News
Wildlife Dept. creaming off millions, while illegal Mirissa activity deters blue whales
View(s):By Wasantha Ramanayake
Whale-watching tour operators are raising the alarm over fewer blue whale sightings in Mirissa in the season that ended in April. This has been ’disastrous’, they claimed. Tourists were fewer than half the number compared with the year before.
In the season from August 2023 to April 2024, sightings were the lowest since 2012.
Tourists are excited to see blue whales in the sea off Mirissa, but tour operators say not many whales are spotted these days. Pix by Wasantha Ramanayake
Tour operators attribute the diminishing number of blue whales to illegal swimming and diving activity, including by Russians.
Nimal (not his real name) operates whale-watching tours from Mirissa Fisheries Harbour.
He claimed that these illegal operators let tourists dive into the whale, ignoring any laws or animal rights.
“I have videos, and I take responsibility for what I say,” he said.
He alleged that the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Coast Guard colluded with these illegal operators and would not arrest them, even if DWC officials were informed.
“This was a thriving business done with open advertising, but officials never take action against perpetrators, as they are bribed,” he alleged.
Another whale-watching operator, Chandi of Mirissa Waters Sports, said that when the business began in 2006, daily sightings of blue whales exceeded 10. “But during the last season, we sighted blue whales only on two occasions in March and April.’’
“It could also be due to the XPress Pearl ship disaster,” she said.
Tourists going out to sea from the Mirissa Fiheries Harbour with excitement to see blue whales, the largest mammals ever to live on earth
Professor Terney Pradeep Kumara of the University of Ruhuna maintained that research should be done to conclusively establish the causes of the drop in the blue whale population in Mirissa.
Prof. Kumara said the scarcity of funds prevented vital research for the conservation of marine life and the sustainability of tourism activities.
“It could be either the XPress Pearl ship disaster, unregulated whale watching activity, climate change, or all of them, but it has to be established scientifically,” he insisted.
Illegal swimming and diving with whales is harassment to the whales.
DWC Assistant Director Sanjeewani Rajasinghe, who looks after marine affairs, said that once Mirissa is declared a marine sanctuary, all illegal activities will be stopped. “The gazette will be published soon, declaring the sanctuary.’’
Snorkelling, diving, and swimming with whales are prohibited by law, she said.
“DWC officials have ordered the removal of advertisements openly offering illegal dive and swim-with-whales services at various places in the Mirissa and Weligama areas,” she said.
Arresting illegal operators for facilitating tourists to swim and dive alongside whales could be difficult, she said, citing logistical matters, such as a lack of powerful boats.
A whale-watching boat berthed at a pier in Mirissa Fisheries Harbour
However, “swim with whales,” “snorkel with whales,” and even “dive with whales” are widely advertised on the internet, it was observed. Many sites belong to operators based in Mirissa. They offer illegal services such as four-hour tours of snorkelling and swimming with whales, starting from US$ 250 per person. Some sites have photos of people diving with whales.
Whale-watching operator Nimal charged that the tax paid to the DWC since 2019 was a waste, as it did not provide any services in return. The DWC takes nearly Rs. 6,000 from a tourist, he said.
“I paid Rs. 282,540 as tax to the DWC for my boat,” he said, adding that he spent Rs 72,000 on crew, fuel, and maintenance. “I only take peanuts home,” he lamented.
“I pay three-quarters of what I earn as tax to the DWC in vain,” said another operator who wished to be anonymous.
The Mirissa Fisheries Harbour collects nearly Rs 2 million a day from boats, but its officials do not keep the facility clean, repair roads, or provide better sanitation facilities for tourists, they charged.
“We pay income tax on top of what we pay as tax to the DWC. What we pay as taxes is not counted when we pay income taxes,” he alleged.
He pointed to many idling boats while mentioning that operators have given up whale-watching tours after the DWC imposed taxes. “More than thirty whale watching tours were operated daily before the taxes,” he said.
The DWC should limit the number of boats every day, they said. This way, DWC could allocate an equal number of visitors to each boat, thus reducing the number of boats and maximising their use.
Fewer boats would prevent overcrowding around a whale.
Sri Lanka is among the few destinations where “the largest mammal ever to live on earth’’ can be seen.
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