Dolphin feeding a serious problem

PANAMA CITY BEACH - The issue of illegal dolphin feeding is once again rearing its head as summer boating season approaches. Advocates of the marine mammal say the problem is growing worse and the Panama City area has grown notorious for not enforcing the federal law.
   
"Illegal feeding is a problem throughout the Gulf," said Kevin Walter, director of Gulf World Marine Park. "It is a problem that just happens to be more blatant in Panama City."
   
The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act made it illegal to "harass, hunt, capture or kill any marine mammal." Harassment is defined as any act "causing a disruption of behavioral patterns ... including feeding."
   
Stacie Horstman, bottlenose dolphin conservation coordinator at the National Marine Fisheries Service, said feeding dolphins humanizes them, teaching them to beg for food and snatch bait from fishing lines.
   
"They come up to boats begging (for food) and it looks like Flipper," Horstman said. "Many people have no idea it is harmful to them and illegal."
   
Horstman said dolphins pass learned behavior onto their calves and other dolphins they interact with, creating a "domino effect."
   
"Frustratingly, I think the problem is getting worse, despite our efforts," Horstman said.
   
"Panama City is one of our hot spots, the hot spot, really."
‘Ignored for 20 years'
   
Horstman said as more and more wild dolphins become comfortable with humans, they become increasingly susceptible to boats, jet-skis, propellers, fishing line and hooks.
   
Walter and Horstman said some issues of enforcement need to be addressed, but public outreach and education are essential to long term success combating illegal dolphin feeding.
   
Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer and president of the Dolphin Freedom Foundation, is taking a different approach.
   
A Fort Lauderdale resident and frequent Panama City visitor, Rector is preparing to file suit against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for failing to enforce the federal law.
   
"This is an environmental crime that has been ignored for 20 years," Rector said.
   
Rector said the illegal dolphin feeding industry began with glass-bottomed boat tours in the Panama City area in the late 1980s, and other tours soon sprouted around it. Rector said many tours still advertise swimming with wild dolphins, which is a crime he said, and surreptitiously allow dolphin feeding.
   
"If the FWC can't protect their state marine mammal, they need to close their doors," Rector said.
   
FWC officials said they take illegal dolphin feeding seriously and have a "zero tolerance" policy for commercial venders. Officials said patrol officers have many duties, including monitoring boating accidents, rescuing distress swimmers, and conducting search and rescue missions, but deny flagrant abuse is taking place on tours.
   
"We had plainclothes officers on some of these tours and we did not observe anything like that," said FWC Capt. Ken Parramore. "(Illegal feeding) has been on our radar screen the last few years because we have been accused of doing nothing."

A legal question
   
Rector said in a couple of weeks, dolphins will begin flocking to St. Andrew Pass where waters will be calm and there is plenty of food. One won't have to look hard to find violations, he predicted.
   
"It's a nursery; mothers will be going there with their calves," Rector said. "I could write enough tickets to fund the state of Florida."
   
Parramore said illegal feeding is difficult to police because an officer must witness the offense. He said six warnings were issued for illegal feeding on the Panhandle last year, all to first time offenders. Parramore said ticketing someone for swimming near a dolphin is even more complicated.
   
"Merely jumping in the water while dolphins are in the water, it's hard to prove intent of harassment in that," Parramore said.
   
Rector said FWC officials are looking for reasons not to enforce the law.
   
"If you start swimming toward (a dolphin), that's pursuit," Rector said. "If you are in the water and a dolphin swims up to you, all you can do is look at it. It is illegal to reach out and touch it."
   
Parramore said officers will never be able catch 100 percent of offenders, but having patrols on the water is itself a deterrent and officers crack down where they see offenses.
   
"I think our enforcement is working and I don't think this issue is to the magnitude some people suggest," Parramore said.
   
Sean Gelb, a Miamibased attorney representing Rector, said the state is not enforcing the federal law by issuing warnings.
   
"The legal question is: To what extent is the state obligated to enforce the federal rule?" Gelb said. "Is writing a warning sufficient action to protect these creatures? The answer is no."
   
Gelb said Rector is not seeking damages, but merely wants to protect creatures being exploited for profit. He hopes a lawsuit alleging negligence will spur political action, and a legal battle can be avoided.
   
"I'd like to see Gov. Crist take action; I think he is not aware of this widespread problem in his state," Gelb said. "I can't speak for the governor, but I think if he knew there are people not enforcing these laws, he would have something to say about it."
   
Gelb said if no executive action is taken, the issue would likely become a legal battle.
   
"If there is a lawsuit, it will be the duty of a court to determine if issuing a warning is sufficient," Gelb said.