Saturday, January 05, 2013

The brunt of underwater tourism

Joining the list of species affected by man, stingrays bear the brunt of underwater tourism

Intrusion of man in the habitat of the wild has almost always caused the animals harm, and with quite a few species appearing in the ‘endangered’ list, it’s about time that we realise that some precautions if taken now, can prohibit additions to that list in the future. Wildlife has always been an attraction for tourism, but along with it, it’s also imperative to protect and preserve the species. “Such cases have simple solutions. Either stop contact with customers or create more awareness among operators to incorporate the right methods to maintain the health of such species,” says Upasna.

Many of us would want to visit Cayman Islands or other such places in order to catch a glimpse of such unusual species. Watching the antics of stingrays is indeed an amazing sight, but is it fair if it’s at the cost of jeopardising their very existence? Seeing the stingrays approaching the beach, flapping around in the azure waters is one of my most treasured memories, and I’m sure of many more who’ve seen stingrays. In some years, I would want to go back and still find them there. If that requires me to give up feeding and frolicking around in their vicinity, I certainly would… Wouldn’t you?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,