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Surprise inspection for Gulfarium
Administrators at Florida's Gulfarium are working to correct problems - including unreported marine mammal deaths - discovered during a recent surprise inspection by representatives of three US government agencies.
 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture on 22 May for the inspection. Gulfarium General Manager Don Abrams initially described the inspection as 'standard' but acknowledged that the Gulfarium had received "a couple of write-ups" as a result of the visit. "We're going to clear them up," he said. "We'll be fine." Abrams said no fines had been issued. But Mark Oswalt, a spokesman for the law enforcement section of the NMF said the investigating agencies have not closed the books on the Gulfarium's inspection.
Brought to light so far is the facility's failure to report any marine mammal deaths, except in one instance, since 1996. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended in 1994, requires parks to file annual documents reporting each death of a marine mammal. A marine park found in violation of reporting requirements can receive a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation. The failure to report also carries a maximum criminal penalty of $20,000 per animal. The Gulfarium might also face permit sanctions, which could, among other things, limit the marine animal park's ability to bring in animals from other locations.
There have been at least six unreported dolphin or sea lion deaths at the Gulfarium since 2000. Death reports are sent to the NMFS but how many unreported mammal deaths had occurred at the Gulfarium could not be verified, however it was confirmed that several deaths that do not appear on the NOAA's marine mammal inventory.Those include:
- Prince, a bottle nosed dolphin that died in 2004
- Poco, a sea lion that died in 2004
- Two baby dolphins, one of which was stillborn, that died in 2005
- Snorkel, a sea lion that died in 2005
- Panama, a bottlenose dolphin that died in 2005
Prince's death occurred following Hurricane Ivan and was attributed to the storm. The names of both sea lions and Panama, the dolphin, appear on a NOAA inventory for the Gulfarium - none of the animals is reported to have died.
Abrams said that he believed the USDA and NOAA had shown up at his facility in response to the most recent dolphin deaths there. Daphne, a female pantropical spotted dolphin, died April 22. Buster, an Atlantic spotted dolphin, died two days later. Abrams said the deaths of Daphne and Buster were the only ones he could recall at the Gulfarium that came as a complete shock to the staff. "Those were the only two deaths I can remember that were just totally unexpected," he said. "It was a punch-you-in-the-gut kind of thing."
Two USDA inspectors were among those inspecting the Gulfarium. One was identified by Abrams as a local inspector and another as a regional inspector. Neither agent would identify themselves as they exited the Gulfarium following their inspection, nor would they discuss their findings.
The Marine Connection feels that this latest incident only serves to highlight the difficulties of keeping track of marine mammals in captivity and compliance of facilities to keep accurate records. "If facilties wish to continue to use conservation as reason to keep these animals in a captive environment, then they must be accountable for providing accurate breeding and mortality figures. If these parks have nothing to hide then records should be open for scrutiny", states Marine Connection director Margaux Dodds.
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