Naomi A. Rose

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Humane Society International (HSI) is working with Mundo Azul to promote responsible ecotourism in the marine environment, a relatively undeveloped area in the Peruvian tourism industry (which to date has focused more on the rainforest and on cultural sites such as Machu Picchu ). Illegal dolphin killing for meat still threatens Peruvian dolphins and the promotion of these charismatic animals as a source of tourism revenue will hopefully offer fishermen an economically viable alternative to killing them. Mundo Azul is focusing its efforts primarily on the village of Pucusana (just south of Lima ), where bottlenose dolphins are frequently sighted. The staff and volunteers are building a photo-identification catalog of these animals, which will prove invaluable in determining the size of this population, its distribution, and in establishing baselines for monitoring the impacts, if any, on these dolphins as tourism activities develop over the long term.

During a visit to Peru in April 2006, my HSI colleague, Luke Ney, and I participated in a series of workshops attended by local and federal authorities, fishermen, and tourism industry representatives, to discuss and consider approaches to the development of responsible marine-based ecotourism. These sessions took place in Lima , Trujillo , and Iquitos and were well-attended and productive and their results will form the basis for a national plan to develop responsible dolphin-watching in Peru .

As part of our activities while in Peru , we went to view the waters and coast off Pucusana. This area is spectacular, with guano islands filled with birds and sweeping vistas of the Peruvian desert coast – even without the dolphins, it would have been a satisfying day on the water. However, we were ultimately rewarded when we encountered a group of perhaps 40 dolphins as we were returning to port. These animals voluntarily approached our small inflatable craft, riding the bow and staying with us for 15 or 20 minutes. I am accustomed to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins – these Pacific animals were huge in comparison! It was amazing seeing them swimming right in front of the beaches just to the north of the harbor. Clearly there is excellent potential for the development of successful dolphin watching in this area, from boats and perhaps even from land. The goal of HSI’s cooperation with Mundo Azul is to do so responsibly and with adequate controls to prevent negative impacts to the dolphins – we want to protect them from hunting, but not at the expense of their long-term welfare and conservation.