English title: Project Right Whale : Evaluating the impact of tourism activities on southern right whales (Eubalaena austalis) in North Patagonia, Argentina Period: 2006 Status: In Progress
Thesaurus term Ecology
Taxonomic term:Eubalaena australis (Desmoulins, 1822) [WoRMS]
The Patagonian province Rio Negro is the first province of Argentina, and one of the only locations in the world, to legalize a "swim-with-whales" activity with the vulnerable southern right wale (Eubalaena australis). This activity was approved in 2006 and is being carried out since then, yet without any accurate management plan.
This legalisation motivated to start a preliminary study on the southern right whales inside the Natural Protected Area Bahia de San Antonio, the foremost touristic region of the Rio Negro coast, to obtain basic information on the southern right whales present and to determine the importance of the area in the lifecycle of the whales.
Additionally, a complete study is being carried out on the impact of whale-watching and "swim-with-whales" activities combined with educational programs concerning southern right whales in Northeast Patagonia.
