Answers relating to question 4Objectives and purposes of the research action

The objective of this research action is to identify best practice parameters for swimmer and vessel interactions with humpback whales (HW) (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the Australian east coast in consideration of the swim-with HW tourism industry to ensure for ecological, economic and social sustainability.

This proposal is based both on the existing Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the In-water humpback whale interaction in Ningaloo Marine Park, Ningaloo Marine Park Trial 2016.

While we appreciate HW and dwarf minke whales (DMW) are very different in terms of size and behaviour, the Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area has been developed using the best possible information based on human-whale interactions, whale-whale interactions and whale-vessel interactions, all to assess the risks and possible negative impacts on the whales behaviour and ensure these interactions are on the whales terms. Therefore, the Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area serves as the perfect starting point for this research and potential tourism activity, has been created in conjunction with managers, tourism operators, researchers and passengers over many years, is already established and accepted in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is considered World Best Practice for swim-with activities having won several awards.

Recently however the Ningaloo Marine Park Trial 2016, has provided an excellent test case for how HW in-water interactions might take place in Australian waters. The suggestions put forward on managing interactions, as well as the 2016 Trial recommendations, have been taken into consideration when submitting this application.

The primary purpose of this research is to determine if a combination of the Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Ningaloo Marine Park Trial 2016 can be readily adapted to the swim-with HW industry on the east coast and investigate if an in-water approach distance of between 100-30m is ecologically, economically and socially viable. From this point on this will be refereed to as the East Coast Humpback Whale swim-with Trial. The findings of this proposed research will specifically aid in identifying the risks and benefits of conducting such an activity. In order to do this we propose an in water trial period of two HW seasons aboard the vessel “Main Event” where researchers and operators who have been involved with the DMW industry can test the East Coast Humpback Whale swim-with Trail on a small number (5) of in-water participants at a time to determine the safety and risk factors involved with this activity. This will involve a multi-disciplinary approach and examine whale-human interactions, whale-whale interactions and social behaviour and responses to relevant stimuli, whale-vessel interactions, and participant satisfaction and other social science parameters relevant to the activity. Only with all these factors assessed can managers begin to determine if a change in regulations can applied to this situation.

Equipment and methods used

Equipment used will include paper and online survey and observation forms (to be created if permit is granted but based on current swim with whale passenger surveys to allow for comparison), hydrophone(s); and audio software, in water and topside, drones and in water hand held sonars (used in DMW research).

Methods used will include the collection of eco-tourist survey responses from vessel guests and in-water participants (demographics, attitudes, ratings of excursion experience); in-water and top-side whale observations by researchers (size, sex, proximity to each other and vessel, behaviour and social context); hydrophone (vessel, marine, and whale audio); marine characteristics (water, wave, and wind measures); and Automated Identification System (AIS) data (remote ship tracking and wind speed data). Drones will be used to visually characterise encounters from an aerial position to allow for unprecedented understanding of whale-whale, human-whale, and vessel-whale interaction.

Drone SpecificationsAircraft DJI Phantom 4Weight (Battery & Propellers Included) 1380 g

Diagonal Size (Propellers Excluded) 350 mm

Max Ascent Speed S-mode: 6 m/s

Max Descent Speed S-mode: 4 m/s

Max Speed S-mode: 20 m/s

Vessel Specifications – Main EventCustom built 27m, 3 level, high speed luxury catamaran which is specifically designed for the Lady Musgrave Island day tour.

Able to accommodate up to 200 guests in luxury over 3 levels, she is fully air conditioned, with 126 seats on the main deck, 48 seats in the upper/VIP deck lounge and seating for up to 25 on the open air sundeck. With full 360 degree walk around decks on the upper deck she is the ultimate viewing platform with a forward viewing deck and seating for another 15 guests.

Steps to be taken to minimise impacts of cetaceans

The East Coast Humpback Whale swim-with Trial will be carried out using the following guidelines.

1. GENERAL PROTOCOLS (Adapted from Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area)

1.1.  Whales and dolphins are protected and therefore must not be killed, taken, injured or interfered with.

1.2.  Use of prohibited vessels (including jet skis, parasail, hovercraft,

hydrofoil, wing- in-ground effect craft or motorized viding aids) for whale watching is not allowed.

