©copyright 1999- Joseph M. Cocozza Jr.
Diver and Marine Mammal Researcher Steven McCullough was nine years old when he had his first encounter with a dolphin. At night he would sneak into the Marine Land Aquarium where he played with the captive dolphins. This was the defining moment in his life. During his thirty year career, McCullough has worked with captive dolphins, wild dolphins and is currently working on dolphins rescue and rehabilitation. Divers like McCullough understand the marine environment more than the average person. We divers have empathy for the sea's creatures, but among our ranks there are divergence of opinion regarding the appropriateness of various forms of human-dolphin interaction.
Is it correct for captive dolphins to live in concrete pools and is this offset by education and research benefits that captive dolphin programs provide? What about the feeding of wild dolphins and dolphin swim programs ? Are human-dolphin interactions is harmful to the dolphin ?
The only time
that most non divers they get to see marine mammals up close is at
marine life parks. A marine park, like SeaWorld, spends millions on
its marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation work. Marine Parks have
educated the public on such issues as the mass slaughter of
dolphins by drift netting. In total, the efforts by marine parks
have saved the lives' of tens of thousands of dolphins.
As dolphin researcher McCullough, states. "The Marine Parks are
there, they are in business, but they need to serve a higher
purpose. Dolphins in captivity deserve the best care possible and
respectful treatment. These dolphins should be used to educate
people about about their counterparts in the wild."
SeaWorld's Assistant Curator of Marine Mammal Training: Alan
Kordowski, described the educational benefits of SeaWorld's Dolphin
Interaction Program. This program allows guests to enter waist deep
water with dolphins. This program is ideal for teaching non-divers
and children about dolphins.
Divers looking a more challenging encounter with dolphins might be
interested in a captive swim program such as UNEXO's: Dolphin
Experience. The dolphins live in a nine acre body of water, called
Sanctuary Bay. During an open release program, the dolphins will
temporally leave the bay and follow the dive boat into the open
sea. The dolphins rendezvous with the divers and perform behaviors
under the supervision of UNEXO trainers.
In both SeaWorld's and UNEXO programs the captive dolphins are
conditioned for interacting with humans.
There are a different set of challenges, when divers interact with
wild dolphins. Because human encroachment on dolphin habitat, steps
must be taken to minimize the negative impact of these
human-dolphin interactions.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is the branch of the US
government that protects marine mammals. The NMFS has extensive
documented the harmful effects of feeding wild dolphins. In a
report to congress it stated "In the best interest of dolphins
forced to live in an environment surrounded by the human
development, we should not intentionally further alter the behavior
of these animals. ... Humans should recognize this fact and respect
the wild nature of these animals by maintaining their distance and
not habituating them unnatural sources of food. The flourishing
number of observational cruises where feeding is not involved
demonstrates the fact that observing dolphins as wild creatures is
a viable, lower risk, alternative."1
President of The Human Dolphin Institute: (HDI), Dr. Michael Atlas
states. "We need to learn to manage the presence of a wild species
in the midst of a developed urban resort and to preserve and
maintain an interactive relationship that is in the best interests
of both communities." Located in Panama City, Florida, HDI
facilitates education, research, and respectful human-dolphin
interactions.
A major portion of HDI's community awareness program is teaching
about the dangers of chasing and feeding wild dolphins.
Unfortunately many of Panama City's dolphins bear the scars of
propellers; as jet skiers and unscrupulous tour operators chase and
harass these wild dolphins. The dolphins have been fed spoiled
fish, hamburgers, pretzels and even beer.
NMFS: Marine Mammal Biologist, Trevor Spradlin says. "Most people
understand that feeding wild terrestrial mammals, like bears, is
not healthy for the bear or safe for humans. But these same people
don't make the connection with dolphins, they think wild dolphins
are like Flipper. .... Animals conditioned to seek food from humans
may become vulnerable to eating inappropriate or contaminated food
materials as their foraging skills become altered." The consensus
is that Dolphins are meant to be hunters not beggars. Feeding wild
dolphins is a harmful. Its causes dependency, dolphin become
injured by human technology and dolphin migratory problems
occur.
It is the public's desire to connect with dolphins that is the
economic catalyst for all these forms human-dolphin interaction.
