ABSTRACT
A thriving and sustainable marine tourism industry balances human use with the requirements of the natural environment (Wilson and Tisdell, 2003). However, there are many examples where human use has been prioritized at the expense of the surrounding environment, resulting in degraded coastal habitats (Lotze et al., 2006) and depleted wildlife populations (Jackson et al., 2001; Lotze and Worm, 2008). The marine tourism industry consists of a variety of stakeholders that depend on abundant and diverse natural resources (Orams, 1999). Therefore, there is momentum to reduce anthropogenic impacts, mitigate past degradations, recover populations and monitor environmental conditions to ensure long-term sustainable use. This trend towards improved monitoring, conservation and management is particularly evident in the industry of shark and ray tourism (Simpfendorfer et al., 2011; Ward-Paige et al., 2012), which is demonstrated by a growing number of research projects that are facilitated by the tourism industry (Couturier et al., 2011; Ward-Paige and Lotze, 2011; Whitney et al., 2012; see Box 8.1 for a case study on the Great Fiji Shark Count), and associated operational and policy changes advocated for by the tourism industry (Brunnschweiler, 2010; Pew Environment Group, 2011).
