Project: Develop Codes of conduct,regulations with regard to Marine mammal watching

[Rish]

Hi Kosala

Thanks for asking the Navy to look for it.
Yes Anouk said she would probably has a copy but as I mentioned she is away from the country so unable to look for it.
Hence this "hunt"
Of course, we intend to persevere   ...prob is some authorities are not that willing to corporate....
Anyways, I do believe we will achieve something!
Could I have your email address please? (please PM me)

Thanks
Rish

[rajivwelikala]

I was at Mirissa yesterday.
Unfortunately the whales were very shy and dived very quickly so couldnt take any decent pictures. Also none of the whales we saw lifted their tail flukes.

I saw the Navy vessel, and i have to say that they were very good, and did not approach the whales too close as I have heard. Only thing i notice is that its engine is very loud, and wonder if the whales will get scared and not come near the big boat.

I did witness a speedboat which approached the vehicles very fast, and sometimes too close, they also were speeding around the dolphins which I did not think was good.

The bigger boats from mirissa are very slow and they all maintained the distance. The problem i see is with speed boats.

[Kosala Wijesooriya]

Hi Rish,Anouk and Asha ,
When I went through respective response particularly from Anouk and Asha ,I was surprised and it lead me in doubt whether they are referring  to  the very same draft which consists of five pages prepared by me. Before I comment further, let me obtain the clarification from them as to whether they have received the correct draft or not for which I’m referring about. Rish could I have email addresses of them (of course with the concurrence of individuals) which enables me to re-send the relevant document directly for their perusal attention please (P/M to me).However, yesterday I met a gentleman Mr. Howard Martenstyn, who happened to be one of the experts in the field with wealth of knowledge, eager to contribute positively to make our noble objective/agenda come true. Hence I have been fascinated and now we are working together to make this happen veritable. Cheers.

[Rish]

There will be a meeting at the Tourist Authority tomorrow to discuss guidelines and implementation plans.
I have been invited from Lakdasun and Commander Kosala will be representing the Navy, along with some members from NARA, the Wildlife Dept and the Coast Guard.
Will keep the forum updated.

Thanks
Rish

[Kosala Wijesooriya]

Hi Rish and All,
Rish thanks for attending the meeting. I believe this time we will be able to make this happen as we all expected that to be come true.Hopefully will meet soon for further arrangements.Things are progressing in positive manner with the support of relevant agencies/authorities.We all are geared to achieve such an objective in near future.Cheers.

regards,
Kosala Wijesooriya

[Sheham]

I have been reading through this post with lots of interest, glad something good is happening.

Good Luck
Sheham

[Rish]

Hi All

Thank YOU Kosala for attending. It was nice to meet you and everyone else.

It proved to be quite a productive meeting.
One could feel the enthusiasm to get something done this time, not just talk.
Everyone was willing to listen to one another and most importantly experts. Which was really good.

To sum up the meeting, draft whale watching guidelines and regulations prepared by the Wildlife Dept was presented and it was agreed that all the attendees plus Marine Biologist Anouk Illangakoon will review it and send in comments for improvement by March 15th.Then another meeting will be held on the 19th with Anouk to finalize the draft after which it will taken to the Cabinet Level.
Around the end of the month, a workshop will be held for the Coast Guard, Navy and other Operators to brief them on the regulations and also a Code of Conduct.
The new standards are expected to be implemented from next season.
Tourism Authority also said they will improve infrastructure at Mirissa port possibly by building a Visitors Center with proper toilets.

Thanks
Rish

[Chandanie]

Hi All,
So glad to see that something positive has come out a simple post put in Lakdasun!! But then, that is the power of Lakdasun - giving unbiased opinion and getting like-minded people together.
Well done Kosala, Rish and all others who made sure that this happened.
Good luck with the rest of the work.

Best regards,
Chandanie

[os10]

As this was the most recent thread on the subject of Whale watching I wanted to add the following without starting a new thread to bring this article to the attention of those focusing on policy matters. This type of publicity might harm us on the long run.

Growing Traffic in Sri Lanka’s Waters Threatens Blue Whales

_{Rights belong to the publisher/author.}

[Rish]

We must remember that most of the knowledge we currently have of our "Blues" is a result of studies by marine biologists such as Dr. Charles Anderson and Anouk Illangakoon conducted over many many years.  It is sad their work goes largely ignored.

This Whale was not the sixth to die of ship strikes last year .
There have been at least 11.
One reason the whales get pushed towards shipping lanes is indeed the harassment at Mirissa.
Boats harass the whales mainly due to ignorance.
Anouk has been conducting workshops for operators on her own.
But we also desperately need regulations in place soon and I am happy to say that they will be.
I got the chance to coordinate the preparation with Anouk and other experts/officials from the relevant authorities.
After many many hours of discussions,  we just wrapped  up the final drafting of Marine Mammal Regulations for our waters.
The DWC will present this to the Parliament soon and will be gazetted, hopefully in time for the next season.

[Sheham]

we just wrapped  up the final drafting of Marine Mammal Regulations for our waters.
The DWC will present this to the Parliament soon and will be gazetted, hopefully in time for the next season.

Congratulations !, Great News!!

[rajivwelikala]

Great Work Rish

[Rish]

Appreciate it Sheham and Rajiv!

[Ashan253]

great work Rishani

[Kosala Wijesooriya]

Hi Rish,
Whats happening to our regulation with regard to marine mammals in SL. I couldn't be in touch with you all as i was away. Rish now i'm no more the project manager of whale watching project by SLN as i have took up new appointment recently. But i will assure to work with you all guys for the betterment of our nature.cheers

Kosala Wijesooriya

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