Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association conference 2006

For a report on the conference please click here

The Marine Connection and several other groups worldwide worked together at the 2006 Florida Cruise Company Association conference to raise awareness within the cruise industry about the issues surrounding dolphins in captivity and also propose the alternatives to developing dolphinariums. An excellent opportunity for this coalition, we feel it is important that those involved in the cruise industry, which makes up the majority of the custom to dolphinariums in the Caribbean, are aware of the truth surrounding these facilities.

© NOAA

Despite cruise companies claiming to have a "responsibility to" the marine environment and the oceans, many dolphins, which ordinarily roam the sea utilising their sonar skills to chase live fish, communicating within family pods and frolicking free in the ocean, are condemned to a lifeless tank for human entertainment, and they are kept there by cruise companies.

The Caribbean offers a multitude of activities which take advantage of the natural environment, from diving to ethical dolphin watching. It has been shown, by the pioneering move of Regent Seven Seas to stop promoting Caribbean dolphin facilities, that there are far more ethical and sustainable alternatives that are still profitable but follow the mounting tourist preference for responsible tourism which the Caribbean is perfectly placed to offer.

Many dolphins within Caribbean dolphinariums have been caught from the Caribbean Sea and until cruise companies cease to sell tickets for "close encounters" and dolphin shows, this practice will continue to the detriment of the oceans, the dolphins within captive facilities as well as the cruise lines' reputation for responsible tourism.

The Caribbean cruise industry has a chance to take advantage of forward-thinking dolphin-watching programmes where education about dolphins' natural skills and habits can be carried out via genuine research and observation of their natural, wide-ranging abilities and conservation can be done in situ, rather than within a captive facility where the dolphins are a shadow of their wild counterparts.

This international coalition is committed to working worldwide for a common objective - to "Keep dolphins free in the Caribbean". The Marine Connection urges cruise lines travelling to the Caribbean to stop selling excursions to captive dolphin facilities in order to truly be able to declare that they are committed to the ensuring the future of the oceans they sail on.