Plans are underway for a dolphinarium on De Palm Island in Aruba. The facility is said to be managed by De Palm Tours and will house captive bred dolphins from Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences, Honduras and Dolphin Academy, Curacao. According to George Kieffer, director of Curacao Dolphin Academy the dolphins will be kept in lagoons where people can swim with them, the facility will also offer dolphin assisted therapy. This will be the first dolphin facility in Aruba, an island that prides itself with natural beauty and builds its tourism on diving community.

Aruba is a perfect getaway island located in the Caribbean, blessed with some of the most spectacular beauty and diverse marine life. Soon it will also house a dolphinarium. Island De Palm Tours and Curacao Dolphin Academy plan to build a facility on De Palm Island, with captive bred dolphins imported from Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences, Honduras and Dolphin Academy, Curacao. George Kieffer, director of Curacao Dolphin Academy said the dolphins will be kept in lagoons, and will be required to interact with up to six people per session. The set up is said to be identical to the one in Curacao and will also include dolphin assisted therapy (DAT).

There is a lot of controversy surrounding this alternative method of therapy which is an increasingly popular choice of treatment for illness and developmental disabilities. Recent scientific evidence have shown that there remains no compelling evidence that DAT is a legitimate therapy or that it affords any more than fleeting improvements in mood.

Click here to read more about DAT and the alternatives

Lagoons or sea pens, where dolphins will be kept may be larger than concrete pools, but are still just a fraction of the size of the ocean - dolphins’ natural habitat. Endless scientific documentation attests to the fact that no captive facility is able to meet the complex physiological and psychological needs of dolphins, and observation of dolphins in such confined spaces often reveals them engaging in abnormal behaviours which signals psychological distress.

Along with the welfare arguments against keeping dolphins in captivity, additional barriers exist with regard to environmental impact. Dolphin sea pens are a significant source of nutrient pollution and can cause ecological damage to coral reefs. With Aruba’s considerable tourism development based on the coral reefs, particularly for divers, destruction of marine environment would have a huge impact on numbers of future visitors.

Read more about the Caribbean and dolphin programmes here