Increased Use Levels, Effort, and Spatial Distribution of Tourists Swimming with Dwarf Minke Whales at the Great Barrier Reef

A permitted tourism industry has developed at the Great Barrier Reef based on swimming with dwarf minke whales ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata subsp.). Using sightings reported by tourism operators and vessel effort data, this study found a 91% increase in the number of whale encounters over six seasons (2003–2008) and a small number of encounter “hotspots” accounted for a substantial proportion of these encounters. Analysis of industry effort data...