St. Croix Aquarium? Interest in Dolphin Swim Facility??

What exactly is a "Dolphin Swim Program"?

Do you mean like swimming with the Dolphins? If yes, then NO, it is NOT a good idea,

Dolphins are best left in the ocean, FREE, where they belong, NOT penned up for some quasi-educational program!!

Just my humble opinion.

Ex-Island Paul

How is trapping and exploiting wild animals related to the "importance of preserving our marine environments"? Sounds pretty sadistic to me.

The St Croix Aquarium was a small sealife display in a storefront in Christiansted. Several people were interested in expanding and developing the concept at a larger location. I don't recall any recent announcements that indicated that this plan is moving forward. I think it is an idea that deserves support.

As you will hear from others, the idea of a "dolphin swim" is disgusting and unacceptable to most residents and travelers.
I agree, and want you to know, that anyone who would support such an abuse of sealife would not be welcomed by me or my friends and family.

I hope this helps you to understand the strong negative feelings that such a venture would find here.

I have been to a dolphin swim program in Orlando Florida. It was an amazing experience. The animals were not exploited and made to do tricks. Many of the animals were rescues. The dolphin I had my interaction with was MayDay. Mayday was a year old and attacked by a shark, when he was rescued he became way too friendly with humans and could no longer be released. He seemed to love interacting with people. The park is called Discovery Cove, it is owned by Seaworld. They do not force the animals to do anything and only use positive reinforcement (like food and belly rubs).

www.discoverycove.com

All that I can think of when thinking about swimming with Dolphins is what happend to Hank Hill in the show "King Of The Hill."Those dolphins got a littel bit frisky with Hanks rear end. OOOOO not a good thought. Dolphins in the states are all rescues. Legaly they have to be. But dolphins in other parts of the world are wild captures. I just don't think that they would have to abide by state side laws here. They could possibly bring wild captured dolphins here. Dont let it happen. If you want to swim with dolphins on St.Croix your best bet will be to get in your boat cruise arround the ocean for a week of so. You'll eventualy see a school of dolphins. When you see them just jump in the water. It is only 11,000 feet deep, big ground swells, and wicked currents. Jolly mon was taken to the heavens by the dolphin. A dolphin came and helped Jolly Mon when got taken over by pirates. When you wish upon a star see the dolphin and Jolly Mon to tell you where you are.

I advise against not just jumping in the ocean and swimming with dolphins. It is very dangerous, dolphins can go up to ten minutes without emerging for a breath. They are very playful, they were playing with a couple outside of Daytona last year and pulled the man under water for about 6 minutes. I think he died. Also dolphins show affection with their teeth. They leave "rake marks" on other dolphins showing love or aggression. But their teeth are razor sharp, causing humans to need hundreds of stitches. Leave wild dolphins alone.

Wow! Thank you all so much for your great information and feedback!! I really appreciate it! I love this board and all the great members who make it what it is!!

Any other input is welcome!

Have an aweseome day Everyone!!

Kat

Kat: A troll is one who posts questions that are knowingly inflammatory...like about Dolphin Prisons. Trolls like to stir things up, you might say.

Oh.....no I am not a Troll! I didn't mean to upset anyone. I actually learned my lesson. I got scared by the responses. I am actually shaking now as i am writing this because i feel bad. I don't know if i should explain or not. i don't want to make it worse. It was a serious question.

I have seen people so moved by the opportunity to meet dolphins up close and personal that they are truly moved to change their destructive habits and begin to care for their surrounding environment, recycle, etc. Those of us who have lived near the ocean or are able to see dolphins from time to time cherish those experiences, but most of the US population is not so fortunate and therefore (I think) more careless with the environment we all share. They are more likely to pollute their waterways in the middle of the US somewhere not even thinking of where it ends up and the incredible creatures it is harming. They are more likely to spew pollutants into the air, adding to global warming, which in turn is warming the oceans and destroying the reefs, ocean life, etc. Basically destroying our planet. I honestly believe that in interactive dolphin swim programs people feel emotionally touched to the point of finally changing their behaviors and realizing how we are all inter-connected. Especially important is connecting with children and giving them these kinds of hands on learning experiences that they will remember for their entire lives.

Anyway, I was just asking because i had stumbled across the website for the St. Croix Aquarium and thought that i would love to be apart of that facility or open a marine education facility that can make a difference in our world by educating and impacting people emotionally. I thought that a dolphin swim facility would be a great way to make a lasting positive effect on our planet (including dolphins) and also promote some additional tourism dollars and employment opportunities to St. Croix.