1.3.  Incidents involving whales (e.g. entanglements, collisions) must be reported to the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (NPRSR) using an Incident Report Form, and these should be copied to the Humpback Whale Project (HWP).

1.4.  Breaches of compliance with the whale watching regulations must be reported to (NPRSR), and these should be copied to the Humpback Whale Project (HWP).

1.5.  Minor breaches of compliance with non-regulatory protocols in this Code of Practice must be brought in the first instance to the attention of both the management of the operations concerns and the HWP.

1.6.  Swimming-with-whales endorsed tourism operators must submit a completed Whale Sighting Sheet for each Humpback whale encounter to:

Dean Miller, PO BOX 128, Port Douglas, QLD, Australia, 4877 or seadean@gmail.com

1.7.  Swimming-with-whales endorsed tourism operators are encouraged to submit additional research and monitoring data to HWP (eg passenger questionnaires, copies of photos/video footage for whale identification, Vessel Movement Logs and Interaction Behaviour Diaries.

1.8.  Whales must not be fed and food or rubbish must not be thrown in the water when a whale is nearby.

1.9.  Sullage tanks must not be discharged when a whale is nearby.

1.10.  Swimming-with-whales endorsed tourism operators are encouraged to support research and monitoring either financially and/or in-kind (eg by providing in-kind vessel berths to researchers during the Humpback season).

2. VESSEL INTERACTIONS WITH HUMPBACK WHALES

2.1 APPROACHING HUMPBACK WHALES FOR IN-WATER INTERACTIONS (Adapted from Ningaloo Marine Park Trail 2016)

Figure 1: Ningaloo Marine Park Trial 2016 vessel whale interaction distances for initiating swim-with activities

2.1.1 All attempts by vessel to engage in in-water activities will follow the guidelines outlined in Figure 2.

2.1.2 If a whale approaches a vessel resulting in the vessel being in the No Approach Zone, the vessel must disengage or switch off engines or move away slowly at a speed that does not cause wake.

2.1.3 If whales that have approached the vessel within the no approach zone show signs of relaxed and settled behaviour for more than 5 minutes the master of the vessel can then decide to initiate a swim-with activity.

2.1.4 Attempts to engage in in-water activities is not permitted if a calf is present

2.2 VESSEL DEPARTURE FROM WHALES (Adapted from Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area)

2.2.1 In most cases, the vessel breaks off an interaction with humpback whales, either to move to a new site or to vacate the area. If it is necessary to depart while whales are near the vessel, the skipper should:

Post someone as look-out at the bow and stern - Scan the area to determine the position of the whales

Engage the propeller only when whales are well away from the boat Motor away as slowly as sea conditions allow with lookouts, especially at

the bow Increase speed gradually when whales are off to the side or well clear of

the stern.

3. SWIMMER INTERACTIONS WITH HUMPBACK WHALES

3.1 PRE-SWIM BRIEFING (Adapted from Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area)

3.1.1  Prior to an in-water interaction with humpback whales, all participants must be well briefed for possible weather and sea conditions, their likely reactions to seeing a whale up close when in the water, and the way they must behave during their interaction with the whales. The briefing must also give clear explanations as to why passengers must abide by legal requirements and detailed protocols.

3.1.2 The pre-swim briefing should include: -  What to expect – weather, sea conditions -  Brief introduction to humpback whales, basic biology and behaviour -  The whales’ likely responses to humans -  People’s likely reactions to seeing a whale up close when in the water -  Legal requirements, and the need to comply (with reasons) -  The protocols for snorkelers and the need to comply (with reasons) -  Procedures for whale-swimmer interactions (when drifting in open water

or when moored/at anchor at a dive site) and the need to comply (with reasons)

- Appropriate in-water behaviour

3.2. MANAGEMENT OF IN-WATER INTERACTIONS BY THE VESSEL CREW (Adapted from Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Ningaloo Marine Trial 2016)

3.2.1 Crew of swimming-with-whales endorsed vessels should be appropriately trained to manage interactions with the whales and interpret the experience for participants.

3.2.2 If whales approach the vessel of a swimming-with-whales endorsed tourism operator and the skipper decides to allow passengers to enter the water to swim with them then: The vessel must display a dive flag when swimmers are in the water The crew must not allow swimmers to enter the water with pods

containing injured sick or in tangled whales The crew must not allow swimmers to enter the water if orca, tiger

sharks, or great white sharks have been observed within two hours and/or within five nautical miles of the vessel

The crew must not allow swimmers in the water in visibility less than 15m

The crew must not allow swimmers in the water in if the wind strength is more than 25 knots or it is dangerous to do so.

