been exploring how dolphins react to being closely watched by humans in boats. It is a research area she was alerted to by journalists concerned by the practice of boats chasing dolphins.

For the spinner dolphins she studies in Lovina, North Bali, there is, as yet, no formal protocol for marine mammal watching. As a result, it is not uncommon for there to be more dolphin-watching boats than dolphins.

IORA whale and dolphin watching workshop

I was invited to the beautiful Sri Lanka last February to attend IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) whale and dolphin watching workshop. This post is basically my report to the IORA Indonesia Secretariat, slightly modified for this post. Special thanks to Lars Bejder of Murdoch Uni who has recommended my participation, IORA Indonesia who has elected me as an Indonesian rep, the Australian Govt (the Department of Environment) for funding the whole event, International Whaling Commission as the amazing co-facilitator, and the Sri Lanka Institute of Policy Studies for being a great host. I will visit Sri Lanka again one day... seven days is not enough...

On 24-26 February 2016, a regional IORA workshop on sustainable whale and dolphin watching was conducted in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Titled “Building sustainable whale and dolphin watching tourism in the Indian Ocean region”, the workshop was based on IORA’s goal, i.e., “to promote the sustained growth and balanced development of the region and of the Member States” and at least one of IORA’s six priority areas (i.e., tourism and cultural exchanges)(IORA 2015a). As of 2015, IORA has also put emphasize on the Blue Economy concept. 

Indonesia's National Plan of Action for the Cetaceans

Just a short post to inform you all that Indonesia (the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries) has released its National Plan of Action for the Conservation of Cetaceans. The document is still in Indonesian language. I have the English version of the earlier draft (because I was one of the authors), but we will need time (and funding, I suppose) to translate it into English. Based on the 2002-2010 Conservation Action Plan for the World's Cetaceans (Reeves et al 2003), the document contains strategies to address unsustainable anthropogenic activities (bycatch, blast fishing, direct catch, tourism in the wild, captivity, marine debris, vessel strikes, and competition with fisheries) and disturbance to cetacean habitats (coastal and riverine development, commercial and military sonar, chemical pollution, biotoxin and climate change). The national marine mammal stranding network is also mentioned as one of the action plans. Click here for the document in Indonesian language. (terjemahan bahasa Indonesia di bawah break)