A new study by authors from the Fisheries Economics Research Unit and the Sea Around Us Project shows that whale watching is a booming industry and a good alternative to whaling. Based on ecological and socio-economic criteria, whale watching could generate an additional US$413 million in yearly revenue, supporting 5,700 jobs. Together with current global estimates, this would bring the total potential for the whale watching industry to over US$2.5 billion in yearly revenue and about 19,000 jobs around the world. The research was covered widely during the IWC meeting. Read, for instance, this piece at Discovery News.



Reference: A.M. Cisneros-Montemayor, U.R. Sumaila , K. Kaschner , D. Pauly (in press) The global potential for whale watching. Marine Policy.