The following guidelines are intended to offer best practice to be followed in
cases of any interaction between small craft and large mammals within Irish
waters:

• When whales or dolphins are first encountered, craft should maintain a
steady course.
• Boat speed should be maintained below 7 knots.
• Do not attempt to pursue whales or dolphins encountered.
• In the case of dolphins, they will very often approach craft and may
engage in “bow riding”. Always allow dolphins approach a boat rather than
attempt to go after them.
• Maintain a distance of at least 100m from whales.
• Maintain a distance of 200m between any other boats in the vicinity.
• Attempt to steer a course parallel to the direction whales or dolphins are
taking.
• Do not corral whales or dolphins between boats.
• Special care must be taken when young calves are seen – do not come
between a mother and her calf.
• Successive boats must follow the same course.
• Boats should not spend more than 30 minutes with whales or dolphins.
• DO NOT attempt to swim with them.

Craft that do encounter any species are encouraged to log all sightings and to
advise the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) or officers of the National
Parks and Wildlife Service, which is a division of the Department of Environment
Heritage, and Local Government.

Dingle Boat Tours Sustainability Policy 2024

1. Our Sustainability mission statement

• Dingle Boat Tours is aware that its business activities impact upon the environment and we are committed to alleviating those negative impacts as our mission/vision. We enable our visitors to enjoy the beautiful coastline, islands and wildlife of the Dingle Peninsula.

2. Our adoption of the UN Tourism Organisation definition of sustainable tourism

• At Dingle Boat Tours, we believe that sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts while addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities (UN Tourism, n.d.).
We therefore aim to reduce our negative effects and increase our positive impacts.

3. Our commitment to measuring energy consumption

• We commit to measuring our electricity consumption every quarter (best practice)and do the following to reduce consumption

1. (Using a supplier with 100% renewable source)
2. We have upgraded some of the lighting on our premises to LED and will complete this by March 2025
3. Motion sensor lighting is in place in bathrooms
4. We will be disposing of a number of appliances such as fridges, drinks coolers.

4. Our commitment to measuring water consumption

• We commit to measuring our water consumption every 6 months and do the following to reduce consumption
1.We have installed new toilets with dual flush systems
2. We are investigating using sea water for washing down boats instead of tap water.

5. Our commitment to measuring waste production

• We commit to measuring our waste consumption every month (best practice) and do the following to reduce consumption

1. We will stop selling drinks in plastic bottles and provide a water fountain for our customers instead.
2. We will move to better waste segregation by having 3 bins instead of just one general waste bin.
3. We use QR codes instead of issuing paper tickets.
4. We are working towards a paperless office system.

6. How we support ethical purchasing

• At Dingle Boat Company we are committed to prioritising local suppliers (within Munster) where possible and reducing our consumption by buying only what we need.

• We look to repair goods locally rather than dispose of them.

7. How we demonstrate social responsibility

• As we are aware that tourism activities can have a negative impact on local communities, we support our local community at events such as Dingle Regatta, Dingle Races.

• Our guests are asked to bring their own water bottle rather than having to dispose of their bottles in Dingle.

8. How we supports biodiversity/conservation

• We support and conserve Irish biodiversity by being a member of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

• We support the principles of Leave no Trace and advise our customers to abide by these

9. Our commitment to carbon management

• We are committed to carbon management and we do the following to reduce our carbon footprint
• We have reduced our office energy consumption by installing sensor lights and LED bulbs
• We will be introducing a more efficient waste segregation system to our business which will cut down the amount of waste sent to general waste.
• We will be looking into how we can make our boat trips more fuel efficient, whether by load factor, speed, shorter trips, electric outboard motors.

10. Our commitment to responsible marketing

• We know we can’t always get things right the first time. We therefore commit to honestly communicating where we are on our journey and our improvements.

11. Our commitment to continuous improvement

• We know we have a lot to do, and this is just the start. We have a lot to learn, but we are committed to continuously improving our efforts.

12. Our commitment to reviewing and updating your policy annually

• We commit to reviewing and updating this policy on a annual basis

13. Signature & Date

Michael O’Neill 05/11/2024

General Manager