TAIPEI: Hualien's whale watching industry is hurting this year, with tour operators expecting a decline of 20 to 30 percent in business, as compared to last year.

The waters off Hualien, on the eastern coast of Taiwan, have proven ideal for whale and dolphin watching over the years but amid the global economic crisis, Hualien's tourist industry is suffering along with other industries and other places.

"One reason why whales and dolphins are common in the waters off Hualien is that the ocean drops drastically at one point to a depth of 3,000 to 5,000 meters," explained Chiu Hsi-tung, manager of Huadong Whale World, on its official website. "As a result, there is an abundance of marine life here. Whales and dolphins migrate usually to an area where they are assured of food resources."

The whale watching season lasts from April through mid-October every year, and in the past tourists started pouring in as soon as the summer vacation started, keeping whale-watching companies very busy.

Tours set out as early as 6 am unless prevented by bad weather.

Business this year, however, has not been as good as expected. Whale watching company owners said that up until middle of July, business was still roughly on par with the previous year.

According to past experience, business should have continued to increase after mid-July, but that has not happened.

While the global economic recession is to be blamed for the falling business of Hualien's whale watching industry, the dwindling of the whale and dolphin populations in the waters also plays a role.

Tour operators point out that the chance for whale-watching customers spotting a surfacing whale or leaping dolphin during a typical two-hour trip used to be 95 percent.

Now tourists are more frequently disappointed as the whale and dolphin populations and variety of species are notably smaller than they were 10 years ago.

It is feared that whales and dolphins are fast disappearing because of the loss of their habitats.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 07/29/2009 page2)