Written by Christopher Hall.

How many people do you know that have gone on a cruise to some exotic location like the Caribbean, Alaska, or Hawaii? Going on a cruise is fun and relaxing, but would it be as fun if you knew it came at the cost of losing some of the world’s most pristine habitats and ecosystems. Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of the tourism industry (Kester 2003) and this is no exception on the coast of Mexico. Mexico is one of the top ten cruise destinations in the world (Davis 2002), and as the industry continues to grow, the number and average size of new ships are increasing (Ludmer 2005). In 2003, 9.5 million people worldwide traveled on a cruise ship (Lundmer 2005), and that number has continued to grow.

Large cruise ships are the size of small cities, stretching longer than 1,000 feet (305 meters) and holding over 5,000 passengers (Davis & Herz 2002)! Yes, this is amazing, but what does a small “floating city” do with its waste? Because cruise ships travel in and out of national and international waters, depending on the ship’s location, the regulation of these ships falls under the jurisdiction of varying political authorities. Because of this, it is difficult to enforce regulations, allowing ships to get away with dumping garbage, sewage, oil, and toxins into some areas of the ocean (Schulkin 2002). These pollutants pose health risks to not only marine organisms but terrestrial organisms and humans as well (Davis & Herz 2002).

Marine pollution is only one of many problematic issues linked to cruise ships. By pushing for international laws to govern cruise ships in any ocean water, many organizations are addressing these environmental problems in a very beneficial way (Davis & Herz 2002, Macpherson 2008). But, when we decide to “get away from it all” on a holiday, maybe we should think twice before jumping aboard a cruise ship. There may be more enjoyable options for holidays that can keep the marine environments in Mexico and other places from being degraded.




Want to Learn More?

Davis, J., and M. Herz. 2002. Cruise control: a report on how cruise ships affect the marineenvironment. A report by The Ocean Conservancy. The Ocean Conservancy, Washington, D.C.

Kester, J. 2003. Cruise tourism. Tourism Economics 9:337-350.

Ludmer, L. 2005. Cruising the Mexican Riviera and Baja: a guide to the ships and the ports of call. Pages 1-15. Hunter Publishing, Inc., Edison, Jew Jersey.

Macpherson, C. 2008. Golden goose or Trojan horse? Cruise ship tourism in Pacific development. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 49:185-197.

Schulkin, A. 2002. Safe harbors: crafting an international solution to cruise ship pollution. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review 15:105-132.

Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World

Freshwater Ecoregions of the World

Marine Ecoregions of the World

Photo credit: Ship Parade. 2009. MSP Splenda photo tour. Available from http://www.shipparade.com (accessed October 2009).







This page was created from an environmental education writing project generated in the Fall 2009 Bio245 Conservation Biology class. Content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Gustavus Adolphus College.

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