2023-07-08 07:58:00
Eleven years following the start of the boat-watching tours, work began on a management plan for the activity, which will be ready in February. To do so, all the information that has been collected since 2014 will be used, since this is the final stage of an initiative financed by the Federal Investment Council (CFI) and seeks to project, at least 10 years, the framework that will serve to regulate and enhance shipments.
“Since they began, the sighting excursions have been carried out experimentally. They are framed in the provincial law 4066, which declared the whale a natural monument. The Province’s environment secretary was issuing resolutions that set some guidelines to regulate the walks. But The idea is to go one step further and make a comprehensive management plan that sets conservation, social, and tourism objectives for the sustainable development of the product,” explained marine biologist Magdalena Arias, who is one of the professionals leading the project.
“Once the management plan is finished, the next step is for it to be approved by the enforcement authority, which in this case is the environment portfolio of the Province, and finally a decree from the governor” completed the biologist.
The basic data that will make it possible to outline the plan have already been compiled, and were able to determine the behavior of the right whales that arrive each year. That is, its distribution, the use of the habitat and its population trend. Aspects related to the experience that the tourists who take the tours seek to live were also specified.
“There is a tourism graduate, Guadalupe Sarti, who is the one who is dedicated to this. From the surveys that were carried out, those who embark value the closeness that is achieved when contemplating the animals. This by the type of boats that are used, which are semi-rigid boats. Unlike other places, such as Puerto Madryn, in Chubut, where the activity is more massive and takes place aboard catamarans. Also the groups are small. They also highlighted the possibility of spotting other types of marine fauna, such as dolphins, sea lions, penguins and birds,” explained Arias.
Regarding cetaceans, it is known that they arrive in the area to reproduce between the end of July and the end of October. Each time they enter in greater quantity, because conservation measures are contributing to the fact that the species, which was decimated by hunting, recover. Although the number of specimens is far from the 60,000, which, for the bay of San Antonio, reported the logs of the whaling ships that exterminated them. “Today the animals that visit us do not reach 6,000,” said biologist Raúl González, who is also a member of the project.
“Whales are generally seen off the northwest coast of the Gulf, particularly in the sector between Puerto San Antonio Este (located 65 km from Las Grutas) and Caleta de los Loros (approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Viedma),” reported Arias.
This opens the possibility that, in the future, the boarding sites will expand, since now these tours are not carried out on the Camino de la Costa that connects SAE with Viedma, that leave from Las Grutas and from Puerto San Antonio Este (which is 65 km away by route 3 from the spa).
“Due to the abundance of specimens it might be, but From an economic point of view, I don’t know if it is viable, because of the relocation involved in moving people to those areas.. Although in the future there might be developments in other points, since everything indicates that the number of cetaceans will continue to grow”, considered Arias.
The data linked to the growth rate is not the only one that generates expectations regarding the future of these excursions. Happens that during the last year the arrival of mothers with calves increased exponentially, and this is an encouraging sign.
“It is that, from a commercial point of view, it is positive because these whales remain in the area for longer, since, since they are attentive to their young, they do not have as active and adventurous behavior as mating groups or solitary specimens, which move more between different sites and can be a minimum of 3 days and leave the Gulf to move to Chubut, for each case. The fact that these cetaceans that stay for a longer period are beginning to abound makes it easier to spot the species during walks,” explained the scientist.
Another point in favor is the receptivity that the whales have to the embarked activity.
“Franks have a high exposure threshold. That is, they can be sighted, without showing signs of stress, up to 40% of the daylight hours. At the moment, Due to the number of boats and the number of trips that are made, the exposure rate in the Gulf is less than 5%. So the growth potential that the activity has is enormous,” stressed Arias.
How is the preparation of the management plan going?
A few days ago the first workshop was held in which the experts presented the information they had collected so far.
The biologist Raúl González and the doctor in biological sciences Enrique Crespo, the marine biologist Magdalena Arias and the graduate in tourism Guadalupe Sarti spoke. She went to the convention hall of the grutense casino, and It was sponsored by the Río Negro Ministry of Tourism, the Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, the local municipality and the Federal Investment Council.
“In the month of October we will carry out another workshop, in which we will directly present the points that we will suggest for the management plan. There a common proposal will be made, suggestions from those who attend will be accepted and, already in February, we will directly present the finished project, for its approval”, expressed Arias.
At present, the boat-watching tours are carried out every year from mid-August to the end of October. There are 4 companies authorized to operate with semi-rigid boats that carry a maximum of 10 crew members (including a guide and the captain of the ship). They leave from Puerto San Antonio Este or from the third descent of Las Grutas.
During the rest of the year the shipments continue, but the possibility of whale watching is discontinued.
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