Vincentians experience whale watching in Boston

Son of whaler Arnold Hazell of Bequia Anthony Hazell, brother of chief whaler of Barrouallie Samuel Hazlewood, teacher and fisher Winston Hazlewood and fisher and tour operator Kirk Grant of Barrouallie, recently returned to St Vincent and the Grenadines, after attending a naturalist workshop, organized by Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Fundación Cethus in Boston, Massachusetts. Besides the two-day workshop, they also participated in two different whale-watching tours and visited a whaling museum in New Bedford, a coastal city which moved from whaling to whale-watching.

While out whale-watching, the gentlemen were able to see sei, right, fin, minke and humpback whales.

Excited to talk about what he experienced Kirk Grant said: “We can make a lot of money and help the economy. From January to December in Boston Harbour they make $16 million from whale-watching. We were some 17 miles offshore of Boston when we saw humpback whales, right whales, sei whales and fin whales.

“It’s a good move for St Vincent if we can get more whale-watching. We can start from small businesses and become one of the best whale-watching places in the Caribbean, because we have a lot of cetaceans. As fishermen, we go out about two miles off Barrouallie and we see whales going north. We have seen orcas, humpbacks, pilot whales and many dolphins.”

According to Winston Hazlewood, we have to package a naturalist tour, so that if you don’t see whales, you will see dolphins and birds. “I have experience with spinner dolphins, that are so tame that you can reach over and touch them with your hands. They go up in the air and spin around four to five times. They are amazing to watch.”

Hazlewood wishes more students can experience whale-watching in St Vincent and the Grenadines. He also noted that the FADs (fish aggregating devices) put down by the Fisheries Divison attract whales, especially the sperm whale. These make it easier for one to be able to see a whale.

This visit to Boston comes as part of the educational programme being run by Fundación Cethus in Bequia and Barrouallie, funded by the SVG Preservation Fund, among other institutions.

Co-ordinator of the SVG Preservation Fund Louise Mitchell noted that she is pleased that the trip was a success and persons from whaling communities saw first-hand that whale and dolphin watching is not only exhilarating, but economically exciting as a new industry for coastal communities of St Vincent and the Grenadines.