Solomon Star 24 Mar 09;
I WOULD like to comment extensively regarding the so-called Dolphin Forum and its failed attempt to appear transparent on this issue on the part of the government.
It is very obvious that this forum was to be biased from the beginning and a farce.
First, I was invited after the Minister of Environment knew I had left the Solomon Islands.
I had provided a large number of important documents on Monday, March 9 to the minisiter’s office for review.
In these documents were opposition letters from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stating that the capture and exports of tursiops from Solomons was not based on sound science despite the claim from Dr Defran.
Maybe Dr. Defran is a Phd from San Diego State Univ. but that does not give him the sole credential to state it is fine and dandy to capture and export 100 dolphins per year.
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Marine Mammal Commission of the US would certainly oppose this abuse.
In fact there have been no captures of dolphins in US waters since 1989. It is also interesting that Dr Defran is funded by Kerzner International.
This is the same company that bought the 28 dolphins for Kerzner's dolphin amusement park in Dubai.
So where is the peer review and fair and non- biased science for the dolphin capture and exports?
It does not exist. How many environmental NGOs and marine scientists can be quoted as supporting this absurd notion that dolphins can be captured and exported as if they were reef fish?
Did the forum discuss that Mexico, the first customer of Solomon dolphins has since banned the import of marine mammals?
Was it discussed that 16 of those 28 sent to Mexico are dead? How about the fact that 5 are already reported dead in Dubai?
And the fact that the last 18 shipped to Philippines are not staying in that country, but moving to Singapore for a resort that any normal Solomon Islander or US citizen for that matter could not afford?
It has also been confirmed that Thailand will NOT allow imports of dolphins, from Solomon Islands or any other country.
If Safari World is indeed working with Francis Chow, then this park will not be allowed the import of dolphins per confirmation I have received from the Government of Thailand.
The fact that the numbers of the dolphin dealers were present at the forum and given unlimited time to speak while Lawrence Makili of Earth Island Institute was given a very limited time to speak shows the government's true colours on this issue as biased and driven by the potential profits only by capturing and exporting the dolphins of the Solomon Islanders, not the select few who claim them for their own greedy profits.
The attacks on Mr Makili and myself (even though I am not present) by the dolphin dealers sends the message that we are threatening their money making scheme.
We will continue to do so.
The dolphin trade is nothing but a 20th century wildlife destruction practice that is doomed to fail as more people are aware worldwide of how dolphins are being abused in this industry.
Japan is the only other country which allows this atrocity toward dolphins, and is soon to be exposed in a large scale feature film this summer.
Once the darkness is lifted from the secrets of these people who destroy dolphins for profit, their markets will dry up.
If the two dolphin exporting companies in the Solomon Islands are transparent, then why is it that Lawrence Makili and I are threatened if we attempt to view the dolphins held?
What are these two dolphin dealing companies trying to hide?? This insidious business is one that is like any wildlife trade, done in secret with threats to anyone who opposes it.
On another note, the party that claims that Earth Island has no clout in the world tuna industry, think again.
Earth Island works with 95 percent of the world canned tuna market to certify it is dolphin safe.
We have done this third party certification for 20 years.
The relationship is driven by consumers in the US, Canada, EU, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand and other markets.
Dolphin safe is the law in US and this is under Earth Island guidelines.
I can assure your readers that the new proposed cannery in Malaita will have no markets without Dolphin Safe tuna accreditation.
In fact, the tuna technical consultant Don Hosokawa who is working with Getax regarding this proposed cannery has stated the dolphin issue must be dealt with first.
A twenty million US dollar investment in a tuna plant needs customers.
We are willing to work with this cannery, but the government of Solomons and Malaita must first figure the long term benefit here, dolphin safe tuna, or a few dolphin exports that will certainly end as more people learn the true nature of the disgusting capture and brutal trade in live dolphins.
Our job is to educate people to boycott parks with dolphins and show them the brutality of capturing them, sticking them in small pens , feeding them dead fish, and then if they survive ship them on a plane to some unknown habitat that is not their own.
These dolphin parks are now fading in the US and EU as more of them close or consolidate.
The so called premier park Sea World in the US which is just a fancy dolphin prison is now for sale due to the lack of tourism and the lack of people who want to pay $65.00 US per person to see dolphins jump through hoops.
The NGO community is not going away on this issue. As long as the dolphin abuse continues by the greed of a few, our campaign of exposing the truth continues until this trade ends once and for all.
