The Capture

By Helene O'Barry

Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social, and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense. Imagine the panic dolphins must experience as they are yanked from the ocean, forever separated from their world of sound, their pod members, and their ability to swim freely.

The word "capture" clashes with the superficial, theatrical surroundings of the dolphin spectacle. Therefore, when referring to the capture of dolphins, the captivity industry uses a deceptive change of language.

Examples:

At The Dolphin Research Center, Florida, USA, the dolphins have not been captured, they have been "collected."

At Sea World Inc., USA, the dolphins have been "acquired."

The truth is the capture of dolphins is a violent procedure. Pods of bottlenose dolphins are chased to exhaustion, surrounded with a net and dragged onto the boat where the capture team searches through the terrified group for the specimen they want. The lucky ones are thrown overboard. Those selected are taken ashore and will never see their ocean world and their pod again.

In some incidents, bottlenose dolphins have been separated from their calves, regardless of the fact that a bottlenose dolphin normally protects and remains with her calf for up to five years. During this time they nurture a relationship characterized by profound affection. The violent and permanent separation is a traumatic experience for both mother and calf.

In his book Marine Mammals and Man (published 1973 in the USA,) Forrest G. Wood, senior scientist and consultant of the Undersea Surveillance and Ocean Sciences Department of the Naval Undersea Center, describes other methods used to capture various species of dolphins. The following excerpt applies to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, here referred to as 'porpoises':

"On a high tide porpoises may move into the narrow creeks and channels leading off the waterway. The Marineland collecting crew learned to look for schools of porpoises feeding in the upper reaches of such tidal creeks. When they found one, they quickly stretched a net from bank to bank, cutting off the only escape route. The porpoises were then induced to stampede into the large-meshed capture net, either by compressing the space they occupied or by splashing the water with oars. Once entangled in the net they had to be boated very quickly before they drowned."

Dr.Wood then describes the technique used to capture pelagic species of dolphins, such as the spotted dolphin and the common dolphin:

"In going after the pelagic species, the collecting crew took advantage of their habit of swimming at the bow of a boat, something the Atlantic bottlenose does only rarely and briefly. Captain Gray's capture device was a 'tail-grabber' resembling a set of large, blunt ice tongs mounted at the end of a long pole. A line was attached to the spring-loaded tongs which when thrust down on the tailstock of a porpoise closed and put a loop of rope around the porpoise's tail just in front of the flukes. The animal was then hauled in and boated. Except for superficial abrasions from the rope, it would be quite unharmed."

Later, the 'head grabber' was developed, a device that, as the name indicates, grabs the dolphin by the head instead of the tail and, according to Dr. Wood, became "the standard capture equipment for the smaller pelagic cetaceans, at least in the United States."

It is hardly surprising that some dolphins have died from shock during capture.

Since the Marine Mammal Protection Act was introduced in 1972, all available data concerning marine mammal captures and the subsequent disposition of the captive animals have been gathered in the so-called Marine Mammal Inventory Report (MMIR.) The MMIR, obtainable through the Freedom of Information Act, provides verification to some of the damage inflicted on dolphins by the captivity industry. You may contact The National Marine Fisheries Service for a copy. Simply dial 301-7132289 and ask for a complete copy of the most current MMIR.