PAPE’ETE (Pacnews) — Authorities in French Polynesia are finalizing plans that will declare the French Polynesia water a whale sanctuary, believed to be the largest in the Pacific region.
The daily newspaper La Depeche de Tahiti said the proposal, which was initially announced in July 2001, was finally endorsed by the Cabinet last week.
The new law provides for whale watching “without disturbing their environment.” It covers the minimal distance from which one may watch the whales and the maximum speed at which “watching vessels” should travel at while observing these marine mammals.
