When Bajan Reporter blog “scooped” the story last week which revealed that marine life at the island’s lone marine park is dying at a high rate, the news travelled like a cat on a hot tin roof. Barbadians are not known to be animal friendly but as a tourist destination the goings on at the Ocean Park has stretched beyond the insensitivity of the locals. Mr. Mitchel Hird, Head Curator at Ocean Park, obviously felt moved by the Bajan Reporter report to respond in a long and detailed explanation which was published by several blogs.
Barbados Underground received evidence which confirms the original report that the mortality rate of occupants (marine life) at Ocean Park is too high. Despite Mr. Hird’s detailed response to the Bajan Reporter story, BU in light of further information coming to hand suggests to Mr. Hird that he needs to give another response to satisfy many unanswered questions concerning the management of the marine life at Ocean Park.
Mr. Hird has managed to do a dance all around the facts – Ocean Park is accused of having high mortality rates. Fish are said to be dying on “an almost daily basis”; three spotted eagle rays have died at the park; a number of octopuses have died, on one day there were 78 deaths in a tank, on another, 44; water quality tests haven’t been carried out for the year; fish have jumped out of the aquariums; the compost heap is a few months old; real mangroves have been used for decoration in the Shoreline Discovery Pod etc.
Mr. Hird should release past mortality reports showing that they are in fact “very low”, reports showing that water quality testing has, actually, been done this year and he should invite members of the press to see that the mangroves in the Shoreline Discovery pod are really artificial and that the compost heap is more than just a few months old. This would clarify any misunderstandings.
BU Source
Our direct response to Mr. Hird’s (Head Curator of Ocean Park) reply to the Bajan Reporter story is quoted below (quotes in blue are extracts from Mr. Hird’s original reply).
- When was this so-called “one of the best-equipped aquarium laboratories for our size in the world” built… this year wasn’t it? When did Ocean Park open its doors again – the 4th of June, 2005?
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“A large proportion of the fish you will see at Ocean Park are caught by local fisherman. They are either destined to be sold at the fish market or are the accidental by-catch of modern fishing methods and will be thrown away dead or used as bait. We work with local fisherman to preserve these otherwise doomed fish. Due to the fishing methods used for catching food fish, we are occasionally presented with fish that are simply too badly damaged to survive.” The truth is that a large proportion of the fish at Ocean Park are caught by a young man who is paid to do so (a number of people will testify to this fact). Ocean Park “works with” the local fishermen when they want larger fish like the eagle rays and sharks and Mr. Hird (Head Curator at Ocean Park and qualified marine biologist) knows this. If Mr. Hird cared at all for the fish caught to be placed on display, he would use trained professionals.
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“Quarantine/ Sea Rescue: The article mentions fish being held in “crowded and confined conditions” Our quarantine is spacious and state of the art. Animals are medicated with the best and most current drug therapies and their welfare is placed above all else.” Does this address the fact that a number of tarpon (fish that grow to eight feet and several hundred pounds in weight) were kept again sardined in two tanks in the Quarantine (and Sea Rescue?) area from the 10th of May 2007 to the beginning of July? And Mr. Hird might agree that even a large aquarium may seem more “spacious” if it has two fish in it as opposed to 500. With respect to the welfare of the fish being “placed above all else”, we take it that all of the tanks in the quarantine area have been covered then? With the best and most current drug therapies, why such high mortality rates?
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“Nutrition: The article refers to animals being poorly nourished. Ocean Park’s budget for food is in excess of $50,000 a year. We import well over 20 different types of food from all over the world. In point of fact, the clams we feed our new eagle rays are the same as those you’ll find on your plate at Sandy Lane! We are one of only a handful of public aquariums in the world using next-generation gel diets and tailor-made vitamin supplements.” We never disputed the amount spent on food per year, what was stated was that people are allowed to buy fish food for a dollar and as a result the fish are overfed (it doesn’t take a professional to see the swollen bellies of the koi). The eagle rays are fed squid on a daily basis at Ocean Park (which they don’t eat in the wild) not clams. On occasion, usually in the beginning of their incarceration at the park, as Bajan Reporter reported, the stress of capture and transport means that marine fish won’t eat and that’s when the eagle rays are fed clams. Again, do next-generation gel diets and tailor-made vitamin supplements explain high mortality rates?
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“The large Gouramy that was found dead was the result of a break-in, during which someone attempted to catch and steal fish from the displays. The commotion caused by the nets being dragged through the displays caused the fish to jump.” Interesting explanation, almost sounds like Mr. Hird was there to witness it! So… were any fish missing from that display out of which someone was attempting “to catch and steal fish”? It is strange that they didn’t take the Giant Gouramy and just left it there on the grass to die. Maybe if the tank were covered the robber would have found it a bit more difficult to get at the fish. Was the robber there dragging the net through the display on the 6th of July when the Japanese koi jumped out or on the 9th of May, 2007, when a juvenile Parrot Fish jumped out of tank 11 or on the 27th of the same month when a Blue Tang jumped out of the Touch Pool display? What about on the 10th of December, 2006, when one Cownose Ray jumped out of the Reef Tank display?
