Reprinted with

Permission of
the Publisher
26 www.timespub.tc
JoJo is a wild Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin that has been cruising the waters of Grace Bay for more than 25 years. JoJo has been declared a TCI
National Treasure.
Two dolphinaria have been proposed for construc-
tion in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Although the
proposed developer makes no claims of the facili-
ties being focused on research or even public
education they are clearly commercial ventures
aimed at maximizing profits for the developers
the keeping of captive dolphins should be consid-
ered counter to both the marketing of the Turks &
Free by Nature
The case against Bottlenose dolphins in captivity.
By Don Stark, Turks & Caicos Reef Fund
Caicos Islands as Beautiful by Nature and in direct
conflict with the Environmental Charter signed into
effect in 2001, in which the TCI government com-
mitted to study and celebrate our environmental
heritage as a treasure to share with our children.
In this article, we explain why keeping captive dol-
phins go against both of these principles.
feature
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There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in
studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind
by only observing prisoners held in solitary confinement. Jacques Cousteau
Times of the Islands Fall 2013 27
Dolphins are relatively long lived, with wild male dol-
phins often living into their 40s and females into their
50s. Like human juveniles, they have a long period of
development and nurturing with their mothers. They
reach sexual maturity between the ages of 79 years for
females and 1012 years for males. Calves tend to stay
with their mother and her group of dolphins for many
years. During this time the juveniles learn behavioral and
social skills necessary to function within the society of
their world.
In the wild, dolphins are wide ranging, fast swim-
ming, deep diving animals. They often travel as much as
150 kilometers in a day (about 100 miles) and can swim
at speeds reaching 50 kilometers per hour (about 30
miles per hour). They can dive to hundreds of meters of
depth in the ocean (maximum recorded is 492+ meters
or over 1,600 feet). They are natural foragers and the for-
aging methods vary by the specific environment in which
they live. Their diet consists primarily of fish but they also
eat cephalopods (squid and octopus), crustaceans (shrimp
and lobster), small rays and small sharks. An adult dol-
phin usually consumes about 5% of its body weight (711
kg. or 1525 lbs. of food) daily and the average dolphin
in the western Atlantic Ocean weighs in at several hun-
dred pounds (maximum recorded is 626 pounds (284
kg.).
It has been argued frequently (primarily by advocates
of keeping captive dolphins) that a dolphins ability to be
trained to learn tricks is solely based on conditioning,
much as training your dog to respond to the command to
sit is based on conditioning. Research on both wild and
captive dolphins over many decades have clearly demon-
strated that bottlenose dolphins are different from your
dog. They are highly intelligent animals that exhibit com-
plex behavioral, cognitive and social traits that
differentiate them from nearly all other mammals, terres-
trial or marine.
The brains of dolphins are highly developed. The sur-
face area of the cerebral cortex in dolphins (the so-called
gray matter which plays a key role in memory, attention,
perceptual awareness, thought, language, and con-
sciousness) is larger than that found in humans. In
absolute terms, the dolphin brain is larger than the
human brain, but when adjusted for body size and mass,
the relative size of the dolphin brain is slightly smaller
than the human brain, but much larger than that of non-
human primates, such as the great apes.
Intelligence is a difficult concept to define, let alone
demonstrate in a species with which communication is
A picture speaks a thousand words. From top: Divers haul a captured
dolphin to a boat. A dolphin bites a girl at SeaWorld Florida. Divers
wrestle a dolphin into submission.
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indirect. Intelligence is comprised of various behavioral,
social and cognitive attributes. Dolphins have clearly
demonstrated the ability to understand how different
things function, how to differentiate between different
objects, and how to understand combinations of complex
instructions. Dolphins have demonstrated self-awareness
by recognition of self in a mirror (an ability humans dont
develop until about the age of two), including recognizing
when something has changed on their body (e.g., a mark
added). Dolphins have also demonstrated an ability to dif-
ferentiate the number of objects present at one time (few
or many) and whether two objects are the same or differ-
ent, clearly demonstrating their ability to comprehend
abstract concepts.
Communication skills are highly developed within the
dolphin world. They have an extensive array of clicks,
whistles and other sounds that form their own unique lan-
guage. Recent research has also clearly demonstrated that
dolphins have unique names for themselves that they
respond to when their name (signature whistle) is called
by another dolphin or even by a recorded copy. They can
also learn other languages, as demonstrated by their abil-
ity to learn a symbolic language (similar in concept to a
human learning sign language or reading words on a
page) as well as a computer generated sound language.
They have demonstrated the ability to construct and
understand word order both understanding and creat-
ing short sentences.
Dolphins also experience emotions much like
humans. They experience stress when a juvenile is sepa-
rated from its mother and when one member of a social
group is removed from the group. They appear to expe-
rience grief, as demonstrated by the fact that dolphins
have been found attending to and supporting dead com-
panions, often for several days.
