Every year, humpback whales swim thousands of kilometres from Antarctica to the warm waters of Tonga's Vava'u Islands to give birth.
asserted
whales → swim → birth
And each year, thousands of tourists travel to Tonga to witness the spectacle.
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thousands → travel → spectacle
Like many others, he's not just there to watch the gentle giants, but to swim alongside them.
"
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he → watch → them
It's like a treasure to see all this biodiversity and all these whales.
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It → see → biodiversity
I'm feeling lucky that I get a chance to see it," he said.
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he → feel → it
Tonga is one of the few places in the world where swimming with whales is permitted.
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swimming → swim → whales
The experience draws about 20,000 tourists to the kingdom annually, generating about $12 million in revenue a year.
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experience → draw → revenue
But as the industry has grown, so too have concerns of exploitation.
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concerns → grow → exploitation
Videos on social media, seen and verified by the ABC, appear to show foreign-owned whale-watching firms flouting rules by allowing tourists to touch the animals and dive with them.
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tourists → see → them
While swimming is allowed, diving is not.
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diving → allow → ?
Tonga's government has confirmed that multiple operators have been warned about breaching regulations, while its tourism body has come under fire for issuing too many licences.
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body → confirm → licences
Marine experts warn that even swimming with the mammals can have detrimental consequences, with one saying the practice could harm the sustainability of the whale population.
uncertain
practice → warn → population
Dark tourism
Tonga has numerous rules around whale watching, including not touching or diving with the mammals.
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Tonga → have → mammals
But videos posted on Chinese social media appear to show tourists breaking these rules.
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tourists → post → rules
One video seen by the ABC promoted free-diving tours, with 12 trips advertised for this year alone.
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trips → see → year
Local skipper Vili Vaipulu, who owns and operates his own whale-watching business, said the videos created confusion for tourists.
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videos → own → tourists
He said such advertising also made it harder for local skippers who work for foreign operators to enforce the rules when tourists were promised certain experiences.
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tourists → say → experiences
"They simply cannot stop their diving,"he said.
"
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They → stop → diving,"he
I also feel sorry for the tourists because when we tell … [our customers] diving is not allowed, they say they were told it was allowed.
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it → feel → tourists
"[Customers] lose money because of that."
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Customers → lose → that
Mr Vaipulu said the breaches also extended beyond what happened in the water.
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what → say → water
He said he had witnessed one foreign operator overload its vessel to fit more people on board, and others had operated on Sundays, breaching the Tongan constitution, which explicitly forbids practising any trade, profession or commercial undertaking on that day.
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which → say → day
"In situations like that, I feel sorry for the skippers," he said.
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he → feel → skippers
Lemoto Faka'osi, director of the Ministry of Tourism Vava'u, said multiple operators had been warned about breaching regulations.
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operators → say → regulations
Among them was the Elim Hotel, which had its licence suspended for six weeks and its fleet reduced to one boat after guests posted online footage of themselves diving with whales.
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themselves → have → whales
Elim's manager, Lepolo Foliaki, said its guests were to blame for the breaches.
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guests → say → breaches
"There is no point hiding it, I will tell the truth: they broke the rules,"she said.
"Diving down underwater is prohibited, but they did it.
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they → be → it
"What we learned is that my boss, who does the advertising, must make sure the advertising is truthful and clearly states that diving down underwater is prohibited."
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diving → learn → advertising
Whale of an industry
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, about 2,000 humpback whales now visit Tonga's waters each year.
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whales → hunt → waters
Whale watching restrictions date back to 2006, when the Tongan government capped licences at 13.
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government → date → 13
By 2020, that number had risen to 20, with the latest list showing 25 licensed operators in Vava'u alone.
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list → rise → Vava'u
Most companies are foreign-owned.
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companies → own → ?
Tourist numbers have also grown, with the most recent data showing whale watchers had doubled between 2006 and 2019, from 9,804 to 20,018.
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watchers → grow → 20,018
Mr Vaipulu said he was worried that growing numbers of boats and swimmers were crowding whales and their calves.
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numbers → say → whales
"Sometimes, while a mother is nursing her calf, some people swim over just to watch the calf feeding because they are curious about it," he said.
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he → nurse → it
An Auckland University of Technology study found that mothers can spend up to three times longer underwater when tourists are swimming with them.
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tourists → find → them
Lorenzo Fiori, who conducted the research in 2019, found low levels of compliance with Tongan regulations.
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who → conduct → regulations
"We found that whale resting time between interactions with boats and swimmers was often disregarded," he told the ABC.
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he → find → ABC
Karen Stone, environmental protection director at the Vava'u Environmental Protection Association, said swimming with whales could disrupt their natural behaviour.
uncertain
swimming → say → behaviour
"These behaviours are critical to the sustainability of the population, and so if those are disturbed, it can disturb the ongoing sustainability," she said.
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she → disturb → sustainability
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia