Jenna's little "Marine" World

America's widespread interest in marine mammals began in the 1960's when the public was introduced for the first time Flipper the dolphin through a popular TV series and two films by the same name. Audiences sat with excitement as Flipper communicated with his human friends and save the day from all the unpleasant crooks in the show. Meanwhile in Maine, New Englanders fell in love with an orphaned harbor seal named Andre whose life story about being raised by a harbor master and his family  following by being trained in a "free-release" situation and finally becoming an honorary harbor master received national attention. This seal would win the hearts of America. At the same time Andre and the dolphins who starred in the "Flipper" series were receiving media attention in very different fashions, America was was introduced to the biology and physical feats of marine mammals by visiting them at marine zoological parks and aquarium across the globes. Not all marine mammals collected from the wild were sent to large zoological parks like SeaWorld. The ever increasingly curiosity and obsession with marine mammals have given rise to small displays at backyard zoos and gas stations. Believe it or not, people actually kept marine mammals like dolphins and orcas in small plastic-sided swimming pools, charging guests to see them. The animals, who lived in poor conditions in the backyard displays did not live long.

While people continued to enjoy seeing marine mammals at zoological parks, fishermen who make their living from commerical fishing did not see the smiling face of a dolphin in the way a small child just coming home from a day at a marine park would. The Dolphins would steel fish from hooks, and they would chase away other fish who would come near boats like mullet and destroyed precious fishing gear that the local fishermen would view them more as pests rather than innocent animals just trying to hunt for food. In response to what they were seeing from their own boats, fishermen began to shoot dolphins from boats and bridges out of anger at having their fish stolen from them.  Meanwhile, the Eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, large purse sine fishing nets routinely encircled dolphins and other marine species in an attempt to catch their tuna. Many dolphins got trapped in these nets that were unable to escape the nets and eventually drowned. Thousands of dolphins died in the Tuna fisheries every year before 1972. Up until that time, the general the public had very little or no concern about the well being of marine mammals any where. At one point in the history of whaling between the 19th century until the mid 20th century, the United States was the strongest whaling nation in the world. It seemed like they had no other value expect for marine zoological parks.

Public concern on a number of issues grew in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Organizations like Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Center for Marine Conservation, and the Oceanic Society were all founded with the sole purpose of inspiring people to take responsibilities for all their actions and improve the environment. These environmentally conservative groups also expressed concern for marine mammal cruelties like the clubbing of baby harp seals for their white fur coats, the violent live capture fisheries on killer whales in the Pacific Northwest, the countinuation of whaling in many countries, the sport shooting of polar bears by helicopters, and the hundreds of thousands of dolphins dying the tuna fishing industries.  As conservative environmental organizations continued to expand, marine mammals and the high profile cases the animals were victimized by grabbed the hearts of the public. Some researchers however like the late Dr. Michael A. Bigg responded to these public concerns for marine mammals by conducting long term research on wild marine mammal populations to get to know the members of these populations and their families over a long period of time. Some of these studies like the famous killer whale surveys done on resident killer whale populations in the Pacific Northwest that were hit hard by live capture fisheries for ten years, still continue to this day. Due to the amazing efforts of these early groups and the public's exposure to marine mammals at marine zoological parks that created awareness and sympathy, three main laws that apply protect marine mammals and their habitats were now establish to ensure their long term survival- The Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Animal Welfare Act.

The Endangered Species Act was first establish in 1973 to protect endangered species and their habitats from extinction. It also made it possible under this law to establish critical habitats for the most endangered of all species like polar bears in the Alaskan Arctic who rely on sea ice to hunt for seals during the spring and summer months. This law forbids the import, export, possessing, selling, delivering, carrying, transporting, trafficking, or taking (also known as harming, wounding, or killing) any specimen listed as "endangered", "threatened" or "vulnerable" under the Endangered Species Act into the United States without legalized permission to do so. Usually, fines for violating the ESA may vary by state or territory, however, the average fine for violating the ESA is $25,000 per violation. Some of the most endangered marine mammals in U.S. waters may include the Florida Manatee, the humpback whale, the Southern Sea Otter, the Steller's Sea lion, the North Atlantic Right Whale, the Hawaiian Monk Seal, the Alaskan Polar Bear, the North Pacific Resident killer whale, the fin whale, the sei whale, the sperm whale, the Guadalupe fur seal, the Alaskan Beluga Whale, Vaqutia, the Western North Pacific Gray whale, the blue whale and the bowhead whale are listed as either "endangered" "threatened", or vulnerable". in 2005, the Southern Resident killer whale population in the Pacific Northwest was listed as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act listing the current major threats as loss of food availability, toxic pollution, and effects from vessels and sound.

