Opposition to Panama
marine park
A marine mammal theme
park proposed by a group
of ex-SeaWorld
executives for the
isolated stretch of
western Panama of San
Carlos has been stalled
by animal rights
activists who say that
"swim with the dolphins"
attractions are cruel
and anti-environment.
Business and local
government boosters say
the project, by creating
jobs and fueling foreign
investment, could help
transform this
impoverished region into
a tourist mecca.
The area "could become
the next Orlando," said
Mark Simmons, formerly a
senior dolphin trainer
at the SeaWorld parks
and now executive vice
president of Wildlife
International Network,
the Orlando, Fla.-based
company proposing the
project.
They see a huge regional
market primed by Central
and South Americans who
have been unable to get
tourist visas to the
United States because of
tighter restrictions.
But a coalition of 65
environmental and animal
rights groups, including
Greenpeace, Humane
Society International
and activists such as
Alexandra Cousteau,
granddaughter of the
late undersea explorer,
sees the proposal as
furthering the
exploitation of
dolphins.
"I don't think we should
be opening dolphinariums,
we should be closing
them all over the world.
It's retrograde, like
opening the Colosseum
again," said Gabriela
Etchelecu, executive
director of MarViva, a
marine watchdog agency
in Panama City. "Taking
dolphins out of the wild
and making them slaves
makes no sense."
In the end, the fate of
the Ocean Embassy theme
park may hinge on
politics. President
Martin Torrijos has not
taken a public stand but
is said to be concerned
that the park might spur
U.S. environmentalists
to oppose a bilateral
free trade agreement
that goes before
lawmakers in both
countries later this
year.
As proposed, the
us$500-million resort
and residential
community would be built
on a 700-acre site here
on the Pacific
coastline, 50 miles west
of Panama City. The
centerpiece would be an
"interactive" aquatic
park where tourists
would pay $100 or more
to frolic for a few
minutes with the friends
of Flipper.
The project is one of
dozens built or proposed
around the globe in
recent years in hopes of
replicating the success
of such attractions as
SeaWorld's Discovery
Cove in Orlando and
Xcaret on Mexico's
Riviera Maya.
"Interactivity is a
large part of what's
driving the growth. So
is the rise in global
tourism," Simmons said.
As theme parks
proliferate, so do the
concerns of wildlife
activists, especially
when the parks feature
dolphins captured from
the open sea. The Ocean
Embassy promoters have
requested permission to
capture as many as 80
dolphins in the first
five years of the
project.
The SeaWorld marine
parks in the United
States, owned by
Anheuser-Busch, have not
relied on captured
dolphins since 1993
because of an in-house
breeding program.
Although most of the
Ocean Embassy investors
are former SeaWorld
executives,
Anheuser-Busch has no
involvement in the
Panama project.
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