The season to spot whales off the coast of Mirissa should have begun by now and according to whale-watching tour websites, the best time to spot blue whales is between November through April. However, the tour groups that have commenced tours have reported a drop in sightings since 2021.
While the shipping accidents in 2021 were considered to be a probable cause, the unethical interactions between humans and whales through practices such as diving with whales also have a direct influence on the reduction of sightings.
A Whale Watching Club (WWC), Mirissa boat operator, sharing his plight, took to social media on 5 November, warning tour groups not to come to Mirissa due to the high cost and the lack of whale sightings in recent times.
“I had several groups cancel whale-watching tours after they found that the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) charges Rs. 6,050 (including taxes and harbour fees) per foreign adult who wishes to go whale watching. Tourists must pay this amount separately to the ticket counter that the DWC has set up. Then we as whale-watching tour operators issue a separate ticket at a cost of Rs. 20,000 that covers the boat charges and other provisions that we offer during the 4-6-hour boat ride.”
According to the WWC, the boat has to have a fuel supply worth Rs. 95,000 for one ride to go out to deep sea and return. Even after spending this amount on fuel to transport, the tour group, with each adult paying $ 50, only has a 1% chance of spotting a whale in the seas off Mirissa.
Chamara (name changed), a freelance inbound tour operator and guide, explaining the current situation, said: “Following the X-Press Pearl disaster, whale sightings have reduced. To top it all off, the unethical interaction of diving with whales popularised by certain whale-watching facilitators seems to have prompted the blue whales to move further away from Sri Lankan territorial waters. We are dealing with the ocean and the mammals that have their own behaviour patterns. If they feel threatened, they move away from their existing habitats.”
According to Chamara, there are types of whales that crave human interaction, such as the humpback whale and Bryde’s whale. However, blue whales seem to be territorial and the continuous unethical whale-watching practices in Sri Lanka appear to be scaring them away from their otherwise dormant positioning.
“Two of our tour groups were fortunate enough to spot one blue whale each in the past two weeks. However, we did not witness whale fluking. Even the blue whale that we spotted was veering away. The reason for this is that blue whales presume that any boat that comes towards them will have several people diving in and attempting to interact with them,” Chamara elaborated.
Traffic Separation Scheme
The maritime area south of Dondra Head poses a triple threat to cargo ships and tankers that use the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), exposing them to the risk of collisions with whales, small fishing vessels, and whale-watching boats.
Data records indicate that 40,000 ships transit through these waters. This trade corridor serves thousands of ships engaged in trade between Asia and Europe as well as important trade bound for destinations in the Indian Ocean and other locations connected to this major East-West marine traffic corridor.
The exceptional marine productivity in the area around Sri Lanka’s TSS attracts blue whales (consequently whale-watching boats tailing them) as well as small fishing vessels, which operate very close to the traffic lanes even at night, obstructing the traffic in the TSS.
Owing to this, several international conservation groups in April 2023 called for the establishment of a new traffic separation scheme south of Sri Lanka through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The pre-session public release invites the Marine Environment Protection Committee to consider the importance of the establishment of a new TSS south of Sri Lanka.
Once the TSS is established, it should address the current environmental and safety concerns. Furthermore, it requests that the Secretary General consider providing any necessary technical cooperation to facilitate the establishment of a new TSS to accommodate the significant East-West marine traffic sailing in these waters, and to consider establishing the new TSS roughly 15 nautical miles south of the existing TSS.
Over the last decade, the co-sponsors of this publication have attempted to reach out to Sri Lanka to create a new TSS, including to extend offers for any technical assistance needed to move forward with the establishment of a new TSS.
Yet, no action has been taken on the matter thus far. The co-sponsors are hopeful of receiving the support and engagement of Sri Lanka and other IMO member states in order to work together to establish a new TSS.
Third-party costs deter tourists
When asked about the role of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the ticket price that is paid separately for whale-watching tours, the DWC Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara told The Sunday Morning: "The ticket that DWC issues includes the necessary service charges and government taxes. When you consider that price and the price for the tour charged per person, there is a big margin that third-party tour coordinators charge including the boat operator fees. The ticket we issue for this purpose under the DWC receipt is a legally applicable fee that is stipulated through the Fauna and Flora Act and is a fee that is applicable to enter wildlife parks and marine reserves that are under the state jurisdiction."
Sooriyabandara also explained that the boat operators are well aware of these fees at the time of obtaining their permits through the DWC to operate boat tours. Hence the DWC Director General noted that the reason of hefty taxes or charges levied by the DWC are not the reason for tour groups to cancel boat rides, but there could be other hidden costs that the whale-watching tour operators are unaware of, that get added up by the tour coordinators.
