A responsible framework for managing wildlife watching tourism: The case of seal watching in Iceland
the Icelandic harbour seal popu- lation is defined on the national red list for threatened populations as Critically Endangered;
Historically, there have been organized population reduction programs and bounty schemes for Harbor Seals in some range states, largely because of perceived competition with fisheries. Hunting and/or licensed killing to protect fisheries has largely been eliminated but subsistence hunting by Alaska Natives is allowed in the US. In the eastern Atlantic, Harbor Seal population reduction programs date from the early 1980s and 1990s in Iceland and Scotland, respectively (Bowen and Lidgard 2012) and continue at some level today (e.g., Butler et al. 2008). An extermination program at the beginning of the 20th century dramatically depleted Harbor Seals in the Baltic Sea. Quotas for Harbor Seals are set annually in Norway and a bounty is paid to hunters in several regions of the country.
Mass die-offs from viral outbreaks have killed thousands of Harbor Seals on both sides of the Atlantic, but most notably in Europe caused by phocine distemper virus (Dietz et al. 1989, Harkonen et al. 2006, Reijnders 1986). Because Harbor Seals haul out on nearshore and coastal mainland sites, they are exposed to terrestrial wild carnivores, pets and feral animals, and waste from human populations that create an increased risk of exposure to communicable diseases.
Because many Harbor Seals live and feed in close proximity to large populations of humans they are exposed to, and can accumulate, high levels of industrial and agricultural pollutants (e.g., organochlorines, PCBs, dioxins) that negatively affect reproduction (Reijnders 1986), induce vitamin deficiency (Brouwer et al. 1989), and cause immunosuppression (Ross et al. 1995). Both chronic oil spills and discharges and episodic large-scale spills can cause direct mortality (Frost et al. 1994, 1999; Hoover-Miller et al. 2001) and could have long term impacts on Harbor Seal health and their environment.
Noise and other disturbance from offshore oil and gas, and the development of offshore renewable energy such as wind farms, may also affect the foraging behavior and physical condition of Harbor Seals (Hastie et al. 2015, Skeate et al. 2012).
Harbor Seals live in coastal areas many of which are heavily fished and this results in entanglement and bycatch issues (see Desportes et al. 2010) Overfishing and environmental variability (including global climate change) may also impact Harbor Seal prey populations.
Despite lack of an official seal watching management plan, the local community have a history of initiating preliminary management at a grassroots level, beginning with the establishment of the ISC (Burns 2018). More recently, a provisional code of conduct and limited interpretive signs were developed. This demonstrates a local desire for more effective management.
The main tourist season in Iceland is between May and September (Icelandic Tourist Board, 2020), coinciding with these biologically important periods when the seals are extra vulnerable to disturbance; Granquist and Sigurjo ́ndo ́ttir’s (2014) study indicated that both behaviour and spatial distribution of harbour seals in this region can be affected by land-based seal watching.
Aquino, J., Burns, G., & Granquist, S. (2021). A responsible framework for managing wildlife watching tourism: The case of seal watching in Iceland. Ocean & Coastal Management, 210, 105670. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105670
The Icelandic Seal Center (ISC) in Hvammstangi aims to simultaneously promote the development of tourism in the region and the transfer of knowledge between the scientific community and society to develop environmental policy. It achieves this through research in natural and social sciences, collaboration with operators and entrepreneurs, and informing tourists about responsible seal watching methods and viewing locations.