Starter Kit. Idea 87 of 500. Cluster 4
Whale watching, properly regulated
The mechanism, from the book
An app that tells people what is happening tonight converts a day visit into a 2-night stay.
The first step
Go out on one whale-watching trip and write down how close the boat went and how the crew behaved. Then draft a short code of conduct covering distance and speed, and ask two operators whether they would sign and advertise it. Two signatures, and visitors choosing those boats, are the proof.
- Who pays first
- Visitors who care how animals are treated and will choose, and pay more for, a boat that keeps its distance.
- What leaves today
- A careless trade risks the whales and the reputation; a regulated one is proof that lets every operator charge more.
Ask first
- Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. Ask what rules apply to boats carrying visitors out to watch whales.
- Department of Wildlife Conservation. Ask what distance and conduct rules protect whales from tour boats.
Check before you spend
That boats and skippers are licensed to carry passengers, that rules on distance from whales are followed, and that life jackets fit every guest.
Find out these three numbers
- What will visitors pay for a properly run whale trip?
- Which months do whales reliably appear off this coast?
- What does a safe boat with crew cost per trip?
A comparison from the book
Zermatt. Chapter Five
"Limited supply, protected quality, local manufacture."
Limits and quality protect the whales and the price at the same time.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.