The crew must not play back recordings of while vocalisation or allow while vocalisation recordings to be played by two participants from either the vessel if it is loud enough to be heard on the water or in the water during the tour

The crew should prepare for the in-water interaction by preparing a surface safety line attached to the vessel that can be deployed in case of an emergency rescue

A vessel tender should be placed in the water for emergency use only A crew member should enter the water first to assess conditions Swimmers must not enter the water if a whale is closer than 30

metres to the vessel Sullage tanks must not be discharged when whales are nearby. A designated, appropriately trained member of crew must be on duty to

supervise and monitor the interaction at all times One crew member should be stationed on the duckboard to direct

passengers and assist entry and exit If any behaviours of concern are observed, crew must carefully assess

the level of risk and should consider recalling

3.3 SNORKELLER PTOTOCOL (Adapted from Code of Practice for dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Ningaloo Marine Trial 2016)

3.3.1 Follow instructions from the vessel crew at all times

3.3.2 Passengers and crew of swimming-with-whales endorsed tourism operators must not enter the water closer than 30m to a humpback whale

3.3.3 Snorkelers must use a mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit, without a weight-belt, and also a lifejacket if deemed necessary by crew

3.3.4 Enter the water calmly and with minimal noise to reduce potential disturbance to whales

3.3.5 Never swim closer than 30 metres towards a whale

3.3.6 If a whale approaches a person in the water, they must move slowly to avoid startling the whale trying to maintain a 15m distance at all times

3.3.7 Do not touch or make physical contact with a whale

3.3.8 Snorkelers should space themselves at arms length apart staying in a small, discreet and predictable group and never go closer to a whale than the guide or lose visual contact with the guide. Avoid bumping into each other and unnecessary kicking/splashing

3.3.9 Snorkelers should remain in contact with crew on board the vessel in case the crew needs to recall the swimmers to the boat

3.3.10 Natural light only must be used for photography (i.e. no flashes/strobes or video lights). The natural light near the surface is sufficient for capturing a high quality image

3.3.11 If whales display signs of disturbance, swimmers must exit the water

3.3.12 All attempts by swimmers to engage in in-water activities will follow the guidelines outlined in Figure 2

Figure 4: Ningaloo Marine Park Trial 2016 in water whale interaction distances

3.4 TERMINATION OF A SWIM-WITH ENCOUNTER (Adapted from Ningaloo Marine Park Trail 2016

3.4.1 The vessel master, crew and researchers should terminate a swim-with activity under the following circumstances:

A whale attempts to move away from the boat or leaves the area Regular changes in swimming speed or direction Sudden changes in behavior Sudden dives or diving more often (rather than staying at the

surface) Aggressive behavioral displays (e.g. tail slaps, breaching, tail

swipes) Bumping the vessel Orca, great white or tiger sharks are spotted in the area

If visibility drops to less than 15m If weather conditions deteriorate

3.4.2. If an in-water activity is terminated, remove swimmers from water safely and when possible slowly move the vessel away from the whale until a distance of at least 300m is reached.

Experience of Captain and Crew

Brett Lakey is Master 4, MED 2. Dive Instructor- Underwater naturalist speciality.

Operating commercial vessels as master since 1998, Heron Island, Lizard Island, Orpheus Island. In charge of diving, snorkelling, watersports.

Founder- Dolphin Wild Eco tours from Scarborough, Brisbane. Tours with commentary for local dolphins, dugongs, turtles and whale watching.Founder- Pure Adrenalin luxury charters- Sydney to far north Qld. Whale watching, scuba diving, snorkelling -extended live aboard charters from Sydney to Cairns. Primarily the Bunker Group at the southern end of the GBR to Lizard island, incorporating the Minke Whale encounters and scuba dives and feeding at the Cod hole.Founder- Lady Musgrave Experience, Bundaberg. GBR day tours, guided snorkelling tours, guided island tours and glass Bottom boat tours all with informative commentary. Adventure scuba diving to remote reefs, live aboard charters.Designated whale watching tours with informative commentary.

Preferred operator for the Premiers Department previously hosting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il and the Duke of Edinburgh, King of Dubai, Duke of Westminster.

