Sharm el Sheikh Campaign

Egypt markets itself heavily as a country which has a thriving marine environment with images of wild dolphins, coral and idyllic clear seas. The Red Sea is a haven for divers, snorkellers and anyone who is keen to see marine life in beautiful clear warm, waters. However, in contrast to these impressive natural ecological features, Egypt is also home to facilities which house captive dolphins. The stark contradiction of these facilities absolutely opposes the natural diversity of marine life offered by the Red Sea itself.

Beluga whales kept in appalling conditions

After receiving disturbing reports about two beluga whales being held in a small holding pool, at Dolphinella in El Hadaba, Sharm El Sheikh the Marine Connection carried out investigations into this facility, and were shocked by what we discovered. Water temperature in the pool was approximately 25 degrees, beluga whales (being marine mammals from polar regions) require water temperature of approximately 1-2 degrees. These animals were not only suffering in this heat but their survival was in jeopardy.

The charity immediately campaigned for the release of the beluga whales and after many months of correspondence with several relevant parties including the Head of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna in Egypt (CITES) and the Egyptian Ambassador in the UK, Dolphinella was finally ordered to return the whales to Russia. Egypt is a member country of CITES which states that import permits will only be granted if the receiving facility/destination can prove they are providing "fit and proper accommodation for the species concerned" which was quite obviously not being adhered to in the case of the water temperature/conditions for these whales.

Unfortunately the Egyptian authorities authorised these whales to be held in Cairo prior to their return to Russia, resulting in the death of one of the animals. Ideally the remaining whale would have returned to the wild, but Russia were under no obligation to do so. However, as Russia are one of the main suppliers of cetaceans for the captivity industry, the charity hopes that the confiscation of these beluga whales will go some way to deterring any future imports of cetaceans into Egypt.

Dolphinella dolphins

Dolphinella at present has three bottlenose dolphins. The CITES export permit for the transfer of the dolphins from Russia specifies that one is "wild caught". There may be legal implications if this animal was taken from the Black Sea, as since 2002 it has been illegal to capture dolphins from this area.

The Marine Connection also has concerns over other developments in the area and have successfully acted against them in the past.
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