Key steps towards adaptive management of a whalewatching industry: developing sustainability objectives and indicators for the swimming-with-dwarf minke whales activity in the Great Barrier Reef.

An Australian Government sanctioned swimming-with-whales tourism industry has developed in the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) based on the austral winter migration of dwarf minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata subsp.). The cumulative impacts of this growing tourism activity are uncertain and there are widespread concerns about the sustainability of swim-with-cetaceans programs. The geographic remoteness of these interactions in the GBR poses additional challenges for monitoring the activity. Effective evaluation of sustainability requires the long-term monitoring of key indicators, matched to clearly defined objectives, which are agreed by all stakeholders within a collaborative and transparent management framework. Adopting a ‘sustainability science’ approach, this study utilised a mixed methodology to develop a framework for monitoring this activity in the GBR. Principles of Participatory Action Research were employed to engage key stakeholders (including tourism operators, government management agency staff, cetacean scientists and representatives of wildlife conservation NGOs) in an iterative, three-step process to develop species, location and industry-specific sustainability objectives. First, a suite of Quadruple-Bottom-Line sustainability objectives was developed based on relevant literature and with input from cetacean scientists, encompassing ecological, social, economic and management goals. Sixteen stakeholder key informants were then interviewed to refine the objectives and explore issues relating to their implementation. The objectives were subsequently reviewed and fine-tuned in a series of facilitated stakeholder workshops, with 37 out of a total 39 objectives being formally adopted by workshop participants. Concurrent to this process, a range of potential indicators were evaluated using industry and researcher-generated data. This paper critically evaluates the process followed, highlighting factors contributing to its achievements and shortcomings. Future steps and issues affecting the implementation of the monitoring framework are discussed. A Swimming-with-Whales Adaptive Management Model (SWAMM) is proposed that is intended to assist stakeholders in the ongoing assessment and management of this activity