#and i'm sad about chinese white dolphins my dudes :< but i dunno what to do

[dailydolphinsuitjotaro]

Some aquariums don't treat dolphins very well whyareyousupportingthem.

“I think it’s unfair to stop supporting ALL aquariums, and zoological parks as a whole just because many seem to be profit-based organisations. But…”

((I’m assuming this is about my first post where I joked that Jotaro was forced into wearing a dolphin suit for free admission forever to his local aquarium but anyway please read the rest of the jumbled mess of a mildly ic opinionated essay under the cut. お願いします!))

“But first, let’s talk about dolphins since you brought them up. The Chinese White Dolphin is a favourite of my blog’s moderator. There’s approximately a 2.5% annual decline in their populations within crucial habitats in the Pearl River estuary. Even under the most ideal conditions, other experts can only agree that the species would be able to survive for another 40 generations. However, it is far far less than ideal. Besides organochlorines, heavy metals and other pollutants in their oceans, coastal development destroying habitats, vessel collision due to increasing marine traffic, underwater noise pollution, and overfishing are other factors rendering propagation in the wild … difficult, to say the least.

This is not a new situation. The Baiji dolphins which inhabited the Yangtze River had suffered similar circumstances and were considered to be functionally extinct in late 2006. It is also considered to be arguably the first dolphin species in history to be driven to extinction.

But back to your question, I am most definitely against any aquariums and zoos that use the animals in their care solely for entertainment and profit, especially if said animals involve species that have high cognitive potential with relationships and social identity being intertwined in how they survive normally in the wild. I also believe that despite the rapid degradation of habitats, I think captivity breeding isn’t the best method for conservation—especially for large marine mammals such as dolphins—as it has its own host of barriers, such as ensuring the starting population is genetically viable, keeping them alive in the long-term, and acquiring sufficient accommodation to house them in the first place. Reintroducing captive borns into the wild is also a difficult task due to likely lacking immunity to wildlife diseases and needing to be reintegrated into wild populations’ social structures. In fact, the few efforts for captive breeding of a similar breed of Pink Dolphins haven’t proved very successful in Singapore’s Sentosa. Capturing a viable starting population is also dangerous as catching methods can gravely injure them.

The most ideal situation for conservation of dolphins and cetaceans would be to first conserve their crucial habitats. So no, I don’t wholeheartedly support dolphinariums or marine mammal parks that insist on sketchy breeding programmes often accompanied by daily 20-minute dolphin performances.

Nevertheless, it is not an ideal world. Unless governments are willing to expand protected zones for these creatures and compromise for sustainable development, more and more may believe captive breeding should unfortunately be considered their last hope.

For example, if I had to grossly simplify the debate on whether the Chinese White Dolphin should be bred in captivity or not then whichever side you support would ultimately be whether one valued the species’ survivability in captivity in terms of their recorded average life spans and infant mortality rates compared to those in the wild over their quality of life, that is, enjoying freedom and a “good life” in animal welfare terms. 

I dearly hope that captive breeding will never be considered a necessity for the propagation of these magnificent creatures, but if there comes a time when we do find the Chinese White Dolphin to be functionally extinct in the wild, I will do whatever I can to try to keep the species alive if there are still any in captivity, and hopefully one day reintroduce them back into Hong Kong waters once sufficient protected zones are established.

Regardless, I can’t deny that captive breeding has or is forecasted to have a great positive impact for other species, marine or terrestrial. For example, captive breeding programmes for salmonids have succeeded in maintaining neutral genetic diversity for several generations (albeit with trends in reduced fitness in offspring), which may be sufficient for whatever dangers in their natural habitats to be removed. Conservation efforts in European and American zoos for the breeding of King Penguins have also proved successful, which is quite a breakthrough as climate change in the Southern Ocean is likely to cause drastic wild population declines in the future. And, while not a marine animal, the Arabian Oryx conservation effort is another significant example.

Still, my overall conclusions for captive breeding in aquariums and zoos is to think of them not as the final solution but a possible plan B until the factors contributing to their initial decline can be addressed. (Though there is the issue with ‘rehab’ animals deemed unreleasable by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums but that’s something to discuss for another time).

Anyhow, aquariums also benefit marine conservation beyond breeding programmes such as research into diseases along with the development of vaccinations, rehabilitation (as the second anon mentioned) and overall responsible promotion and education of marine conservation. Also, it’s unrealistic for facilities to “empty their tanks” and dump their captive born into the wild without meticulous plans for safe and proper transition. Good grief, let’s not forget a similar incident in America where tens of thousands of minks were …forcibly released from a farm only for most of them to likely die of starvation and negatively affect the surrounding ecosystem.

Many marine biologists can say their interest was born from visiting aquariums when they were young. Moreover, there are studies that looked into the positive educational impact of zoos and aquariums in the most recent volume of the Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, which you may read. Their ability to expose youth to the wonders of marine life is important, though I’d prefer if they weren’t so plentiful and more were NGO non-profit based.

If it helps, I generally judge an aquarium by at least the following criteria:

Prioritize and support human entertainment with dolphin, whale, seal, penguin, etc. shows (especially if they have little emphasis on education)?

Entirely profit-based with very little budget allocation to conservation or research efforts?

Support untrained customers touching and petting captive animals?

No ties to legitimate academic institutions and research projects?

Saying yes to any of the above means it’s likely not that great of an institution, which is, unfortunately, probably most of them. It’s likely your local aquariums do break one of these criteria, but campaigning to shut them down entirely doesn’t have to be the only option, perhaps they can change with enough pressure–unless they are absolutely unforgivable that is.

What I’m saying is that every conservation facility, zoos or aquariums, are unique in their level of ethics and should be considered individually. Responsible zoos and aquariums that prioritise facilitation and promotion of conservation of animals are very much needed in the current era. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of ‘The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History’, had suggested we are amidst a sixth mass extinction event and that 20-50% of all flora and fauna on earth will be lost by the end of the 21st century . Unfortunately, this one being different than the others with human activity playing a significant part. While it would be ideal if animals could thrive on their own in the wild or protected areas, that is ultimately not so …easy for most endangered and threatened species, to say the least.

Apologies if this comes across as very vague as this is mostly my own ramblings from the top of my head. Relevant links below if you’re interested:

Study on captive breeding of Salmonids

Study on captive breeding of King Penguins 

Study on the effect of the zoo setting on the behavioural diversity of captive Gentoo Penguins and the implications for their educational potential

Study on impact of in-school zoo education programmes

HK Dolphinwatch

I recommend JZAR if you’re interested in zoo biology and related fields. I believe all their articles are open access so do check them out.”

((DISCLAIMER: I’m NOT an expert nor do i have formal education in marine science. I’ve been interested in it since I had the pleasure to see a Chinese White Dolphin during a local dolphin watch tour by the HK Dolphinwatch when I was a wee child a decade ago. There were over 180 dolphins recorded in 2003 but the numbers have since declined to 87 in 2010 and 47 in the last year. Ocean Park, which is basically the only large marine mammal park–and conservation facility on the side–in Hong Kong, has shown interest in breeding them in captivity but ofc there’s a lot of criticism to that, most of which I agree with but god the whole situation is really distressing and idk what we can do because the government sure isn’t gonna do anything like expanding protected zones or enforcing regulation on marine traffic through those zones. In fact, the new zhuhai bridge and other runways they’re using our tax money for is most certainly making the whole situation worse lol god just kill me take me instead of the dolphins i’ve had enough of this world))