It is postulated by scientists that there are eight fac-
tors potentially possessed by animals and that the more
of these factors a species possesses, the more equivalent
that species is morally and ethically to humans. Dolphins
possess seven of these attributes: they feel pain; they
have consciousness; they can grasp concepts; they can
reason; they use language and they exhibit emotions,
such as grief. The only factor that has not been demon-
strated yet is the ability to understand and follow moral
rules but it is likely that it is only a matter of time that
this attribute will also be found to exist in dolphins. In
fact, dolphins are more like humans than any of the non-
human primates such as chimpanzees and great apes.
Public opinion has begun to shift toward a negative
From top: A Turks & Caicos Tourist Board advertisement that empha-
sized JoJos natural playground.
As early as 1987, TCI visitors enjoyed interacting with JoJo at resorts
such as Club Med (middle) and The Meridian Club (bottom), although
it was always on his schedule and locale.
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Times of the Islands Fall 2013 29
perspective on the keeping of captive dolphins. A survey
of 1,000 US citizens conducted by Yale University in 1999
found that 80% of the respondents did not believe dol-
phins should be kept in captivity unless there are major
educational or scientific benefits. A 2007 survey found
that only 30% of US citizens surveyed believed there was
a scientific benefit to keeping dolphins in captivity.
Canadian citizens expressed similar concerns in a 2003
survey in which only 14% of the respondents felt that
viewing dolphins in captivity was educational and 74%
thought that the best way to learn about these animals
was to view them in their natural habitat.
Travelife, an organization established by the
International Tourism Services and the European Union,
now recommends that excursions to dolphinaria only be
offered where there is no opportunity to substitute an
excursion to view these animals in the wild. There is a
trend toward more and more countries recognizing that
dolphinaria are not appropriate facilities in their countries
and are banning them outright, with India being the most
recent country to join this fraternity (the UK doesnt ban
them, but the regulations governing them are so onerous
that it is not economically feasible to establish one there.)
What happens to these highly intelligent, social ani-
mals when they are kept in captivity? Many of their natural
skills and attributes begin to change, and generally not
for the better.
First off, dolphins when captured suffer tremendous
trauma and stress. There is a six-fold increase in the mor-
tality rate of dolphins captured from the wild in the first
five days after capture. In fact, this increase in stress mor-
tality happens each time a dolphin is transported,
probably because the transport process generally involves
capturing the dolphin and placing it in a sling to be
hoisted into some sort of confined container for trans-
port. Stress continues to be an issue throughout
long-term captivity, which results in many potential prob-
lems such as a compromised immune system and ulcers.
These potential maladies generally result in captive dol-
phins being regularly dosed with medicines for the
prevention or treatment of infections and ulcers.
Given the confined space of all captive habitats in
which dolphins are held, physical activity is greatly
reduced. Captive dolphins, who are not scavengers, must
30 www.timespub.tc
be taught to eat dead fish since foraging opportunities
for live food are essentially eliminated. Since frozen fish
is nutritionally inferior to live fish, captive dolphins are
routinely given vitamin and other nutritional supple-
ments.
Social structures within dolphin communities are gen-
erally quite dynamic in the wild, but in captivity they are
forced into social structures in which dominance deter-
mines the hierarchy. Smaller enclosures with multiple
dolphins result in a substantial increase in aggressive
behavior between the dolphins. This can be reduced, but
not eliminated, with larger enclosures.
Dolphin communication skills change, or dont
develop as they would in the wild. Vocalizations decrease
in diversity and new vocalizations are learned, often imi-
tating noises that are common to their new confined
environment.
Dolphinaria operators cite the fact that longevity in
captive facilities is comparable to that found in wild dol-
phins. But they often exclude the five day period
immediately after capture and/or transport, since this is
when the highest incidence of mortality occurs. The other
fallacy in this claim is that for most captive animals,
longevity increases as a result of reduced predation,
abundance of food and good medical care. There is no
increase in longevity for captive dolphins and, in fact,
there is continuing debate about whether longevity in cap-
tivity is actually less than in wild dolphins.
Sea pens (fenced off portions of open seawater or
lagoons) are thought to be better for keeping captive dol-
phins, but even the largest sea pens greatly reduce the
space available for the dolphins to swim. They also gen-
erally dont provide protection for the animals from
natural hazards such as storm surge from hurricanes. Nor
do they isolate the animals from human impacts and in
most cases increase their exposure to potential pollutants
(especially if the sea pen is located near an area with a
marina or a great deal of marine traffic), run-off from
parking areas, fertilizer run-off and potential exposure to
human waste.
The health of dolphins in captivity is also a challenge
to monitor. The lack of mobile facial expressions (yes, the
smile on their face is a fixed, unchanging expression,
unlike the smile of humans) makes it difficult to identify
animals in physical distress. Most often the first sign of a
problem is a lack of eating, with dolphins often dying
within a day or two of this observation, well before a diag-
nosis can be made by a veterinarian and treatment
started.
