A heated debate about swimming with wild dolphins is taking place in Hawaii, with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service working on the side of the dolphins. The agency has proposed regulations that would prohibit swimming with and approaching wild spinner dolphins within 50 yards, in an effort to stop people from inadvertantly interfering with the dolphin’s daily lives.
The International Marine Mammal Project submitted comments to NMFS in support of the proposed regulations, which will also strengthen the spirit of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and make it more clear to tour operators and individuals what exactly is meant by ‘take’ and ‘harassment’ when it comes to these animals. Such regulations will also make the enforcement of ‘take’, ‘disturbance’ and ‘harassment’ of dolphins easier in the future.
In the comment to NMFS, IMMP’s Katherine Hanly makes the link between captive and wild cetacean entertainment: “With more people being ‘educated’ about dolphins in a captive setting, the more skewed people’s understanding of wild animals will get.” Captive entertainment also reinforces the culturally constructed notion that animals are ours to use and dominate: something that is illustrated in some of the opposing comments submitted to NMFS so far. One person writes about how the dolphins “made me feel happier and more rejuvenated”. But the dolphins involved may well have felt differently. These dolphins feed at night, and then come into Hawaii’s shallow waters to rest – swimmers are mistakenly interfering with this important rest period for the dolphins. It is attitudes like this, combined with the mis-education that places like SeaWorld promote, that is the biggest threat of all to dolphins everywhere.
The NMFS regulations could make a world of difference for the dolphins, and could help educate people into behaving in more respectful and less intrusive ways towards cetaceans.
Photo credit Giles Douglas.
