Priorities in the plight of ocean creatures

Paul Watson, Special to the Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, December 18, 2006

Although I fully understand the concerns and the protests against the aquarium industry in general, I view the operations of the Vancouver Aquarium in the context of weighing what the aquarium contributes in relationship to the negatives expressed by those who are legitimately concerned about marine mammals in captivity.

In a world where 23,000 dolphins are being slaughtered annually on the beaches in Japan, where 2,300 pilot whales are ruthlessly butchered in the Faeroe Islands, where Iceland, Norway and Japan are killing more than 2,300 great whales in our oceans, and where most major commercial fisheries are on the threshold of collapse, I feel that there must be priorities.

The slaughter of these intelligent and socially complex sentient beings in the wild is horrific and for the most part it is illegal.

The Vancouver Aquarium does not exhibit Orcas any more nor does it participate in the capture of dolphins from the wild and these are significantly positive developments in the evolution of the aquarium under the leadership of John Nightingale.

I am calling on the Vancouver Aquarium to use its successful educational network to bring more awareness of what is happening in our oceans to the public in British Columbia.

The Vancouver Aquarium could be a significant ally to the animals in the wild dying from explosive harpoons, spears and knives all around the world.

I supported the expansion of the pool facilities at the Vancouver Aquarium because I believe the animals must be given the best possible care and the largest facilities possible to make them comfortable.

In an ideal world they would be released, although I believe the whales at the Vancouver Aquarium cannot be practically released.

And released to what? The oceans of the world have become a slaughterhouse.

Paul Watson is founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006