Captive dolphin programs require dolphins, which
means they have to be sourced from somewhere. Even if
the dolphins used to start a new facility are transferred
from an existing facility, captive breeding programs do
not generate enough dolphins to feed the demand from
new and existing dolphinaria. This means more dolphins
must be captured from the wild. Given that most dolphin
populations are virtually unstudied and the capture of
wild dolphins in areas where it occurs is essentially unreg-
ulated, the impact of these capture efforts on local
populations is unknown. But what is known is that the
Times of the Islands Fall 2013 31
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ISSUES TO CONSIDER:
Captive Dolphins in Sea Pens
Although better than artificial concrete pools, sea pens
used to house captive dolphins still have a number of
issues. These include:
Are they exposed to run-off from roads, parking lots
and waste facilities?
Are they exposed to oil and other pollutants from
heavy boat traffic and/or marinas?
Are they exposed to high levels of ambient noise
(music, boat traffic, industry, etc.), which can cause
stress in the animals?
Is there adequate sun protection, since dolphins can
be sunburned?
Is there adequate isolation space for sick animals and
to quarantine new arrivals so as not to expose indige-
nous animals to foreign diseases?
Is there adequate water flow to maintain healthy
water quality by eliminating uneaten food and the
waste generated by the dolphins in the facility? (An
adult dolphin produces about a gallon of urine a day
and about three pounds of feces.)
Is the waste from the facility not endangering any
coral reef system from high levels of nutrients that will
cause algae to overtake the reef?
Is there a safe place for the animals to be held in the
case of a major storm or hurricane?
Where will the animals come from and, if they are
coming from another facility, how will they be replaced
in that facility?
Are there regulations in place to govern the facilitys
structure, activities, operations and safety of both the
public and the animals, and who will ensure compli-
ance with these regulations?
What impact will constructing the facility have on the
existing marine environment?
What is the total economic benefit to be gained by
government from such a facility, including not just the
number of potential jobs created, but also the potential
negative impact on tourism? <
32 www.timespub.tc
methods used to capture dolphins for these facilities are
traumatic and lead to many dolphin deaths and destroyed
social structures.
Swim with Dolphins programs provide no educa-
tional benefits they merely exploit the animals while
exposing them to additional risks. These risks include:
increased stress related to too much exposure to humans
without adequate time or space to seek refuge from
forced contact; increased exposure to health hazards
from diseases transmitted by humans to dolphins (such
as respiratory illnesses) and health risks from inadvertent
or intentional touching of sensitive areas such as the
blowhole and eyes. Humans also are at risk during these
programs from aggressive behavior from the animals
(butting and biting) and potential disease transmission
from them. Many of the human injuries that occur during
such programs are not reported anywhere, so there are
no reliable statistics on how often they happen.
As Captain Cousteau was quoted at the beginning of
this article, dolphinaria provide no scientific or educa-
tional benefit to humans, nor do they provide any benefits
to the animals confined in them. They are not an attrac-
tion that is compatible with the Beautiful by Nature
Turks & Caicos Islands and only harm the TCIs eco-
friendly image. <
Note: The term dolphin used here references the
Common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, the
most common dolphin found in temperate and tropical
oceans, including the waters around the Turks & Caicos
Islands.
References
AMMPA Standardized Information: Bottlenose Dolphin,
Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, 2011.
Rose NA, Parsons ECM, Farinato R; The Case Against
Marine Mammals in Captivity, The Humane Society of the
United States and the World Society for the Protection of
Animals, 2009.
Herman, LM; Intelligence and Rational Behavior in the
Bottlenosed Dolphin, Chapter 20 in Rational Animals
(Hurley, S and Nudds M, eds), Oxford Scholarship, 2006.
EU Zoo Inquiry: Dolphinaria; Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society for the European coalition ENDCAP
in association with the Born Free Foundation, 2011.
Times of the Islands Fall 2013 33
CALL TO ACTION!
Are you compelled to do something to stop the pro-
posed dolpinariums in the Turks & Caicos Islands? Go
to the website below to add your name to the nearly
60,000 signatures (at press time) already there.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/366/664/485/stop-
new-dolphinarium-in-the-turks-and-caicos-islands/
The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund could also use more
donations for fighting this battle, as over $30,000 in
legal fees have already been collectively expended over
$30,000 for the judicial review. Donations can be made
by going to the website page below and clicking the
donation button near the top of the page or by filling
out the form at the bottom and indicating that the pur-
pose is for the dolphin defense fund.
http://www.tcreef.org/donate.html
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King, SL and Janik VM; Bottlenose dolphins can use
learned vocal labels to address each other, Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, July 22, 2013.
Frere CH, Krutzen M, et al; Social and genetic interactions
drive fitness variation in a free-living dolphin population,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
November 16, 2010.
Reiss D, Marino, L; Mirror self-recognition in the bot-
tlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 8,
2001.
Curry BE; Stress in Mammals: The Potential Influence of
Fishery-Induced Stress on Dolphins in the Eastern Tropical
Pacific Ocean, NOAA Technical Memorandum (NOAA-TM-
NMFS-SWFSC-260), April 1999.
Animal Attractions Handbook, Tavelife, International
Tourism Services, Ltd, October 2008.
Learn The Details About Why We
Believe Captive Dolphins in the
Beautiful by Nature TCI Are a Bad
Idea.

(reprinted with permission from the Times of the
Islands Fall 2013 Issue)









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