My View

With all due respect to Dr. Stephen Spotte’s marine science career, I respectfully take issue with his comments that, “We are well past the point in our culture where we have to keep whales and dolphins in captivity” and “SeaWorld produces very little research” in the March 19 Longboat Observer.

This, along with the negative spin from the recent SeaWorld-bashing, overtly biased “documentary” “Blackfish” compels me to briefly set the record straight with FACTS.

I was privileged to be involved with SeaWorld during the first 30 of its 50-year history beginning in 1964 and in the later years as president of the original SeaWorld in San Diego, SeaWorld of Florida and the Ohio facility.

First, regarding our culture: There is little doubt that — given our expanding fixation with all the high-tech devices in our lives, especially in our youth, creating estrangement from the natural world — that well-run zoos, aquariums and SeaWorlds are even more important today than ever. They introduce the wonders of the natural world to people with their noses buried in their iPhones, reinforcing the importance of protecting and conserving our critical animal and marine environments.

Second here are just a few facts about SeaWorld’s contributions to marine education, science and conservation:

Hundreds of millions of landlocked visitors from around the world have been introduced to the wonders of sea and marine mammals over the past 50 years and the need to protect them.

Millions of school children have gone through the structured school group education programs with pre- and post-visit curriculum guides provided to teachers.

SeaWorld helped Congress write the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. A major outcome of this prevented commercial fishermen from shooting killer whales, which was a common practice.

Thousands of dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, manatees and turtles, not to mention sea birds, have been rescued, rehabilitated and returned to the wild — the most famous being Gigi, the California gray whale rehabilitated for more than a year and returned off the coast of San Diego.

Regarding just a few of the multitude of marine science research contributions:

Sea World has done more than any other institution to contribute to the understanding of marine mammal medicine and behavior for more than 50 years.

Sea World, a for-profit corporation (Oh NO!), established the independent nonprofit Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, HSWRI.org, in 1964 focusing on marine ecology, conservation, physiology, bioacoustics and aquaculture with Sea World providing millions in funding annually, and HSWRI often benefiting from Sea World facilities and world-class marine mammal veterinarians in this living laboratory. The huge aquaculture research and functioning operation is focused on restocking a depleted fishery important to commercial and recreational fishing as well as helping to maintain a healthy off shore marine ecology.

Last but not least, for those of us who are dedicated conservationists, SeaWorld has not collected a marine mammal from the wild in more than 30 years. All of its mammals are born captive, using a careful genetic pool management program.

For all those who, along with their kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, have enjoyed and learned about our precious marine environment from the SeaWorld experience, rest assured that these beautiful and loved marine creatures have been and are in good hands to the benefit of future generations.

Bob Gault is a Country Club Shores resident and a former president of SeaWorld in San Diego, Florida and Ohio.