St. Maarten Private Eye

Sint Maarten Pride Thread

SXM Pride is one of the leading foundations fighting to preserve the environment and beauty of our island. They receive no funds from government and they are currently working along side Mercedes De Windt, The Nature Foundation, Animals R Friends, Ocean Care and others against the planned Dolphinarium.

The following is a letter from SXM Pride to the Executive Council outlining their position on the project. Please feel free to post comments and questions to SXM Pride in this thread.

May 25, 2005
To the Executive Council
Of the Island territory
Sint Maarten
Neth. Ant.

Dear Honorable Executive Council,

The Sint Maarten Pride foundation would hereby like to object to the dolphinarium project being proposed by Atlantida and subsequently endorsed by your council. The Sint Maarten Pride foundation is objecting based on several factors;

Environmental concerns:

The location proposed being the empty EDC property adjacent to the Dr. A.C Wathey Cruise and Cargo facilities. This location in our opinion is too close to our Cruise Harbor where on a daily basis at least between two and up to nine cruise ships are berthed. The location is also in the vicinity of two commercial marinas namely the Dock Martin and the Bobby’s Marina, both marinas have plans for expanding their docking space and making space available for Mega Yachts.

As we have read in the local media the captive dolphins will be housed in an enclosed area of the Great bay Sea. This of course opens up all types of environmental issues relating to the water quality of the Great Bay Water Basin. We are concerned about oil spills that occur very frequently in that area from the many boats docked at the Marinas, Boatyard and the Cruise Terminal. The Rapid Explorer ferry service and many other charter boats also operate in the area.

We are also concerned that with heavy rainfall the Rolandus Kanaal washes out in that part of the ocean carrying all sorts of debris. As an environmental group we are well informed that the Inspection Department of Environment is understaffed, does not have the modern tools for water testing and many times are lacking vehicles to assist the Inspectors to their inspection sites. Who then will ensure that proper water testing and frequent water quality control will be carried out? This question is in relation to the health of the dolphins but also to the swimmers as we understand this facility is a swim with the dolphins program.

The Sint Maarten Pride foundation is also concerned about the plan of action in case of a hurricane, will the dolphins be kept in a pool in the event of a hurricane which can traumatize them as a hurricane can go on for a few days as we experienced with Hurricane Luis and it’s aftermath. Or will the dolphins be released into the Great Bay Sea area?

We would like to remind the Executive Council of the “Feed the Sharks” program being conducted by Dive Safari in the same Great Bay Sea. In our opinion any dolphin used to captivity will not be able to fend off sharks, as even reef sharks can gang up on a lone dolphin.

The Dolphins:

While we will leave the local animal foundations to discuss the welfare, health and rights of these mammals, the Sint Maarten Pride foundation in agreement with the animal foundations recognizes that indeed Dolphins are very intelligent, sensitive creatures that have a social and family pattern similar to humans. They show emotions with loss of a family member or when a young one is taken away.

Some experts have proven that Dolphins have the intelligence of a three to five year old human child, reason they are so easy to train. In short, Dolphins are the closest mammal to the human living in our oceans. Bottlenose dolphins have a specific face characteristic, it looks as if they are always smiling and having fun, in reality that is just the make-up of their face for that species.

Too many problems:

The Sint Maarten Pride foundation has come to a realistic conclusion that a facility such as a swim with the dolphin program will only bring more problems, problems that our government departments cannot ensure will be handled to their optimum. In this regard we will mention that proper medical care has to be provided to the dolphins. The dolphins will have to be checked for diseases and viruses, all has to be ensured that no such illnesses can be passed on to humans.

The fact that other islands have such a facility is not a bonus point as the facilities in Anguilla and Antigua are in substandard condition. Information reaching the Sint Maarten Pride foundation is that in 2003, a lady staying at one of our local resorts slipped at the dolphinarium in Anguilla due to the heavy algae in and around the pool area.

All in all we have come to the conclusion that with all the environmental problems the island experiences and subsequently cannot handle due to lack of manpower, lack of expertise, lack of tools, we are questioning which department will be conducting the checks and balances.

We cannot support a project where dolphins will be exploited, and the possibility exists that with our lack of local expertise we can provide an optimum facility that will not endanger the lives of the dolphins and create unpleasant experiences for the visitors.

Alternative:

The Sint Maarten Pride foundation suggests an alternative;
As we have read in several letters to the editor in our local newspapers. Many persons support the idea for a water park. We also think the idea of a family style water park is a good idea. Of course for this project more information on water testing and water quality control would have to be discussed.

Many islands in the Caribbean already have a swim with the dolphins program, many not in optimum state, so we ask why would the FCCA support another of the same initiative? With a water park, Sint Maarten would have something unique the other islands do not have. We are therefore asking the Executive Council to instead consider the feasibility of a water park.

A water park will also be enjoyed by the local population, as a swim with the dolphin program is not in the price range of most local people. The average price for a swim with the dolphin program on the other islands is $125-$200 per person.

Note:

The Sint Maarten Pride foundation was invited to a meeting with Mr. Frank Mingo and Mr. Miguel DeWeever on September 22, 2004. At this meeting it was discussed that the proposed dolphinarium was just an idea and the Economic department just wanted the feedback from the local enviro/animal NGO’s. The conclusion of this meeting was that the NGO’s were not in favor of a swim with the dolphins program and that more discussions would follow. The NGO’s asked for a presentation that could be given by the developer of the swim with the dolphin program.

To this date, March 6, 2005 no such presentation was given to the Sint Maarten Pride foundation by Atlantida or any other developer.

On behalf of the board of the Sint Maarten Pride foundation,

Jadira Veen
Sint Maarten Pride foundation
President

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