Dolphinarium
Encyclopedia
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
for dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s. The dolphins are usually kept in a large pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or for public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins perform for the public, others are part of larger parks, such as marine mammal park
Marine mammal park
A marine mammal park is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in special shows. A marine mammal park is more elaborate than a dolphinarium, because it also features other marine...
s, zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s or theme parks, keeping other animals and having other attractions as well.
While cetaceans have been held in captivity since the 1860s, the first commercial dolphinarium was opened only in 1938. Their popularity increased rapidly until the 1960s. Since the 1970s, increasing concern for animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
led to stricter regulation, which in several countries ultimately resulted in the closure of all dolphinariums in the past decades. Despite this trend, dolphinariums are still widely spread in Europe, Japan and North America.
The most common species of dolphin kept in dolphinariums is Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
s as they are relatively easy to train and have a long lifespan in captivity. While the trade in dolphins is internationally regulated, other aspects of keeping dolphins in captivity such as the minimum size and characteristics of pools vary among countries. Though animal welfare is perceived to have improved significantly over the last few decades, many animal rights and welfare groups still consider keeping dolphins captive to be a form of animal abuse.
History
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
since the 1860s, the first being a pair of Beluga Whales in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
museum, dolphins were first kept for paid entertainment in the Marine Studios
Marineland of Florida
-External links:**...
dolphinarium founded in 1938 in St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It was here that it was discovered that dolphins could be trained to perform tricks. Recognizing the success of Marine Studios, more dolphinariums keeping dolphins for entertainment followed. In the 1960s, keeping dolphins in zoos and aquariums for entertainment purposes increased in popularity after the 1963 Flipper movie
Flipper (1963 film)
Flipper is an American feature film released on August 14, 1963 written by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden. Produced by Ivan Tors and directed by James B. Clark, it portrays a 12-year old boy living with his parents on the Florida Keys, who befriends an injured wild dolphin...
and subsequent Flipper television series
Flipper (1964 TV series)
Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park...
. In 1966, the first dolphin was exported to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In these early days, dolphinariums could grow quickly due to a lack of legislation and lack of concern for animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
.
New legislation, most notably the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act
Marine Mammal Protection Act
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was the first article of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management and conservation. MMPA prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal,...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, combined with a more critical view on animal welfare forced many dolphinariums around the world to close. In 1985 Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
banned the display of all cetaceans. Another prominent example is the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where despite that during the early 1970s there were at least 36 dolphinariums and travelling dolphin shows, the last dolphinarium closed its doors in 1993. The last dolphinarium in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
was closed in 1992, and any future dolphin imports were prohibited. In 2005 both Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
prohibited keeping cetaceans captive. However, around 60 dolphinariums currently exist across Europe of which 34 within the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Japan, Mexico and the United States are also home to a relatively large number of dolphinariums.
Design
The water in the pools has to be constantly filtered to keep it clean for the dolphins and the spectators, and the temperature and composition of the water has to be controlled to match the conditions dolphins experience in the wild. In the absence of a common international regulation, guidelines regarding the minimum size of the pools vary between countries. To give an indication of pool sizes, the European Association for Aquatic Mammals recommends that a pool for five dolphins should have a surface area
Surface area
Surface area is the measure of how much exposed area a solid object has, expressed in square units. Mathematical description of the surface area is considerably more involved than the definition of arc length of a curve. For polyhedra the surface area is the sum of the areas of its faces...
of 275 square metre plus an additional 75 square metre for every additional animal, have a depth of 3.5 m (11.5 ft) for at least the minimum surface area and have a water volume of at least 1000 cubic metre with an additional 200 cubic metre for every additional animal. If two of these three conditions are met and the third is not more than 10% below standard, the EAAM considers the pool size to be acceptable.
Species
Various species of dolphins are kept in captivity and also several other small whale species such as Harbour PorpoiseHarbour Porpoise
The harbour porpoise is one of six species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen...
s, Finless Porpoise
Finless Porpoise
The finless porpoise is one of six porpoise species. In the waters around Japan, at the northern end of its range, it is known as the sunameri . A freshwater population found in the Yangtze River in China is known locally as the jiangzhu or "river pig". There is a degree of taxonomic uncertainty...
s and Belugas, though in those cases the word dolphinarium may not be fitting as these are not true dolphins. Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
s are the most common species of dolphin kept in dolphinariums: they are relatively easy to train, have a long lifespan in captivity and a friendly appearance. Hundreds if not thousands of Bottlenose Dolphins live in captivity across the world, though exact numbers are hard to give. Orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
s are well known for their performances in shows, but the number of Orcas kept in captivity is very small especially when compared to the number of bottlenose dolphins, with only 41 captive Orcas
Captive orcas
Captive orcas, or killer whales, are large predatory marine mammals that were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s, and soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in...
being known as of 2007. Of all Orcas kept in captivity, the majority are located in the various SeaWorld
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
parks in the United States. Other species kept in captivity are Spotted Dolphins
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
The Atlantic Spotted Dolphin is a dolphin found in the Gulf Stream of the North Atlantic Ocean. Older members of the species have a very distinctive spotted coloration all over their body.-Taxonomy:...