"There is no regulated price for this sector, and if you look into the pricing mechanism of each whale-watching tour operator you will see a disparity. Rather than pinning the blame on the DWC, the boat operators should also consider how the tour group coordinators are tricking the tourists into paying hefty amounts for such tours," Sooriyabandara elaborated.
In addition to that, we asked Sooriyabnadara about the stance that the DWC has on the TSS requests, to which he responded; "The DWC has provided its recommendations to the relevant stakeholders over this matter. However, changing shipping routes is a decision that needs to be taken by several governmental institutions. Therefore I cannot provide a comment on that matter," he noted.
On 17 June 2023, this newspaper reported how the Government of Sri Lanka strongly opposed the review of shipping lanes as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had not directly consulted the relevant government officials to review the vessel Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) located south of Dondra Head.
While gaps in tracking and monitoring Sri Lanka’s fishing fleet and the many thousands of small dinghy boats are identified and remain unregulated, the requirement to change TSS is highlighted by the IMO. A delegation representing the Merchant Shipping of Sri Lanka and several officials from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation travelled to the United Kingdom in July to present the opposition.
According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) was tasked with evaluating the IMO report’s data by June, but there has been no indication of its observations or recommendations. The Sunday Morning made several attempts to contact officials at NARA to gain clarity on the matter and whether any studies were conducted on the marine ecosystems following the X-Press Pearl disaster and the changes in the marine environment. However, all attempts proved futile.
Timeline of IMO, IWC, industry, and E-NGO outreach regarding Sri Lanka
Traffic Separation Scheme date
Outreach regarding the TSS south of Dondra Head
September 2011
IMO/IWC briefing concerning blue whales and ship strikes in the TSS
June/October 2013
IWC letter to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in London
March 2014
IWC letter to Dr. Ratnayake, Sri Lanka
October 2014
Meeting in Colombo between IWC and Sri Lankan officials
July 2015
WSC writes to Sri Lankan Director of Merchant Shipping
November 2015
WSC meets in Colombo with senior officials of the Sri Lankan Government to discuss the need for a new TSS
February 2016
A meeting between IWC and Sri Lankan Minister of Sustainable Development
April 2017
BIMCO, CLIA, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO, IPTA, and WSC write to the President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka requesting that Sri Lanka relocate the existing TSS roughly 15 nm south of the existing TSS
December 2018
IMO and Sri Lanka organise national stakeholder consultations to discuss environmental and safety risks associated with the current TSS
November 2019
IWC meets with Deputy Commissioner Pathirana in London
October 2021
BIMCO, CLIA, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO, IPTA, and WSC again write to the President, Prime Minister, and Parliament of Sri Lanka requesting that Sri Lanka relocate the existing TSS roughly 15 nm south of the existing TSS
October 2021
IFAW, the Great Whale Conservancy, and OceanCare reached out to Sri Lankan officials emphasising the benefits to be gained by establishing a new TSS 15 nm to the south
November 2021
IWC letter to Sri Lankan High Commission in London
February/March 2022
IWC letter to senior Sri Lankan officials
March 2022
WSC writes to the President and other senior Sri Lankan officials emphasising the value of creating a new TSS and inviting Sri Lanka to discuss the matter
Benefits of creating a new TTS
With the creation of a new TSS, Sri Lanka can enjoy safety-related benefits, navigational benefits, and environmental benefits.
Safety-related benefits
1. Reduce the risk of collision between small fishing craft operating in and around the productive waters of the existing TSS and large ocean-going ships transiting through the existing traffic lanes
2. Eliminate the risk of collision or swamping of small whale-watching vessels operating in close proximity to the existing TSS
3. Address the navigational risks inherent to a large portion of maritime traffic sailing south of the existing TSS, but without the navigational safety benefits of a new TSS
Environmental benefits
1. The risk of ship strikes with blue whales that feed in the waters surrounding the existing TSS would be significantly reduced and largely eliminated because blue whale feeding activity as well as feeding grounds important to other marine species lie within the existing TSS
2. Increasing the distance of the TSS from Dondra Head by roughly 15 nautical miles provides a larger margin for response operations in the event of a maritime accident, lowering the risk of pollution in the productive and sensitive marine waters that lie north and along the Sri Lankan coast
3. Expected reduction of underwater-radiated noise at a major marine feeding ground
4. Air quality benefits can be expected as fewer emissions from international shipping would reach Sri Lanka due to the increased distance from shore