Ocean literacy is a key focus of the United Nations Ocean Decade Initiatives. We conducted Queensland’s first survey of Australian whale-watching tourists’ ocean knowledge using a self-completed questionnaire based on the International Ocean Literacy survey.
We investigated: a) Ocean literacy via several questions, b) Thoughts about ocean health and climate change, c) Intentions to act to support ocean sustainability, and d) Demographics among participants.
A total of 638 whale-watch tourists participated in the survey. Of these, the majority were from Australia (81.5%; n = 520), whereas 18.5% (n = 118) were international visitors. The gender distribution among respondents was 62.1% female (n = 396), 36.7% male (n = 234), and 1.3% identified as other (n = 8). Among Australian participants, 66.2% were from Queensland, 18.7% from Victoria, 8.3% from New South Wales, and the remainder from other states.
Our findings revealed substantial gaps in ocean literacy among participants. When asked whether the ocean supplies most of the planet's oxygen, only 58.2% of respondents answered correctly. Furthermore, 68.8% believed that humans have explored most of the oceans, whereas 61.4% believed that humans have reduced their unsustainable use of ocean resources. Just 43.2% were aware that most life exists in the oceans, and only 10.2% knew the main nursery habitat for marine species. Most females and males answered "sometimes" when asked how often they thought about ocean health (females = 233, males = 153) and climate change (females = 192, males = 132).
In this study, Australians demonstrated limited understanding of ocean issues, despite the fact that most of the population lives near the coast. The study highlights an urgent need to enhance ocean education in Australia. Whale-watching tourism is well-positioned to promote ocean literacy and may be an effective means of informing the public by developing integrated education programmes that support learning outcomes and encourage pro-conservation behaviours that contribute to ocean conservation.