October 21-22, 2016. Dr. Marino attended the International Conference on the Captive Dolphin Industry in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where she made two presentations.
The conference was designed to address two issues:
First, environmental, animal welfare and social issues related to marine parks. In this part of the conference, Dr. Marino laid out the mission of The Whale Sanctuary Project, and discussed the key differences between a commercial marine park and a sanctuary. The former is always primarily about the entertainment of customers; the latter is about the wellbeing of the animals. Dr. Marino also discussed the main criteria that any coastal sanctuary would have to meet.
The second topic of the conference related to how the tourist industry addresses these issues. Dr. Marino spoke about about Dolphin-Assisted Therapy, which is popular and profitable in Mexico thanks to the highly questionable claims the industry makes about the healing benefits of spending time in a pool with a dolphin.
The conference was held in Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, which is currently one of the most popular locations in the world to swim with captive dolphins.
Dr. Marino was joined at the conference by Board member Naomi Rose, who spoke about the global dolphinarium business industry, and Advisory Group member and veterinarian Heather Rally, talked about swim-with-the-dolphins programs and their effects on the animals themselves. Our group met with passionate dolphin and whale advocates and made important connections with people in Mexico who are working for legal rights for dolphins and whales.