A report on the economic valuation of the Tongan whale watching industry was released today in the South Pacific country.

The EcoLarge report for IFAW found that the industry provides an annual boost of just under US$2 million to the small island nation, and has grown at an average of 20% per year since 1998.

The final report can be found in our Reports section.

Press coverage can be seen at the following links:

http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/06/14/study-urges-protection-for-whales-in-tonga

http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=130/focusContentID=12510/tableName=mediaRelease/overideSkinName=newsArticle-full.tpl