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“Out of interest, the giant Gouramy was in fact a rescued animal, donated by a gentleman in Bridgetown who had kept the fish in a barrel for the last 2 years!” Again, we are a little confused – was the Gouramy a rescued animal or was it donated? And does the fact that the Gouramy was kept in a barrel for 2 years justify the fact that it jumped out of a tank which should have been covered? Shame on you Mr. Hird!
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“Decoration: The theming materials you will see around the park, such as the artificial coral, wood and fake foliage were bought and installed by a specialist theming company from Europe. Contrary to the article, we have absolutely no live coral on site.” Our article doesn’t mention live coral. It does mention coral NOW DEAD that was harvested from the ocean (or maybe picked up on the beach on a Sunday) and real red mangroves with fake foliage embedded in them.
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“The ray had been bitten on the flank by a shark or other predatory animal, prior to being caught. The spotted eagle ray was medicated and rehabilitated from its wound, which in the wild, would likely lead to its death. The ray now inhabits a lagoon-themed display that holds almost a quarter of a million liters (sic).” The shark story is the official story given to visitors to the park – it was actually injured on capture and the amount of water the tank holds sounds impressive but the size of the tank isn’t.
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“Conservation statement: Within “Barbadian Marine Habitat Under Fire,” there is a picture of an old conservation sign. This sign is clearly not on display. It is actually in our workshop being used as a splash guard for a painting project—note the paint pots behind. This sign was taken down almost a year ago.”Thank you for making my point so clearly Mr. Hird – so much for “in keeping with our Conservation statement “to raise awareness of coral reef habitats to increase understanding of the threats they face in the wild” Ocean Park has committed to an annual art competition with themes focused on coral reefs and marine conservation.” Ocean Park’s commitment went out the door (or to the workshop for use as a splash guard for a painting project) when the space used to display the children’s artwork was remodelled to attract more visitors.
- “We have also been working for some months now on two new projects which are expected to yield important results in the coming year. These being:
- • Collaborative scientific study with Oxford University on blood iodine levels in wild and captive sharks
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• Participation in an international, interdisciplinary research project into endangered fish species around Barbados” Although we are against keeping marine life in captivity, we suggest that your first priority be that of focusing on the safe capture and transport of the fish to the park. Adopting a system that assures that protocol is adhered to with respect to keeping new arrivals in quarantine, as opposed to putting them directly into displays for the sake of attracting more people to the park sooner, should also be equally important, as should covering the tanks! In essence, keeping the fish at the park alive before spreading yourself thin in the name of marketing Ocean Park.
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“Dolphins: The comments made by the author regarding Ocean Park’s plans for an interactive dolphin exhibit are ill-informed and misleading. This type of misinformation does nothing to further the cause of conservation. Instead it tarnishes the efforts of the new generation of marine mammal exhibitions that seek to protect and educate. Comments linking the collection of Dolphins for public aquariums as “reminiscent of the capture of slaves” whilst suggesting a connection with bloody Japanese Dolphin hunts are aimed at pandering to the fears of readers rather than having any factual merit.” So what Mr. Hird is saying is that the mode of wild dolphin capture is untrue? Or is it that Japanese dolphin hunts aren’t bloody? Or is he perhaps suggesting that keeping dolphins in captivity for entertainment purposes under guise of protection and education is acceptable?
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“If the author of “Barbadian Marine Habitat Under Fire” had put as much effort in to researching facts as he or she did into producing a story replete with fabrications and deceptive pseudoscience, perhaps the article would have read differently.”Are the dates of the deaths of marine organisms at Ocean Park or the deaths themselves fabricated? The facts were, actually, so well researched that we dare Mr. Hird to release mortality reports to the general public to prove just how “very low” they are.
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“Whilst Ocean Park is a business, working with live animals dictates that a responsible environmental attitude and strong ethics are always present. Ocean Park’s doors are open. Visiting members of the public and members of the press have a standing invitation for a guided tour of the behind-the-scenes facilities, after which I hope all concerned would draw their own conclusions.” Working with live animals should dictate that a responsible environmental attitude and strong ethics are always present but, as we have said before “under guise of commitment to protecting the environment” (remember the sign used as a splash guard?), with emphasis on marine wildlife, Ocean Park is in fact, “systematically destroying it in an attempt to become another successful money making venture.”
Our source of the information which has facilitated the probe into the activities at Ocean Park is not motivated by malice. The fight is for the animals which are the helpless ones in the face of inept management. We hope that after coming under the microscope of the public, the management at Ocean Park will move quickly to implement best practices to ensure that the welfare of the marine life is efficiently managed. If there is any hesitance to believe that we are not in possession of the evidence to support our claim, we regretfully have to write that the mortality reports make for unhappy reading.
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