In February 2012, I will be running a course on sustainable marine tourism in Walvis Bay, Namibia. The MarWiSe course will involve a unit on the basic ecology and identification of common marine megafauna species (whales, dolphins, seals, turtles and water birds) in Namibian coastal waters; interpretation of marine mammal behaviour; responsible interaction between vessels and marine wildlife and an introduction to the new Code of Conduct that will then be trialled over several months.
This course is based on the WiSe course (www.wisescheme.org) which is well-established in the UK as the benchmark for sustainable marine tourism practices. The Code of Conduct has been developed by the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Tourism, in consultation with the Namibian Dolphin Project, specifically with the Namibian tourism industry and Namibian marine species in mind.
All are welcome to the course, which will be run twice in the week commencing 13th February, at Oceans restaurant at the Walvis Bay jetty. If you wish to attend or require further information on course content, fees, dates etc., please contact me directly on ruleeney@yahoo.co.uk

Many thanks to Colin Speedie of WiSe; Walter Schaefer, Jeanne Meintjes, Sandra Knop, John Paterson, Marko Jansen Van Vuuren and Naude Dreyer for their help and encouragement in organising the course.
Catamaran Charters (www.namibiancharters.com) and Fourth Element dive gear (www.fourthelement.com) have provided sponsorship and support for the MarWiSe course. I am particularly grateful for the Rufford Small Grant which has enabled me to develop and deliver this course.