This tourist season, dolphin sighting trips off Sinquerim down by 80%

Calangute: During peak

tourist

season, the

Sinquerim

jetty usually bustles with activity, with visitors lining up for boat

trips

that promise a glimpse of dolphins. However, the scene is stark this year due to the pandemic. The jetty wears a deserted look, and except for some weekends, the daily boat trips are largely

down

by at least 80%.

The 45-minute

dolphin

spotting boat trips are hugely popular with domestic tourists who would flock to the jetty located near Fort Aguada.

On Saturday, a few busloads of tourists who are in Goa on a company sponsored vacation, arrived for boat rides, boat owner Bautist Simoes said. But such days are now rare, he added.

“We commenced the boat rides in October, but business is yet to pick up. Normally, there would be more than 100 trips on an average every day. But due to the pandemic, we are seeing around 20-30 boat trips a day. One boat can only make around 10 trips in a month now,” Vincent Fernandes, a boat owner from Candolim told TOI.

There are around 180 boats operating from the jetty. “Earlier we would seat 12-14 passengers in one boat, but due to the Covid standard operating procedures, we are only allowed 10 passengers in a boat. But the actual number of passengers per trip these days is around five because there are hardly any tourists,” Fernandes said.

Boat owners said they get small family groups of three-four people and couples.

“When there are fewer passengers, we wait for around 10-15 minutes to see if any more tourists are coming, but we cannot keep the passengers waiting too long in the boats, so we have to start the trip even if the boat is not up to capacity. We are helpless,” Fernandes said.

“The situation is grim due to the pandemic. It’s become difficult to survive and pay the boat operators,” he said.

However, dolphin sightings have been good these days due to diminished activities along this coast, the boat operators said.

“The best time to spot dolphins is in the morning when they come in large groups to feed. Sightings are fewer in the evenings when they’ve finished feeding,” Sidney Silveira, a boat owner said. “They’re also difficult to spot during low tide,” he added.