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Concerns Over Safety Of Dolphins

Environmentalists and Grand Bahama residents have raised concerns about the safety of 15 captive dolphins because of a dredging operation being conducted in their holding pen.

Sam Duncombe, president of the environmental group ReEarth, has called for the dredging to “stop immediately,” and for the dolphins to be removed before it recommences.

The Underwater Explorer’s Society (Unexso) did not deny that the operation is being conducted with the dolphins still inside the pen, but said it poses absolutely no danger to them.

“We have more concern for the dolphins than anyone; its our business,” Unexso representative Don Churchill said.

Unexso conducts supervised swims with captive dolphins at their facility in Grand Bahama.

Mr Churchill said that the dredging operation was being conducted on a very small scale and that US experts, including a veterinarian, had been consulted during the planning of the operation and were continuing to monitor its progress.

According to Mr Churchill, the operation consists of the insertion of an eight inch pipe which sucks silt out in a small corner of the nine-acre size pen.

He explained that over the years, silt and refuse washing in from the sea has accumulated at the bottom of the pen.

Mr Churchill denied suggestions by residents of the nearby Tamarind Subdivision that Unexso lacks a permit for the operation.

Deputy Director of Fisheries Eddison Deleveaux told The Tribune that his department had not issued such a permit to Unexso.

He said that he has instructed the Environmental Health office in Grand Bahama to conduct an “urgent” investigation into the operation.

Mr Churchill said however that the relevant permit had been granted by the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

The issue first arose when residents became concerned about the operation, both in terms of the safety of dolphins and its effect on the surrounding area.

They told The Tribune they were particularly concerned about the possibility of an unpleasant odour arising from any dolphin faeces that might be dredged up.

They said that the operation is turning the water white in the pen and a nearby canal.

Mr Churchill acknowledged that there was a small area of unsettled silt around the pipe.

This, he said, was inevitable, and will have no effect on the dolphins in such a large pen.

He said the operation was actually beneficial for the dolphins as it is clearing out a layer of thin silt and refuse that is easily stirred up and often makes the water cloudy in the pen.

Mrs Duncombe said that if the government lacks the manpower to effectively monitor the facilities already in existence, it should not be granting permission for further developments.

She pointed out that the Bahamas is in the process of formulating a Marine Mammal Protection Act and said the government should be concentrating on making the legislation as effective as possible.

As it stands, Mrs Duncombe said, the proposed legislation does little more than pay “lip service” to both established dolphin facilities and future ones.

Paco Nunez, The Tribune
March 5, 2005

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