Recent 2017 Award for Tourism New Business of the Year.

All crew involved in the trial will undergo a training session with the Dr Dean Miller who has 17 years experience managing and carrying out dwarf minke whale in-water encounters.

Answers relating to question 5Research Proposal Summary

Whales have sensitive hearing and sound plays an important role in their communication, navigation, and prey location. Noise that humans introduce into the environment can cause disorientation, mask important sounds or damage an animal’s hearing (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016). One source of noise is vessel repositioning and re-starting of engines. However, with the current 100m in-water approach distance regulation, operators need to re-position their vessel each time a new group of swimmers enter the water increasing both noise and physical disturbance. The proposed reduction of distance will allow a reduction of engine noise and activity. Further, by minimizing the need for repositioning, swim-with-whales tour operators will be able to provide better quality encounter experiences by making longer and more frequent swim encounters possible. The focus of this research will be on assessing three principle factors: public environmental attitudes, marine acoustic environment, and whale social environment. That is, public attitudes about the natural environment as relates to swim-with-whales ecotourism; and acoustic and social environments as relates to human-whale interaction safety and cetacean behaviours.

Environmental attitudes: swim-with whale ecotourism

In a 2007 study, a majority of Caribbean tourists surveyed stated that the stance of a country towards whale conservation or whaling would affect their decision about whether to visit that country on holiday. A larger majority stated that if a country had a strong commitment to whale and dolphin conservation, they would be more likely to visit that country on vacation (Parsons & Draheim 2009 in Wearing, 2014). In other work, a passenger survey conducted during the 2006-2008 seasons (n=2171) examined tourist satisfaction with the DMW experience in the Great Barrier Reef. The results suggest a number of significant factors associated with how well the excursion was rated. Specifically, these included closest approach distance and whether or not the experience included swimming with, and not simply watching, the whales (Birtles, 2014). Finally, a meta-analysis of guided tourist encounters with whales, dolphins and marine turtles from 1997 - 2007, suggests that mediated encounters with marine wildlife contribute to pro-environmental attitudes and long-term intentions to engage in conservation actions that benefit marine species (Zeppel & Muloin, 2008 in Wearing et al, 2014). These findings suggest that attitudes towards the environment are associated with where tourists will chose to have a marine life encounter; specific qualities, including swimming with and proximity to whales, may have a significant impact on how an encounter is rated; and mediated encounters with marine wildlife is associated with subsequent marine conservation activities. Methodology: It is proposed that these observations indicate that increasing levels of engagement in a whale encounter experience is an important aspect of positive outcomes. Consequently it is suggested that, in addition to a brief ecotourism survey

regarding their experience, vessel guests be invited to contribute as citizen scientists to the collection of in-water and top-side whale observational data.

Acoustic and social environments: Interaction safety and whale behaviour

Safe human-whale interactions between DWM and humans have previously been defined by proximity and specific behaviours (Birtles, 2014). Other work has identified a number of non-vocal behaviours as possible indicators of whale distress. In both cases, guidelines are broad and generally non-specific. Further, it is understood that that minke whale behaviour is likely to be distinctly different from that observed for the humpback whales, and that Australian east coast humpback whales are likely to differ in behaviour and movement patterns to Australian west coast humpback whales. Given likely differences, it is appropriate to test in-water activities in the location they will occur. Humpback whales may be the most vocal of the baleen whales (Nold, 2004) and they display a wide range of behaviours; both vocal and non-vocal. In addition to song, they produce extremely varied vocal sounds that have been identified as social calls. Their sound repertoire also includes many different surface-active behaviours, such as breaching and repetitive slapping of the pectoral fins and tail flukes. However, little is known about the function of these sound producing behaviours or what factors influence them (Dunlop et al. 2007; Kavenah, 2017; Rekdahl, 2015). These behaviours are also being used to determine risk factors in swim-with activities in Western Australia and preliminary results are showing they can be important indicators during an encounter (Department of Parks and Wildlife, 2017). While our understanding is limited in both scope and detail, two factors have been associated with the expression of these sounds: acoustic and social environments. This study will focus on these factors by building on previous research that has defined three categories of marine acoustical sources: environmental (e.g. waves, wind, rain), biological (e.g. whale and other marine life), and anthropomorphic (e.g. vessels) (McKenna et al., 2017). It will also incorporate other work defining two categories of social environments: group composition (e.g. female, calf, adult, escort combinations) and social group context (e.g. stable, join, split) (Rekdahl et al, 2015). Identifying the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine life is a rapidly developing area of scientific research (Williams et al, 2015) and the understanding of whale social behaviours is in its nascent stages. This study aspect proposes to examine the multivariate relationships between acoustic and social environments in order to help identify human-whale interaction safety factors as well as to better understand whale social behaviour. Methodology: The relationships between these factors and outcomes suggest that multivariate survey and experimental designs be applied. Consequently, it is proposed that in addition to the use of a whale observation sheet to record non-vocal whale behaviours, that marine sounds be collected via hydrophone, and complimentary AIS traffic data in the vicinity be obtained.

