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Elements of conservation messages that longitudinally sustain whale watching participants pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours Board, Sarah
Abstract
The whale watching industry is growing worldwide, and in 2019 generated over 216 million USD (~300 million CAD) in revenue for the Salish Sea Bioregion. Currently in the Salish Sea, of the commonly viewed cetaceans, humpback whales and Biggs orcas are thought to be doing well, but the southern resident killer whales (SRKWs) are critically endangered. Whale watching has been described as a form of eco tourism where the sustainability of the industry is in balance with the sustainability of the species being viewed. Through an inductive lens this research study aimed to find out what elements of conservation messaging associated with, and delivered during whale watching experiences in the Salish Sea Bioregion sustained the pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours of adult whale watching participants longitudinally. Twenty-five naturalistic observations that focused on the crew/naturalists of two Victoria based whale watching companies were conducted. The conservation messaging given to passengers was recorded through field notes. Following the observed wildlife viewing, adult whale watching passengers were invited to complete a survey regarding their experience and learning. The results of 123 completed surveys showed that the majority participants’ pro-environmental attitudes significantly increased after the whale watching experience. An increase in pro-environmental behavioral intentions was also found. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted between 24 and 54 days after the interviewees' whale watching experience. The interviews were thematically coded, and showed a pro-environmental behaviour change in the result of increased awareness and effort in regard to implementing previous pro-environmental behaviours. The elements that lead to this change were the stories of individual whales as well as the impact of witnessing whale/cetacean behaviours as they occur naturally and the emotional connection these create. The recommendation is therefore for the already established onboard interpretation to increase this connection by focusing on the affective domain of passengers.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Elements of conservation messages that longitudinally sustain whale watching participants pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours
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| Creator | |
| Date Issued |
2022-11
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| Description |
The whale watching industry is growing worldwide, and in 2019 generated over 216 million USD (~300 million CAD) in revenue for the Salish Sea Bioregion. Currently in the Salish Sea, of the commonly viewed cetaceans, humpback whales and Biggs orcas are thought to be doing well, but the southern resident killer whales (SRKWs) are critically endangered. Whale watching has been described as a form of eco tourism where the sustainability of the industry is in balance with the sustainability of the species being viewed. Through an inductive lens this research study aimed to find out what elements of conservation messaging associated with, and delivered during whale watching experiences in the Salish Sea Bioregion sustained the pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours of adult whale watching participants longitudinally. Twenty-five naturalistic observations that focused on the crew/naturalists of two Victoria based whale watching companies were conducted. The conservation messaging given to passengers was recorded through field notes. Following the observed wildlife viewing, adult whale watching passengers were invited to complete a survey regarding their experience and learning. The results of 123 completed surveys showed that the majority participants’ pro-environmental attitudes significantly increased after the whale watching experience. An increase in pro-environmental behavioral intentions was also found. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted between 24 and 54 days after the interviewees' whale watching experience. The interviews were thematically coded, and showed a pro-environmental behaviour change in the result of increased awareness and effort in regard to implementing previous pro-environmental behaviours. The elements that lead to this change were the stories of individual whales as well as the impact of witnessing whale/cetacean behaviours as they occur naturally and the emotional connection these create. The recommendation is therefore for the already established onboard interpretation to increase this connection by focusing on the affective domain of passengers.
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| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
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| Series | |
| Date Available |
2024-02-16
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| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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| DOI |
10.14288/1.0439983
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| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Campus | |
| Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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| Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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| Copyright Holder |
Sarah Board
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| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International