Micheal Elias, chief executive of Walkers Tours, said the initiative would combine the marketing strengths of the private sector operator with the resources such as the boats and crews of the CFHC.
Long Gestation
He said Walkers Tours had held talks with the government's National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) to launch whale watching tours as far back as 1982 off the coast of eastern Trincomalee harbour.
The Trincomalee has a deep bay which is frequented by whales.
But ethnic violence which erupted the next year and has continued since forced them to shelve the project, Elias said at the signing of an agreement with the CFHC Thursday.
Elias said the tourism industry had been struggling with the problems created by terrorist incidents for several years.
"A serious issue for the industry is the negative travel advisories and travel warnings (issued by Western governments)," Elias said.
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, chairman of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation, said the venture had immense potential as whale watching was a growing niche tourism product which around the world was growing faster than the general tourism industry.
"It is a small idea that one day could become a large industry," he said.
"Sri Lanka as an island nation has not so far tapped water-based tourism compared with our neighbouring countries. Seeing whales alive is something different. Today we open a niche tourism sector."
The corporation started a leisure and tourism wing one year ago with four boats offering boat rides, night fishing and diving.
It has now expanded its services to include dolphin and whale watching with the joint venture with Walkers Tours, he said.
"We will ensure a well-managed system with proper rules and strict safety standards," Abeyagoonasekera said.
Whale Sanctuary
Sri Lanka came within the protected zone in the Indian Ocean declared by the International Whaling Commission in 1979. Out of 81 species of whales, 27 can be seen in the waters around the island as well as several species of dolphins.
The whales were largely resident in the Indian Ocean experts say.
Whales and dolphins can be found around Sri Lankan waters for 6-8 months of the year, said Chitral Jayatilake, manager of Nature Odyssey, the Walker Tours leisure firm.
Pods of Blue, Sperm and Humpback whales can be easily seen around Sri Lanka while Bryde's whales are somewhat rarer, he said.
In the first phase of the project, dolphin watching tours will be offered from the Panadura fisheries harbour on the west coast which later will be extended to whale and dolphin watching off Mirissa and Galle, on the southern coast, and Kalpitiya on the north-western coast.
Elias said Walkers Tours had long been involved in eco-tourism and had good contacts with some of the world's top specialist nature tourism agencies.
Research teams from the government's National Aquatic Resources Agency will provide the scientific expertise for the tours.
"Walkers Tours started bringing in trekking, rafting and camping groups in 1980," Elias said.
"We rafted the Mahaweli (Sri Lanka's longest river) before its diversion (for power and irrigation projects in the mid-1980s)."
The tour operator was also among the first to bring in groups to climb the Knuckles mountain range, a rainforest that has been declared a nature reserve, Elias said, recalling how they walked 18km to get to the nearest mountain road from their camp sites.
If they have ability to manage sustainable dolphin watching isnt it help our economy and society. First upon need more awareness about this subject not only guides well as community.
it should be noted that the problem occurs when people use these sought of initiatives to gain personal gains and not the environment and society.
When developing a project of this nature its not as simple as bying a couple of boats and sending people of to sea and allow them to throw polythene and garbage all across the sea. proper laws should be enforced and maintained ensuring that people do not litter and serious fines are posed on those who do.
this is the role that needs to be played by the government and private organizations. look at countries such as Australia who have used tourism of this nature to boom as well as conserve the environment via creating knowledge to the society.
Minneriya jeep drivers provoke elephants trying to get them to charge for a cheap thrill, and yala drivers just hound the hell out of any animal that they come across and mess it all up, especially with leopards and bear.
In unawatuna, glass bottom boats are loaded with people and driven around to look at the already dead reefs, but these same people very happily chuck bottles and polythene bags overboard without any consideration for its environmental consequence.
The only good thing about this war is that the conflict has prevented habitat and species loss due to deforestation and pollution. You still get large herds of wild elephant and very rare bird life in the east. Look at habarana, lunugamwehera, hambantota - elephants are at the receiving end of "hakka patas" at such inhumane torture.
Oh wait, i forgot, this is a BUDDHIST country where a restaurant can't serve a beer within 100 meters of a statue coz of moral grounds but not one hypocrite has done jack about making elephants starve to death while their mouth blow up, infest, rot and then kill them.
Now with the rush to "develop" the east, with poor planning and absolute disregard to any environmental ramifications, you can say bye bye to the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" and "Tabrobana" and say hello to "Chennai Part 2"
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