Description of CARIBwhale Inc (Association of Caribbean Whale Watch Operators)
 

Increasingly, people around the world are enjoying whale watching and this rapid worldwide growth over the past decade has been widely reported in the literature.  It was Dr. Fitzroy Armour who pioneered commercial whale-watching in 1988 in the eastern Caribbean, with tours to see Sperm whales and various dolphins off Dominica.  A 2009 review of the industry worldwide illustrates its spectacular growth and estimated the worldwide economic impact derived from whale-watching activities at U.S.$2.1 billion per annum with 119 countries and territories and 500 communities involved in whale watching.  Furthermore, an estimated 3,300 operators offer whale watching excursions around the world.  The operators employ an estimated 13,200 people.

At a time when whale-watching is being hailed as a major source of foreign exchange revenue, as a niche market for various islands in the eastern Caribbean that are marketing eco-tourism, and as a sustainable economic and livelihood alternative for coastal communities, a number of individuals interested in the promotion of responsible whale-watching as an opportunity for sustainable coastal development and as a livelihood alternative for coastal peoples, conceived the idea for the formation of a group with a focus on whale conservation through whale-watching. This, upon the initiative of Dr. Carole Carlson, led to the founding of the Association of Caribbean Whale Watch Operators (CARIBwhale Inc) in 2000.  

CARIBwhale Inc was formally registered as a non-profit, umbrella membership organization on February 22nd, 2007 in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The current membership comprises more than 15 Caribbean whale-watch organizations in the wider Caribbean Region from Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Trinidad & Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Membership also comprises Scientists, Researchers, Environmentalists and NGOs.  CARIBwhale Inc operates on the basis of alliances with like-minded organizations, and intends to maintain close working relations with a wide range of regional and international organizations and governments.  

To this end CARIBwhale's mission is defined as: 

To foster an environment that will protect cetaceans and their habitat in the Caribbean, promoting responsible whale watching, supporting non-invasive scientific whale research, conservation, education and advocacy. 

The affairs of CARIBwhale Inc are managed by a President and Coordinator, with guidance from a Board of Directors. The Board comprises the President (Ms. Caroline Rinaldi, Association Evasion Tropicale, Guadeloupe), Vice-President (Mrs. Caroline Aimable, Mystic Man Tours, St. Lucia), Secretary (Mrs. Kim Halbich, Fantasea Tours, St. Vincent & Grenadines), Treasurer (Mr. Errol Harris, Dominica Sea Turtles Conservation Organization, Dominica) and Public Relations Officer (Mr. Simon Walsh, Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association, Dominica).  
 

Goals and Strategies 

1. To empower local communities and stakeholders for responsible development of whale-watching and management of their natural resources

2. To promote community based whale-watching through engagement with the fisheries sector and coastal communities

3. To ensure that opportunities within the whale-watching sector are broadened to create benefits for more people

4. To support non-invasive scientific whale research, conservation, education and advocacy

Objectives 

1. Establishing certification for  whale-watch tour operators and whale watch tour guides

2. Conducting training programs for whale and dolphin watching tour guides and naturalists

3. Creation of employment opportunities by engagement with the private sector hotels and other tourism entities

4. Development of codes of conduct and best practices for whale-watching

5. Marketing the Eastern Caribbean as a pristine area for watching whales and dolphins