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Spinner dolphins in Aruba waters/ photo by J.A. Luksenburg |
Hadicurari and the Aruba Marine Mammal Foundation (AMMF) cordially invite all interested fishermen, boat owners, sea and nature lovers, to an informative evening on Saturday April 24, at 7 pm, at Hadicurari. This evening is organized to introduce the scientific research by George Mason University on dolphins and whales in Aruban waters.
In addition, the lecture is organized to create an opportunity to meet all those who work at sea and have an interest in its wildlife. For AMMF, this contact is important to exchange information on our wild dolphins and whales. AMMF also wishes to explain the protocol on human interaction with wild dolphins when they are inshore in their vulnerable zones (for example when giving birth). This protocol is important for the conservation of Aruba wild dolphins, but also for the safety of human swimmers. Swimmers are known to be approached by dolphins at Mangel Halto, Arashi, Malmok, Boca Catalina, Palm Beach, Eagle Beach, and inside the South coast reef.
During the Hadicurari-hosted informative evening, Angiolina Henriquez will present the work of AMMF during the last 12 years followed by a presentation about an ongoing scientific research project by Jolanda Luksenburg (a PhD candidate of George Mason University, USA). After the presentations, the movie “The Cove” will be shown. This documentary has won 46 awards, including awards at the film festivals of Rome, Toronto, Amsterdam and Sydney, and even an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards. The evening will end in the traditional “happy hour”.
"The Cove" is based on Richard O’Barry‘s (the former trainer of Flipper) efforts to protect wild dolphins. In this movie he shows why he is against keeping dolphins in captivity. Richard O’Barry, a friend and colleague of Angiolina Henriquez, visited Aruba in 2007 to assist in the anti captivity campaign in Aruba to stop the dolphinarium plans.
This scientific marine mammal research project of Jolanda Luksenburg is internationally co-sponsored by: George MasonUniversity, The Society for Marine Mammalogy, The American Museum of Natural History, Cetacean Society International, Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds Nederland, Humane Society International. The protocol education –project of AMMF is co-sponsored by CEDE Aruba (Centre for Development of Aruba Foundation).
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Spinner dolphin in Aruba waters/ photo by J.A. Luksenburg |
All interested parties are most welcome to attend.