, False Killer Whale
False Killer Whale
The False Killer Whale is a cetacean, and the third largest member of the oceanic dolphin family . It lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. As its name implies, the False Killer Whale shares characteristics, such as appearance, with the more widely known Orca...
s and Common Dolphin
Common dolphin
The common dolphin is the name given to two species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis...
s, Commerson's Dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin is one of four dolphins in the Cephalorhynchus genus. The species has also the common names Skunk Dolphin, Piebald Dolphin and Panda Dolphin...
s, and Rough-toothed Dolphin
Rough-toothed Dolphin
The Rough-toothed dolphin is species of dolphin that can be found in deep warm and tropical waters around the world.The species was first described by Georges Cuvier in 1823...
s, but all in much lower numbers than the Bottlenose Dolphin. Also kept, but in numbers of less than ten are Pilot Whale
Pilot whale
Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale . The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between them...
s, Amazon River Dolphins, Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's dolphin is the only species of dolphin in the genus Grampus.-Taxonomy:Risso's dolphin is named after Antoine Risso, whose description formed the basis of the first public description of the animal, by Georges Cuvier, in 1812...
s, Spinner Dolphin
Spinner Dolphin
The Spinner Dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which they spin longitudinally along their axis as they leap through the air.-Taxonomy:...
s, and Tucuxi
Tucuxi
The Tucuxi , alternately bufeo gris or bufeo negro is a dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon Basin. The word "tucuxi" is derived from the Tupi language word tuchuchi-ana and has now been adopted as the species' common name...
. Two unusual and very rare hybrid dolphins known as Wolphins are kept at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, which are a cross between a Bottlenose Dolphin and a False Killer Whale. Also two Common/Bottlenose hybrids reside in captivity one at Discovery Cove
Discovery Cove
Discovery Cove is a theme park in Greater Orlando, Florida. Guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. The park is located adjacent to sister parks SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact...
and the other SeaWorld San Diego.
Trade and capture
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
(AI) is occasionally used. The use of AI also allows dolphinariums to increase the genetic diversity
Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity, the level of biodiversity, refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary....
of their population without having to bring in any dolphins from other facilities.
The trade of dolphins is regulated by CITES. Endangered dolphin species are included in CITES’ Appendix I, in which case trade is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. Species considered not to be threatened with extinction are included in Appendix II, in which case trade “must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival”. Most cetacean species traded for display in captivity to the public or for use in swimming with dolphins and other interaction programmes are listed on Appendix II.
Live dolphins are still traded however. A live Bottlenose Dolphin is estimated to cost between a few thousand and several tens of thousands of US dollars, depending on age, condition and prior training. Captures are reported to be on the rise in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
has also been an exporter of dolphins in recent years, this being organised by the Acuario Nacional de Cuba. In recent years, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
have also allowed the collection and export of dolphins for public display facilities. A 2005 law banned the export of dolphins, however this ban has been seemingly overturned when in 2007 some 28 dolphins were shipped to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. Some, mainly Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, dolphinariums obtain their dolphins from local drive hunts
Dolphin drive hunting
Dolphin drive hunting, also called dolphin drive fishing, is a method of hunting dolphins and occasionally other small cetaceans by driving them together with boats and then usually into a bay or onto a beach. Their escape is prevented by closing off the route to the open sea or ocean with boats...
, though several other countries in Asia also import dolphins from Japan. Several American dolphinariums have also done so in the past, however not since 1993 when the US National Marine Fisheries Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service is a United States federal agency. A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce, NMFS is responsible for the stewardship and management of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat within the...
refused a permit for Marine World Africa USA
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, formerly Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA, is an animal theme park located in Vallejo, California. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides, along with a collection of...
to import four False Killer Whales caught in a Japanese drive hunt.
Animal welfare
World Society for the Protection of Animals
The World Society for the Protection of Animals is an international non-profit animal welfare organization and also a federation of such organisations and active in over 150 countries with more than 1000 member societies.- Organization :...
still consider keeping dolphins at dolphinariums a form of animal abuse. The main arguments are that dolphins do not have enough freedom of movement in pools, regardless of pool size, (in the wild, dolphins swim hundreds of miles every day) and do not get enough stimulation. Dolphins often show repetitive behavior in captivity and sometimes become aggressive towards other animals or people. In some cases, the behavior of dolphins in captivity also results in their own death.
The lifespan of dolphins in captivity is another subject of debate. Research has shown that Orcas indeed have a much lower survival rate in captivity; however, there is no significant difference between wild and captive survival rates for Bottlenose dolphins. This does not, however, reflect a global state of affairs: for example, Bottlenose dolphins in captive facilities in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
suffer from extremely high mortality rates.
In response to criticism, dolphinariums often stress that every effort is being made to ensure the well-being of the animals, who are being cared for with state-of-the-art medical technology (including some adapted from that used for humans). Many dolphinariums are also involved in research and education programs, assist in cases of beachings
Beached whale
A beached whale is a whale that has stranded itself on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, the body collapsing under its own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.-Species:...
, and provide aid to sick or injured wild animals.
In 2003, Jane Tipson
Jane Tipson
Jane Tipson was a conservationist and animal rights activist, who was murdered in the Caribbean island nation Saint Lucia in 2003. It is alleged that she was victim of a contract killing for her work against the construction of dolphinarium tourist attractions by the Dolphin Fantaseas group, and...
, an animal rights activist working in Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
was murdered in an apparent contract killing alleged to be related to her work against the establishment of new dolphinariums in the Caribbean.
As health therapy
Captive dolphins are an increasingly popular choice of animal-assisted therapyAnimal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy is a relatively new field of study, although the human-animal bond has existed for thousands of years. AAT is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAT is to improve a patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning...
for humans with psychological problems and developmental disabilities. For example, a 2005 study of 30 participants found that dolphin-assisted therapy was an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. However, this study was criticized on several grounds: for example, it is not known whether dolphins are more effective than common pets. Review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
s of this and other published dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) studies have found important methodological flaws, leading reviewers to conclude that there is no compelling scientific evidence that DAT is a legitimate therapy, or that it affords any more than fleeting improvements in human mood.