In a statement issued on February 23rd, 2004 from the Secretary to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda, it was confirmed “that the permission granted to Mr. John Mezzanotte to capture twelve (12) dolphins annually from Antigua waters is herby revoked.”
Further it is stated that “any importation or exportation of dolphins into and from Antigua and Barbuda be in strict compliance with all international obligations of Antigua and Barbuda.”
Antigua and Barbuda Independent Tourism Promotion Corpation (ABITPC) is claiming this as a major environmental victory in the very controversial and highly publicized “dolphin case” and legal battle which has sparked heated debate both locally and world wide since the opening of Dolphin Fantaseas, a captive dolphin facility, in 2001.
Major press has covered this issue including the Miami Herald, The New York Times, The National Geographic Traveler, The London Times, The London Observer, The Reno Gazette, to name a few.
ABITPC, with a membership of over 1200 locally and abroad, has strongly voiced major concerns on the dolphin swim program and on the environmental damage the capture of wild dolphins could have for Antigua and Barbuda.
In an effort to stop the capture and protect the environment of these islands ABITPC engaged legal services of prominent Antiguan lawyer John Eli Fuller. An official letter was delivered to Prime Minister Lester Bird on behalf of ABITPC. The letter demanded the permission granted for the capture of 12 wild dolphins annually be rescinded. When no response was forthcoming the group filed in high court in Nov 2003, against the Attorney General, as representative of the government, John Mezzanotte who was issued the permit, and Dolphin Fantaseas to take legal action to have the permit revoked.
Heated public exchanges were made between the Antigua Whaling Commissioner Ambassador Daven Joseph, ABITPC Public Relations Officer and head of the Marine Committee for ABITPC, Martha Watkins Gilkes and Lawyer John Fuller as the Whaling Commissioner Daven Joseph struck out at ABITPC. Joseph accused ABITPC “of misleading the Antigua & Barbuda people in the extreme” on the dolphin issue, claiming the case was “frivolous” and also accusing ABITPC of “benefiting from the very same dolphins through contributions from International groups and organizations who are against the swim with the dolphin programmers”.
Lawyer Fuller defended the false accusations spouted out at ABITPC as totally false and confirmed the group had received no donations from any international groups and had been audited by Price Waterhouse with all funds coming from local supporters.
Public Relations Officer, environmentalist and professional scuba diver, Martha Watkins Gilkes commented ” ABITPC is delighted that this long drawn out debate, which has been very time consuming, mentally and financially draining, has come to a close and that justice has trumpeted. We are pleased that the environment of Antigua and Barbuda will not be compromised by the removal our wild dolphins. We feel, and I have stated from the start of this saga, that the Government was sold a dirty and misleading “bill of goods” from foreigners who came to our island and want to exploit our marine resources for their own personal financial gain with very little in it for Antigua and Barbuda. . In a public debate held with the managing Director Arthur Bud Krames before the project opened, he stated they would employ over 20 Antiguans. I would like to ask how many Antiguans are employed some two years later.”
While the main crux of the issue has been resolved with the revoking of the capture license it is unclear if the law suit will be dropped. There is still the question of the wrongful importation of the three Cuban dolphins imported in December 2001 which is in breach of the Convention of International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES)- a treaty which the government has ratified. Dolphins are listed on an X2, which means that there can be international trade in them, but there are certain provisions which must take place before a trade is made. Those provisions, which Fuller said are technical, require certificates of origin which would prove that the dolphins were not taken from locations which are depleted or from an endangered or threatened species. The attorney said certificates from importing countries would also show the standards are being upheld.
All certificates are important, and they are mandatory requirements under CITES for dolphins to be traded, “Lawyer Fuller is reviewing this matter and a decision will be forthcoming in the near future.
It is hoped that this case will have a positive impact throughout the Caribbean islands in that the governments of these islands will be forced to act responsibly to the citizens of their respective country in the upholding of any international environmental treaty they are party to.