Established in 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act makes it illegal for U.S. citiznes to harass, hunt, capture, collect or kill marine mammals within a 200 mile exclusive economic zone of U.S. waters. MMPA however, dose regulate subsistence kills of marine mammals by native villagers and also regulates marine mammal interactions with fisheries. Under the MMPA, it is illegal to "take" a marine mammal specimen unless it is for specific activities that require special permits that often times, require public opinion and population surveys to determine weather or not if the population is healthy enough to deal with these activities. This act identifies "to harass" as: An act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which has a potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CRF 216.3). About 18 years after a court case that identified feeding of wild dolphins off the coast of Texas as "harassment" under the MMPA, there had been a number of campaigns as part of an effort to convince the general public to stop feeding wild dolphins because it has been known to alter natural behaviors of the animals by making them less willing to catch their own foood and increase infant and juvenile mortality rates. 

Since the release of the Crocodile Hunter marine life specials, the Flipper series, and the Free Willy movies, the American public has evolved to have a one-on-one interaction with the marine mammal kind. However, these interactions may not be the best interest for wild marine mammals. Swimming with wild marine mammals can be  a dangerous to both parties. Encroaching on areas that are dolphin resting places, whale calving grounds, or rookeries for seals and sea lions to raise their pups can alter normal behavior patterns for the animals can become accustomed to human contact. Although it is not listed as "harassment", to stay at least 50 yards from any marine mammal in the wild although it is illegal to this practice in areas identified as "crucial habitats" for endangered marine mammals.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act reconizes the value of marine mammals and the important roles zoological parks and aquariums play a role in educating the public. While the MMPA enforces laws that would protect wild marine mammals for any form of harassment on them. It dose value what zoos and aquariums housing marine mammal species play in informing people on the dangers that marine mammals face in the wild and what to do and not to do if they see an animal in it's ocean environment. Under MMPA, facilities housing marine mammals must meet the following conditions:

*The facility must be open to the public on a regular basis expect Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

*The facility must offer educational programs that meet professional recognized standards

*The facility must be licensed by the APHIS

 Under the authority of the MMPA, NOAA Fisheries operated the Marine Mammal Tissue Bank and Standing Network programs, which responds to stranding and unusual mortality events of those marine mammals under their jurisdiction, such as the endangered Florida manatee. Although NOAA Fisheries has a very limited role in the operation of marine zoological parks, it is the custodian of the national Marine Mammal inventory of marine mammals in human care. It must also be notified of a transport among facilities. NOAA Fisheries governs all import and export of marine mammals to and out of the United States and all "Return to the Wild" projects, which indeed require permits.

The Animal Welfare Act was first created in 1966 to apply to the sale of cats and dogs and to ensure their humane treatment in the process. By the 1970's it was applied to other animals to other domesticated animals and exotic animals on public display, uses in experimentation, research, and as household pets. It was not until 1979, that the care, and maintenance of marine mammals was regulated. The AWA is administrated through the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Veterinarians hired by the APHIS visit facilities housing marine mammals twice a year to see how well the facility is following AWA regulations. No matter what marine mammal species a facility is or want to house in the future, it must be licensed, registered, and regularly inspected by the APHIS. For example, if a facility wants to build an exhibit that would maintain killer whales, that facility must follow the following regulations:

 * The facility must have a sound and properly constructed area that would be suitable for the particular species that would be maintained. 

* The pool must contained salt water (as opposed to fresh water)

*  The pool must meet minimum space requirements depending on the size, number, and species that would be maintained.

* The water in the pool must meet minimum for salinity levels, pH balance, chlorine levels, copper levels, and chloroform bacteria levels. All these chemicals must be tested on a daily basis while chloroform bacteria levels should be tested on a weekly basis. Facilities are required to maintain records of all testings on site and be able to produce them for review by APHIS inspectors.

* Housing and food perpetration areas must be cleaned and sterilized on a daily basis. All facilities follow certain guidelines that are outlines by the APHIS.

*The Facility must hire employees who deal with the animals who have a strong educational background in marine mammal husbandry care.

*Animals are not to be kept in isolation expect on a temperate basis for medical and training purposes. There is even an exception to this if the animal prefers to be by itself or if it has a young offspring that is prone to attacks by older animals or tank mates with a history of aggression towards young animals. Animals that do not get along with one another should not be housed together.

*Local veterinarian care must be provided for the animal, especially in cases of medical emergencies or if the animal shows signs of illness or injury.