By MARK BERMAN
Associate Director
Earth Island Institute
San Francisco, USA
Environmentalist flips over dolphin forum
Solomon Star 23 Mar 09;
SOLOMON Islands' outspoken environmentalist, Lawrence Makili, has labelled a forum on the dolphin trade in the Honiara a farce.
Stakeholders in the controversial industry gathered in a Honiara hotel where the Government had organised a meeting to debate last Thursday the export of live bottlenose dolphins.
However, the meeting seems to have generated more problems than solutions, the Australia Network News reported.
Trading on tradition
Traditionally, hundreds of dolphins are killed every year in Solomon Islands for food.
Their teeth are also used for traditional money and ornaments.
But since 2003 live dolphins have also been exported - a practice that has since generated international protests.
The Minister for Environment and Conservation, Gordon Darcy Lilo, invited all the stakeholders to a forum in Honiara to discuss the issue.
"We believe that this opportunity should provide an avenue for all of us to air our views and establish an understanding as how to we would move forward," he said.
But the Regional Director of the US based Earth Island Institute, Lawrence Makili, said the forum was called by the Minister just to re-enforce the government's annual export quota of 100 dolphins.
Raw deal
"In fact it was a farce, I thought, made by the Minister for Environment and Conservation.
"In fact at the end of the conference I just realised I was called in just because the Minister would like to announce the stance of the current government about the quota of dolphin exports.
"So it was not really a consultation effort to get views from all the stakeholders.
"It was only designed in a way that dolphin traders came in an were happy with the Minister's announcement," he said.
The debate was lively and accusations flew across the table.
One of the dolphin traders, Cathy Chow, found herself defending accusations her dolphins are starving.
"We don't starve our dolphins," she said
"Our dolphins are so fat that the boys told me that they can't get their arms around them."
Clash over dolphin export
Solomon Star 20 Mar 09;
PRO and anti-dolphin exporters clashed in a public forum the Government organised on the issue yesterday.
Earth Island Institute local representative Lawrence Makili led those who were against the export of the animals.
Animal vet Dr Baddeley Anita and others face Mr Makili in a heated debate that turned to personal attacks at times.
They argued dolphin export brings much needed revenue into the country, especially at this time of economic recession.
But in the end both sides agreed that a research into the wild dolphin population needs to be conducted urgently.
This is to determine the number of animals in the wild so that it could be sustainably managed.
The export of dolphin is a highly sensitive issue. This started in 2003 and up until now, less 90 dolphins were exported.
Solomon Marine Export and Solomon Marine and Wildlife Part, owned by Canadian Chris Porter, were the companies exporting the animals.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Conservation, who chaired the forum yesterday, said the Government wants to see a scientific study conducted into the dolphin population.
He said Cabinet had agreed to have 100 dolphins exported from the country a year.
Mr Sore said the Government will also review the management of the dolphins.
By TRIXIE CARTER
Annual Export Quota for Dolphins Capped at 100
Joy Basi, Solomon Times 20 Mar 09
"The export of bottlenose dolphin is our life, it is our only way of making money...and it is our culture to hunt dolphins," said Robert Satu of the Solomon Marine Export Limited.
Despite continuous warnings of possible backlash by the international community, the government has decided that dolphin export would continue, but limited to 100 dolphins per annum.
The decision by cabinet was made known during a public forum yesterday, organised to get the views of all major stakeholders involved in the exportation of dolphins.
The news did not go down well with the representative of Earth Island Institute, Lawrence Makili. "It is important for the government to have proper policy and regulations in place...or else it would be chaos," said Makili. "Government authorities should carry out studies required by the CITES, a convention we have signed up to...it is only through compliance will we get acceptance in the international community."
Meanwhile dolphin exporter Robert Satu from the Solomon Marine Export Limited lashed out at the comments made by Mr. Makili, describing them as insensitive to the needs of ordinary Solomon Islanders. "The export of bottlenose dolphin is our life, it is our only way of making money...and it is our culture to hunt dolphins."
Cathy Chow of Solomon Marine and Wildlife Park raised similar sentiments. "We should not ignore the fact that big money has been paid to the government in terms of duty taxes when we bring in dolphin food and a lot more money is earned when we export them out of the country."
Dr. Bradley Anita, a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, said they are looking at expanding their Population Assessment Programme based on the preliminary work carried out by Dr. Richard Defran, of San Diego State University. "Many institutes are willing to assist and for exporters, particularly in a time of global economic recession, this may be the best time to carry out such a research."
