The following excerpt is from a March 28, 2010 article published by the Latin American Herald Tribune. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan environmentalists and authorities launched a campaign Friday to regulate whale- and dolphin-watching in the country’s Pacific waters in order to preserve these species and make sure they thrive.
“With this move we begin putting into practice the regulation of touristic cetacean-watching, which is part of a conservation strategy to use them in a non-lethal manner,” Claudia Molina, spokeswoman for the National Council of Protected Areas, or Conap, told Efe.
The initiative is a combined effort by Conap, the Guatemalan Tourism Institute, the Marine Biology Association and the MonteCarlo Verde Foundation to guarantee the safety of whales and dolphins.
Between November and March, dozens of immense whales swim along the Pacific coastline of Central America, and Guatemala has promoted the whales as a tourist attraction.
The whale-watching regulation, Molina said, is part of this country’s position as a member of the International Whaling Commission, which supports “the non-lethal use of cetaceans.” …
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