From Whale Hunting to Whale Watching in Tonga: A Sustainable Future?

The Vava’u island group in the northern part of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific has a growing reputation as a whale-watching destination. The pro-whaling organisation, the World Council of Whalers, with some local people, has, however, been actively promoting a resumption of whaling in Tonga. This study assesses the attitudes and characteristicsof ‘whale tourists’ to the islands. Seventy-eight per cent of all tourists arriving by air, and around half those arriving by yacht, went whale watching. Both types of visitor opposed whale hunting; both types said they would be less likely to visit the islands if whales were hunted there. Consequently, any resumption of whaling or change in the protected status of whales would be likely to displace a large proportion of current visitors to Vava’u, resulting in a serious ‘opportunity cost’. It seems unlikely that a whale-watching industry could coexist with a lethal use of whales in Tonga.