And, just FYI, i would never support the capturing of wild dolphins. Dolphins in the US are very promiscuous and the facilities work very well together. So, there is certainly no need for wild captures. That would definitely break my heart.

Also, i was thinking about a dolphin facility on St. Croix could be built in the ocean and not as a tank. That provides a great deal of enrichment for the dolphins without the dangers of sharks, etc. I know in the US it is illegal to take captive dolphins out into the ocean, except the US navy. I was wondering if that would hold true for the USVI. There are only a few facilities in the world who are able to let the dolphins out into the open ocean on a daily basis. It would be a fun program to do with kayakers, divers, snorkelers, etc.

Sorry, if i offended. Please don't yell at me. I'm a very gentle person. I just have my beliefs regarding the best way to get everyone taking care of our planet better than they are now. And I have seen it work when people get to know an incredible animal like a dolphin on a one on one basis. Then they will always think of that one animal who they met when they are deciding to recycle or not to recycle, for example.

Kat

Dear Kat,

Your response was delightfully thoughtful and I understand what you tried to say against all (response) odds! I concur with the majority.

You know what is awesome here in the Caribbean? Well, a whole bunch of things but, where dolphins are concerned it's going out sailing and suddenly being surrounded by a school of them. It happens rarely but is an experience to enjoy and really get teary about. They follow the under-sail boat, dive under it and all around it and really seem to enjoy just messing around and saying hello over and over again, doing flips, grinning and having a blast - and then they're gone.

I don't know what happened to the Tortola (BVI) adventure of swimming with the dolphins but I have a feeling that it was rather short-lived as there was much more outrage against it locally than has been expressed by various posters on this forum in response to your query!

Just my two cents...

Thanks STT Resident!! You are right! That is such a special gift!!

Kat

Kat: No, no yelling here! 🙂 I think that there are quite a few people who live in the VI who feel that one should learn to exist with nature, not try to recreate it. Braytina described a facility in Orlando. IMHO the entire concept of Orlando is to attract people who want to see the Eiffel Tower, but don't want to actually go to France where they might run into French people, who want to see wild life, but don't want to experience their natural habitat and who want to go on rollercoasters that have some sort of relationship with the latest movie being marketed. While I will agree with you that folks should be knowledgable about the world around them, I would disagree with you on how that should be done. I think that science education needs to be promoted. Then we can discuss if global warming exists or not...

I lived in the Fla.Keys where Two Dolphins were kept in a landlocked pool.They occasionally let people swim with them until the inevitable happened.The Dolphins with their playful spirits pushed a man to the center of the pool and kept him there,everytime he attempted to swim to shore they bumped him very hard with their noses thinking he was playing.He was rescued by boat with only a few caved in ribs,punctured lung and cuts and massive bruises.He was lucky he wasn't killed.Dolphins are not mean,they are just powerful and very playful,and able to inflict massive injury/or death to anything less powerful than they are.Dolphins are better left in their own habitat,and observed from a safe place.LA

Dear LA,

I don't think you quite get it. If you know anything about animal behavior then you know that dolphins are highly intelligent, with brain cells equalling those of humans but using more of them than the average human does during its entire life.

I doubt that the two dolphins thought that the man was "playing" but that they had rather had enough of being cooped up in an unnatural state and were simply making a point. That one man was, I think, simply a catalyst and they didn't kill him (and I very much doubt that they would have done so even if a rescue boat hadn't been on hand) but apparently left him with sufficient injuries to create a warning.

Nonetheless, your final point about dolphins being left in their natural habitat is well taken and appreciated and is a stance that's been maintained throughout this thread.

But I'm curious about what measures the FLA Keys aquarium management took in the aftermath? Did they punish the dolphins? And is that facility still in business?

Dear STT Resident,
I don't beleive YOU get what I said.I NEVER stated that Dolphins are anything BUT intelligent.Anyone that knows anything about Dolphins also have to admit they are quite playful,and can be mischievious at times,when given the chance.My input was mainly to relay a personal experience.The Dolphins were not Punished as they were not guilty of any wrongdoing.That facility was damaged by subsequent storms(of which there are many)in FLA.and is not in business anymore.Animals are often a lot easier to deal with, than people.....LA