St. Maarten Private Eye

An opinion by Local Hero

A couple of weeks ago a letter appeared in the Daily Herald which called the plans for an open sea Dolphinarium stupid. By association this implies that those behind and supporting these plans are also stupid.

This past week there has been more proof supplied by Mother Nature that this may well be the case. Heavy seas from the south and west have been pounding the island and turning Great Bay into a whitish brownish soup. This undated photo below shows a little of what can happen in the bay.
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This time is is worse and has been going on now for over a week, compounded also by the dirty water from both the Great Salt Pond and the Fresh Pond being released after the recent heavy rains. This next photo gives a better example of the current sea situation and was taken right by where the pens are to be constructed.

Anyone who knows the island and has experienced a hurricane here knows that the sea around the island turns into a soup and stays that way for a couple of weeks. Dr. Naomi Rose stated in her recent presentation which was reported on excellently by Alita Singh in The Daily Herald Weekender, the contingency plans are inadequate. This is wonderfully written article, please go read it.

This clear example of how unsuitable this location is for a Dolphinarium seems to be escaping those supporting it. Add to this the tenders running between the cruise pier, Bobby's Marina, the town pier and to the anchored ships then you have even more evidence that this whole idea is stupid. These tenders create a vast amount of underwater noise and stir up the sand and bottom of the bay immensely. As the letter states, you don't need to be a rocket scientist, just go down to Bobby's and look in the canal by the Greenhouse, would you swim in there? Don't forget about the other boat traffic and jet skis too.

This report tells you more about how sound acts in water.

Now, the title of this post asks a question, one which I'm going to give all the readers a chance to answer. You do need to be a registered user to vote, however all votes are anonymous and there is no way to record them, just so you know.

Tell me, do you think the ExCo is stupid to approve this project? Click to vote!

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