Volume: 4  Number: 2  Page: 108–128

The Shark Watching Industry and its Potential Contribution to Shark Conservation

Karen N. Topelko and Philip Dearden Marine Protected Areas Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada

Over 100 million sharks are killed annually, putting enormous pressure on shark populations worldwide. Sharks have traditionally been considered a detriment to coastal tourism, but since the early 1990s, shifts in attitudes amongst divers have led to growth in the popularity of shark watching as a tourist activity. An estimated 500,000 divers a year find, photograph, feed, and swim with sharks, contributing millions of dollars to local and regional economies. This paper examines whether the economic value attached to shark watching can provide enough incentive to reduce consumptive exploitation levels. Although the economic value attached to shark watching has led to greater protection of sharks in some locations, analysis of available data suggests that incentives do not appear large enough to encourage a significant reduction in fishing pressure appropriate to the scale of threat facing sharks. Growth of the shark watching industry is constrained by a number of factors including perceived risks and benefits, declining shark populations, and government regulations. However, conservation strategies for sharks involving tourism can be envisaged, involving varying levels of non-consumptive and consumptive uses of sharks. Three kinds of interaction between the non-consumptive and consumptive use of sharks are outlined along with implications for shark conservation.

Keywords: conservation, ecotourism, marine recreation, scuba, sharks

© 2005 K.N. Topelko and P. Dearden

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