*All food fed to the animals, must be wholesome, fresh, palatable, and free from contamination, and have a sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain animals in good health

Under the MMPA, permits are required to collect marine mammal specimens from wild populations for public display, educational and scientific purposes. All applications for a permit requires to be reviewed by the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) agency. The MMC would them, upon the consolation with it's scientific advisers and committee could provide a a recommendation to an appropriate agency on whether the permit should be approved or denied. In fact, all permit applications are published in the Federal Register, meaning that once it is released through a daily publication, any interested person or group can acquire a copy of the permit request. Then, a 30-day comment period occurs that would allow the public to give their own opinions on whether or not the permit application should be approved. Also through this permit process, Quotas are set on how many animals can be collected from a wild area, depending on population size and sustainability of the species. MMPA opposes all violent methods, like the centuries-old methods used to collect wild cetaceans in Japan because they had been known to cause death or permanent injury to the animal. the MMPA and NOAA Fisheries recommends that all marine mammal collections from the wild that occur in U.S. waters should be done in a humane and legal manner.

The question on whether or not marine mammals should be released into the wild after spending years in human care is old as marine parks themselves. To legally release a marine mammal back into the wild, the effort must require a scientific permit, which means that the release must be conducted as a bona-fied research. In a scientific permit, the benefit would only be done for a species or population, not for an individual animal. In conservation terms, reintroduction is a technique using wild animals or animals born in captivity to restock wild populations in natural habitats. An acception of releasing marine mammals back into the wild if the animals were stranded on beaches or if they show signs of distress in their wild environment are taken into a marine mammal rescue center to undergo recovery and rehab before being released back into the wild after spending a short period of time in human care. However, a review of reintroduction projects that involve long-term captive animals have shown an 11% success rate. The risk of the reintroduced animals not surviving is high at this point. Sometimes, scientists have to take this risk for it is the last hope for endangered species, who's populations are declining at rapid rates and releasing a specimen into a declining population would resemble the last hope for both the species and the population all together. Still, scientists must look at each individual case for likelihood of survival and for possible threats that wild populations would face when coming into contact with the individual animals that had been released into their wild range to point out if these releases are reliable to review when working on a reintroduction program.  Many extremists try to convince the public that marine mammals, mainly dolphins and orcas are "better off dead" than in human care. One aspect of caring for marine mammals is being concerned that they may have a high quality of life, which can be provided by marine mammal facilities. Forcing a marine mammal who have spent most of their known lives in the care of man to struggle to survive on their own would NOT provide a high quality of life and may even end up in death for the animals would possibly had been exposed to diseases like morbillivirus. There is even a chance that the animal may die from malnutrition even though it might of under went a "hunting lesson" during its rehab. They still may not use their sonar properly to navigate through murky and dangerous waters of the oceans.

Many issues have to be addressed when considering a marine mammal to be a candidate for release back into the wild:

* Can they be returned to their former range?: This is the aspect of how important to the genetics of the population and species.

* How old were they when they were first collected from the wild or were they born in captivity? In other words, are they capable of surviving in the wild? Did they learn how to hunt, communicate with their species, migrate, evade predators, ect.?

* How accustomed are they to humans? Will that cause problems either putting them at dangerous risk or the safety of the people?

* Do they have the proper immune system for wild survival? Wild cetaceans have immunities to disease that captive specimens don't and as I mentioned earlier in this topic, captive marine mammals could also expose a wild stock to diseases and viruses that has never been exposed by the population.

NOAA fisheries is the agency that issues permits for "return to the wild" projects. They require two simply stated but crucial contingencies. The marine mammals must not be a threat to wild populations, and it must be currently healthy at the time of release and likely to survive. Another requirement under this permit is that all marine mammals released into the wild must also provide a monitoring system to track the animal and plan to rescue it if it is not adapting well to life in it's wild environment.

Although some captive marine mammals have been successfully released back into the wild after spending years in human care, only a few have survived long enough to establish pods or colonies of their own. In fact, almost every time a captive whale or dolphin has been released into the wild by an animal rights group, it was declared a "success" by activists with little or nor follow up on how the animal is doing. A return to the wild project that was conducted by a well-respected marine mammal scientist named Dr. Randall Wells in the 1980's is considered to be one of the very few documented releases of dolphins that is considered to be successful. But, even he would later state that he would never attempt to do such a project like that again due to the stress it causes the dolphins. The video you are about to watch focuses on an illegal release conducted by a former Miami Seaquarium employee named Ric O Barry and several members of his organization, Dolphin Project Inc., a group that claims to release captive dolphins back into the wild.