Observing this phenomenon McCullough states, "On one hand these
interactions creates more awareness, education and environmental
activism .... This education and research influences policy
decisions, creates prudent management policies to protect species
and habitat. Dolphins have charisma, they can focus peoples
attention on the environment. But, wild dolphins are such wonderful
creatures maybe we should leave them alone."
Some experts say that wild dolphin swims have the "potential" to
disrupt behavior patterns. Spradlin of the NMFS states, " For the
dolphins sake and for your safety please don't feed or swim with
wild dolphins. You are encouraged to observe from at least 50
yards."
Its
a big ocean and other experts don't agree that "swimming" with
dolphins equates to harassment. Dr. Michel Atlas of Human Dolphin
Inst counters. "Obviously we need to respect some strict guideline
and not disturb any of the social activities that are vital to the
dolphins lives. ...(but) after dolphins have performed their
hunting and social behaviors there comes a moment where their
natural curiosity expresses itself and they will come close to the
boat and seek interaction with humans. Then the we slide peacefully
in the water and experience somthing unquie, remarkable and
spirtual. This interaction can not be ignored or
underestimated."
Dr. Atlas cites the work of the sociobiologist Professor Edward O.
Wilson. Professor Wilson is the creator of Biophilia, the study of
mutually beneficial relationships between different species.
Professor Wilson discuss the perceptual changes that occur within
humans in wild dolphins and visa-versa are the best hope to
preserve the planets bio-diversity.
Countering the philospy no swim advocates, Wilson stated during a
colloquium at Williams College. "...it's the (old paradgim) of
preservation vs progress. The old school environmentalists still
believe that if we are up to our agenda we should fence off as much
wildland as we can and keep the ravening hordes (of humans) away.
But I believe that most of professional environmentalists today
have a totally different view of our relation to wild lands. It's
one of active engagement, committed to the idea of preserving
biodiversty and ecosystems while using them. Developing a new
science and technology that will allow us to move and explore while
doing minimum environmental damage. This is a technical problem,
like optimum population size and it's soluble one. "
In my research, most of the wild dolphin swim programs in the
Bahamas follow this model of responsible interaction with wild
dolphins. THEY NEVER FEED THE DOLPHINS, and they never chase them.
As such, dolphins control the encounter, interactions with dolphins
are not guaranteed and many of the interactions are only from the
boat. In-water encounters only occur when and if the dolphins want
them to.
According to Ms. Nowdla Keefes at Bimini Undersea, "Dolphins
actually seek out human interaction". The most common dolphin
encounters are with Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and Bimini Undersea
has very strict rules regarding these dolphins swims, "We have a
two page set of instructions and rules for dolphin
interaction....the two most important guidelines are we do not feed
and do not attempt to touch the Dolphins."
Ms. Keefes adds, "The dolphins will often but not always come out
to our area when they hear the sound of our boat ......We do not
feed these animals nor do we attempt to alter their behavior in any
way. The dolphins control the encounter. If the dolphins want to
come and play, they know where to find us, they are in charge. They
allow us to swim with them. They do so because they want to; not
because they have to."
CONCLUSION:
When it comes to
protecting the ocean, most divers spend time and money supporting
environmental issues. Divers also assist professional marine
biologists and participate in programs like PADIs Project AWARE.
Divers are active in reef preservation, conservation and beach
clean ups. It is in our enlighten self interest to discourage acts
that are harmful to marine creatures.
In a NMFS report
to congress, it concludes. "Although not all interactions between
humans and wild animals are negative, feeding wild animals is
proximately and ultimately harmful. These activities are
unanimously opposed by the scientific community. The overwhelming
evidence is that feeding alters the natural behavior of wild
dolphins, ... the NMFS finds the feeding of wild dolphins to be
inconsistent with the ... Marine Mammal Protection Act."
The is common agreement is that feeding wild dolphins is a bad
thing! As divers we should educate others about this and support
regulation and enforcement that will prevent the feeding of wild
dolphins.
For thousands of years of Homo sapiens lived among wild animals,
yes the dolphin is a wild animal and zoologically speaking so is
man. In the book, The Naked Ape, zoologist Desmond Morris described
humans are proto marine mammals; that somewhere in our evolutionary
past, our ancestors went through a marine mammal phase. Maybe that
is the reason we feel need to connect with dolphins. As divers,
lets make these human-dolphin interactions cordial greetings of
inter-species friendship and not inter-species
muggings.
2. Marine Mammal Protection Agency Bulletin 1st Qtr
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