People who join shark ecotourism tours are more likely to take action to protect sharks, including donating to related causes, signing petitions, or speaking up online, new research from the University of Sydney shows.

The study is the first to demonstrate an enduring commitment, of at least two years, to conservation by shark ecotourists.

Coupled with a positive shift in news media and online sentiment towards sharks in recent years, the findings suggest the benefits of the burgeoning industry are more than economic, offering the potential to help conserve dwindling shark numbers.

Globally, shark populations have declined by 71 percent in the last 50 years, with a third of species now threatened with extinction. Conversely, participation in shark ecotourism - immersive, in-water experiences observing sharks in their natural habitats - has risen. More than 500,000 people a year are estimated to participate in interactive eco-activities with sharks and rays. These activities are offered in at least 20 countries, including the Bahamas, Australia, Hawaii, South Africa and Pacific nations including Fiji, Palau, and French Polynesia. 

Published today in npj Ocean Sustainability, the research was led by University of Sydney PhD candidate Carmen Dobszewicz in the Faculty of Science’s Social Dynamics and Environmental Change Lab, based in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. 

Dobszewicz and colleagues surveyed two cohorts, both sourced in Hawai’i. The first group comprised tourists participating in an experiential shark ecotourism tour in Oʻahu. They snorkeled or free dived with sharks while accompanied by a marine biologist who surveyed the sharks to support ongoing research and provided educational information about shark conservation. The comparison group comprised members of the public sampled from Waikīkī Beach. 

Each group was surveyed at the time of the tour and again two years later. On each occasion, respondents were asked whether they had engaged in shark conservation activities. 
 
The study found, two years after their tour, participants were 40 percent more likely to be engaging in shark conservation behavior than would be expected had they not taken part.

Conservation activity increased in both groups over the two years, but the rise was considerably larger among tour participants. This held after accounting for differences between the groups at the start of the study including demographic traits, prior involvement in conservation and attrition rates between the two surveys. Among tour participants, the biggest increases were in posting on social media, signing petitions, making donations, and advocating for legislation.

The study is the first to track the long-term conservation impact of responsibly conducted shark encounters and offers guidance to ecotourism operators on how their efforts can benefit conservation efforts, Dobszewicz said. 

“Our findings suggest responsible tour operators can be a much-needed boon to efforts to halt the rapid decline in shark populations and help shift widely held misconceptions about sharks,” she said.

“Supplementing the underwater experience with educational information on the role sharks play in the ecosystem, the threats they face, and what can be done to mitigate these threats leaves tourists with a better understanding on the precarity of shark populations and what we can do to try and rebuild them.” 

Senior author, Associate Professor Michele Barnes, said the research builds on the Social Dynamics and Environmental Change Lab’s ongoing work on the relationships between people and nature that underpin a sustainable future.  

"Conservation ultimately depends on people. When we build or strengthen meaningful connections between people and the natural world, we create the conditions for lasting change, and that is essential for a sustainable future,” she said.