Names of researchers and institutions involved in the supporting

Research

The proposed research is to be conducted primarily by Dr Dean Miller. This application is to initially determine if this type of research might be approved for this particular tourism activity in this location. If successful it is expected that a more thorough and complete proposal, as well as additional researchers from a range of disciplines, will be attached to this project.

Relationship of the researchers is to the permit applicant

The relationship between Dr Dean Miller who is both a researcher and permit applicant, and Brett Lakey of the Lady Musgrave Experience (the other permit applicant) is one of a professional nature. Brett Lakey has contracted Dr Dean Miller to analyse preliminary data collected aboard the “Main Event” during their HW watching interactions in 2016, and to submit the proposed application in order to determine if the swim-with HW industry can trial the East Coast humpback whale Trail to create a new tourism experience. At this stage there is no funding agreement for the proposed research. Please see Attachment 4 for Brett Lakeys letter regarding his interest in this research.

References

Australian Department of Environment and Energy. (2015). Conservation Advice, Megaptera novaeangliae, humpback whale. Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/38-conservationadvice-10102015.pdf

Birtles, A. et al. (2014). Report to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on the dwarf

minke whale tourism monitoring program (2003-2008). Research Publication 112, GBRMPA, Townsville.

[DEWHA] Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. (May, 2010). Assessment

of Cetacean Recovery Plans 2005- 2010; Humpback, Southern Right, Blue, Fin and Sei Whales. Retrieved from: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7dc702c780c8-4df5-84b6-cfcbc1da5561/files/cetaceans-assessment.pdf

Department of Parks and Willdife, 2017, Review of 2016 in-water humpback whale interaction

trial, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth.

Kavanagh, A. S., Owen, K., Williamson, M. J., Blomberg, S. P., Noad, M. J., Goldizen, A. W., ... & Dunlop, R. A. (2017). Evidence for the functions of surface‐active behaviors in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Marine Mammal Science, 33(1), 313-334.

Mcwhinnie, L., Smallshaw, L., Serra Sogas, N., O'Hara, P. D., & Canessa, R. (2017). The Grand

Challenges in Researching Marine Noise Pollution from Vessels: A Horizon Scan for 2017. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, 31.

Noad, M. J., Cato, D. H., & Stokes, M. D. (2004). Acoustic tracking of humpback whales:

measuring interactions with the acoustic environment. In Proceedings of ACOUSTICS (pp. 353-358).

Parsons, E. C., & Draheim, M. (2009). A reason not to support whaling–a tourism impact case

study from the Dominican Republic. Current Issues in Tourism, 12(4), 397-403. Rekdahl, Melinda L., Dunlop, Rebecca A., Goldizen, Anne W., Garland, Ellen C., Biassoni,

Nicoletta, Miller, Patrick and Noad, Michael J. (2015) Non-song social call bouts of migrating humpback whales. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 137 6: 30423053. doi:10.1121/1.4921280

Wearing, S. L., Cunningham, P. A., Schweinsberg, S., & Jobberns, C. (2014). Whale Watching

as Ecotourism: How Sustainable is it?. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 38-55.

Williams, R., Wright, A. J., Ashe, E., Blight, L. K., Bruintjes, R., Canessa, R., et al. (2015).

Impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine life: Publication patterns, new discoveries, and future directions in research and management. Ocean & Coastal Management. 115, 17–24. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.05.021

Zeppel, H., & Muloin, S. (2008). Conservation benefits of interpretation on marine wildlife tours.

Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 13(4), 280-294.