In 2002, Tanya Streeter broke both the men and women's No Limits Freediving records, earning her worldwide recognition as the premier athlete in the freediving arena. In addition to being a star athlete, Streeter is also a lifelong advocate for the environment and conservation. Having spent most of her life immersed in the waters of her native Cayman Islands, she was shocked and appalled when news broke that the Cayman Islands government is now considering four proposals to build a captive dolphin facility in the islands.

In direct contradiction to its self-proclaimed reputation for being an "environmentally friendly" travel destination, plans to establish a captive dolphin facility in the Caymans would be based solely on human profit, at the expense of the dolphins. Streeter fired off a direct and powerful response to the proposed plans, urging the Cayman government to conserve its natural resources, respect the heritage of the Cayman Islands, and protect dolphins by denying requests to bring captive dolphin displays to the Caymans.

Reprinted from Caymanian Compass newspaper, May 12, 2003:

As a Caymanian I am writing to express my grave concerns at reports that there are currently up to four different captive dolphin facilities proposed for construction in the Cayman Islands. When I was a child (and even as an adult), the waters around the Cayman Islands always offered me much more entertainment than I could take advantage of in a lifetime, so at the very least it baffles me that anyone could think that our islands need such a facility. As an environmentalist and spokesperson for The Whale And Dolphin Conservation Society I hope my letter will serve to do a number of things, such as educate the uninformed about the dangers, cruelty and unsuitability of these facilities; empower those who are against these proposals with some key facts so that they are well equipped to publicly protest them; and finally to encourage those who are inclined to support the proposals to think a little differently. I will begin with some information that addresses these first 2 goals.

Scientific evidence suggests that the confinement of dolphins in captivity can be severely detrimental to their welfare and survival. Research shows that in captivity dolphins suffer from stress and subsequent frequent illness, behavioral problems, high mortality rates, decreased life expectancy and breeding difficulties. Commendable studies further reveal that the annual survival rate and calculated life expectancy of dolphins held in tanks is significantly lower than that of free-ranging dolphins in their natural habitat. It's always interesting to hear representatives of captive dolphin facilities boast that their recently-deceased dolphin survived to the ripe old age of, say, 20 years old, when what they don't tell you is that in the wild that same animal would have lived until it was between 35-50 years old!

It's my understanding that some of the proposals submitted involve bottlenose dolphins purchased from existing captive facilities, while the others involve capturing the animals from the wild. Make no mistake, regardless of which if dolphins may end up in a tank/pen in Cayman, at some point they were kidnapped in terror from their natural surroundings, often wounded in the process, with others even perishing around them. Left to their freedom, wild bottlenose dolphins live in dynamic, complex societies with stable families that seem to remain together for a long time. They are free-living creatures that are used to traveling many tens of miles a day. Yet some people among us would rather keep them in captivity, forced to live in an artificial environment where humans control their every move. Such imprisonment can change their behavior so drastically that a captive dolphin display cannot begin to demonstrate the complex lives of wild dolphins or the natural environment they inhabit. Based on this proven fact, facilities that operate under the guise of "education" are simply attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of visitors, because the performances they see bare no resemblance to that of wild dolphins. It's simply a scam. Almost all dolphins in captivity today around the world are suitable for rehabilitation into the wild, so even the proposal that involves "rescuing" the dolphins from another facility is redundant. Dolphins are increasingly being displayed in captive facilities that offer swim-with-the-dolphin programs, and it's likely that this element is included in one or more of the proposals currently on the table with CIG. In a situation where for hour after hour dolphins are forced to interact unnaturally with humans yet with no escape, they suffer from both psychological and physical illness. Further, there have been many recorded instances where the dolphins take out their revenge on the very people who have paid their money for an experience they have been lead to believe will change their lives, even heal them, by causing varying degrees of injury including scratches, bites, bruises and even broken bones. After all, these animals can weigh upwards of 500lbs and they are highly intelligent - if they don't want to play but they are forced to, they can play very rough! I personally know of someone who had three ribs broken by a captive bottlenose dolphin!

There is simply nowhere in the Cayman Islands where it is suitable to keep captive dolphins. Even the proposal that apparently involves the construction of "sea-pens" is little better than that which includes a concrete tank at the Turtle Farm. Captivity is captivity. And anyway, it can't have escaped the attention of many of us that there are no resident dolphins in our waters! And there is a reason for that - our waters are not suitable for dolphins. In my whole life in Cayman I have seen dolphins twice off the west coast of Grand Cayman and once on a crossing to the Sister Islands. And each sighting was incredibly lucky as they were simply migrating to somewhere with more suitable conditions.

Now I have reached the point in my letter where I must address my final goal of encouraging those who are inclined to support the establishment of such captive dolphin facilities to think a little differently. I always find the approach of "putting yourself if their shoes" quite effective, so consider this. Dolphins have often been described as having similar intelligence to that of children, yet with heightened instincts for survival. Imagine yourself at the age of 8, or perhaps you have a child or relative at that age. Now imagine that child is at a picnic with you, and all your friends and family when from nowhere terrorists snatch him away. Your mother is taken too, but she fights until she dies, and your family is devastated and the losses. Now that child is transported in horrific conditions, oftentimes close to death, and imprisoned in a room that measures 10 foot by 10 foot with 6 other strangers of all ages and genders. Fights break out to establish dominance and the child is repeatedly wounded, constantly medicated and suffers deep depression. As a final blow, in this tiny room with all these other people and no place to seek refuge, the child if forced to beg for food, the same food for the rest of it's life, by performing demeaning tricks. 20 years later, after years of force-feeding via a tube and medication for illnesses he would never have got in the wild, the child's body simply gives up.

Even if this story and all the supporting research means nothing to you, and you are not the type of person who treats animals, especially those of high intelligence, the same way you would want to be treated, please consider the untold damage the establishment of such a facility will do to Cayman's excellent reputation for conservation. Visitors come to our islands because we have historically saved more than other islands who have exploited every asset to depletion. At least one of the proposals I refer to involves the massive destruction of part of the coastal area of West Bay to facilitate the holding areas for the dolphins. That exact coastal area is a natural habitat that needs to be preserved, as it is part of the very delicate ecosystem we all know as the North Sound. If we destroy North Sound, what will happen to the visitors that enjoy it so much today? Protect what we already have - and we already have so much! - don't give in to the power of the almighty dollar just for today, when tomorrow our children and grandchildren will never know the beauty of the waters around us that we enjoyed as children. Nor will they know the respect the Cayman Islands earned by having a high standard of ocean ethics.

I respectfully call on the Cayman Islands Government to support the conservation and protection of wild dolphins and not to allow the development of captive dolphin facilities here. And I encourage the people of the Cayman Islands to take and active stand against these atrocious proposals.

Yours in conservation,

Tanya Streeter
5/12/2003