At an abandoned captive dolphin amusement park at Balmoral Island, aka Blackbeard Cay, Nassau, Bahamas, eight dolphins have died and five remain abandoned and starving.

Dolphin Project was alerted to the news of an abandoned captive dolphin facility on Balmoral Island. Closed during the COVID pandemic, the tourist attraction never re-opened and the dolphins were left in limbo.

A few days later, with an invitation to inspect the dolphins and the abandoned facility by the lone caretaker and dolphin trainer, Luis Arturo Hernandez, Dolphin Project’s Founder/Director, Ric O’Barry, was able to witness the conditions firsthand. Any one of his grievous observations (of which most were confirmed by Hernandez) could be considered animal abuse. And, any one of them could have been responsible for the high number of dolphin deaths.

During this visit, Mr. Hernandez contacted the consulting veterinarian in Mexico, Dr. Jose Luis Solorzano, who told O’Barry, amongst other things that he “…reduced the dolphins food because the weather is warmer now.” Dolphin Project cannot confirm if Dr. Solorzana is licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the Bahamas.

These include:

• Lack of electricity or running water on the property — a small generator on-site hasn’t been working for the past six months.
• The facility does not have the ability to keep the dolphins’ fish frozen or even cool, nor is there any sanitary fish preparation area.
• Many bottles of various medications designated for the dolphins are empty. Several others had expired as far back as 2020.
• The dolphins are all seriously underweight, suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. Each of the dolphins had previously received about 20 pounds of fish per day. At the time of this writing, each of the dolphin’s food has been cut to five to seven pounds of fish per day, representing a 75% drop of food for at least the last nine months.
• The infrastructure is in complete disrepair. The fences in the dolphins’ sea pen has large holes, torn in several spots. The property is littered with garbage. There is no protection from weather (including hurricanes) and is exposed to tourists.
• There is only one full-time caretaker to feed the dolphins. There is no attending veterinarian and no security.
• There is no enrichment for the dolphins, nor is there any shade in their enclosure. The water in which they are being kept is extremely shallow (two meters at the deepest point).

Due to the horrific situation presently taking place on Balmoral Island, Dolphin Project is asking the Bahamian government to immediately implement life-saving interventions for the remaining five dolphins, including:

• Medically evaluating and treating the dolphins where appropriate, as well as stabilizing their nutrition and hydration by an independent, third party veterinarian.
• Immediately hiring more qualified staff trained in marine mammal husbandry, site maintenance and security. (Dolphin Project has a portable generator standing by in Nassau to get the freezers up and running.)
• Creating shade for the five dolphins is imperative (summer is brutal, especially in shallow water) and creating a buffer zone to restrict boat traffic within 50 meters of the sea pens.
• Adding enrichment items to the dolphin pens (i.e. volleyballs, etc.)

On April 10, Duncombe met with the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources,The Honorable Jomo Campbell, where she shared her concerns regarding the dolphins. She communicated that Dolphin Project would fund getting the mammals’ health up to speed. Five days later, the Minister called her, assuring that he would grant Dolphin Project access to provide immediate and critical assistance. When Duncombe attempted to follow up, all communications from the government went silent.

Under Bahamian laws, starving an animal to death constitutes abuse, as does withholding water, medical attention, medication, and proper shelter, as outlined by the Animal Control and Protection Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Regulations for Captive Dolphins. These laws should be strictly enforced to ensure the welfare of the animals.

A unique opportunity exists in the Bahamas to create the first dolphin sanctuary/retirement facility in the Americas. With a world view evolving against the keeping of dolphins for entertainment, the Bahamas can be a leader in creating a facility where dolphins can live out the rest of their lives in peace and dignity without being exploited to death.

Dolphin Project has been doing this very work for over 54 years. Currently, in partnership with the Indonesian government, we operate the world’s only permanent dolphin re-adaptation and retirement and center in Bali. Dolphin Project has worked on dolphin rescue, rehabilitation and re-adaptation projects in the United States, South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, Columbia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Haiti.