BANGKOK—Six Senses Laamu has become the first resort in the Maldives to establish and implement a Code of Conduct for dolphin watching in order to protect the local spinner and bottlenose dolphins, and to ensure the future sustainability of their populations.
Fully committed to developing a sustainable business and eco-tourism, the resort has developed policies and procedures in line with the Green Globe 21 standards: Energy Conservation, Waste Reduction, Nature, Island & Reef Protection, and Social Responsibility. These policies and procedures are renewed at least annually.
Now, expanding on this commitment, the Code of Conduct for dolphin watching rounds out the Six Senses Sustainability Policy for Six Senses Laamu: “To improve the ecological footprint of biodiversity conservation, preservation and restoration within the resort as well as nearby surrounding areas.”
Resident Biologist Implements Code
The Code of Conduct has been implemented by Rachel Lambert, Six Senses Laamu’s resident biologist. After working with Sea Watch Foundation on their Cardigan Bay Bottlenose Dolphin Monitoring project, Rachel Lambert has created Six Senses Laamu’s program.
“Loss of animals from the local ecosystem would have both ecological and economic impacts for the resort,” Lambert says. “A growing awareness of these issues lead to the development of local codes of conduct for the boats around dolphin population to encourage sustainable tourism. Therefore, a Code of Conduct has been developed for our boat drivers around our local Spinner and Bottlenose dolphin population.”
Some specifics of the Six Senses Laamu Code of Conduct include:
• Keep at least 50 meters away—two boat lengths;
• Do not approach from directly behind or head on;
• Allow the dolphins to choose to approach the boat;
• No rapid changes in speed or rapid changes in direction—be predictable;
• Six knots when within 150 meters;
• Do not cut them off or chase them; and
• Do not separate mothers and calves.
Dolphin watching is a positive activity as it allows people to see these highly intelligent and charismatic animals in their natural environment. In the southern Laamu Atoll, where Six Senses Laamu is found, there are two types of dolphins—the spinner and bottlenose that swim and spin all along the seashell dappled shores of the resort.
Spinner dolphins are well known for their acrobatics and aerial behavior. These dolphins come out of the water, front first, and twist their bodies as they ascend in the air up to 5.5 spins in one leap. The spinner dolphin lives in many tropical and subtropical waters, especially in the Maldives. Today this type of dolphin is listed on Appendix of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding covers the spinner dolphin for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region.
Bottlenose dolphins are known worldwide as Genus Tursiops, as they communicate through burst pulsed sounds, whistles, and body language. Their considerable intelligence has driven interaction with humans. The species sometimes shows curiosity towards humans in or near water.
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