MELBOURNE, Australia (12 Aug 2003) -- A newly formed group of Tongan tourism operators is pushing for a whale sanctuary within the kingdom's territorial waters. The Tonga Whale Conservation Association is also calling on the government to regulate the growing whale-watching industry. In the region, Niue, Fiji and Cook Islands have already declared their territorial waters as whale sanctuaries. Filipe Tonga, director of "Whales Alive Tonga" one of the companies behind the conservation push, said whales need to be preserved for future generations. | | "The outsiders, when the people are coming from overseas I think most of them are really keen to save the whales because I think they know in regard to population there are not very many of them left." SOURCE - Radio Australia |
