Σε άρθρο που δημοσιεύτηκε την περασμένη Δευτέρα (17/03/2025) στο Greek Reporter, με τίτλο "France Steps in to Boost Greece’s Innovative Dolphin Sanctuary", γίνεται λόγος για τις εξελίξεις που αφορούν στο υπό δημιουργία Καταφύγιο Θαλάσσιας Ζωής Αιγαίου από το Ινστιτούτο Θαλάσσιας Προστασίας "Αρχιπέλαγος, καθώς και στο ενδιαφέρον από το Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος της Γαλλίας και ειδικούς επιστήμονες του εξωτερικού για το θέμα αυτό. Ιδιαίτερη αναφορά γίνεται στην πολυετή κωλυσιεργία και στοχευμένη γραφειοκρατική παρεμπόδιση [βλ.ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 21/03/25]* της αδειοδότησης αυτού του έργου, που κρίνεται αναγκαίο και υλοποιείται στο κέντρο του Αιγαίου χωρίς δημόσιους πόρους.
Καθώς η αιχμαλωσία των κητωδών έχει απαγορευτεί και στην Γαλλία, η Γαλλίδα υπουργός θεωρεί ότι η μοίρα των κητωδών (2 όρκες και 12 δελφίνια) που έχουν απομείνει στο Marineland είναι προσωπική της υπόθεση. Σκοπεύει μάλιστα να συνεργαστεί και με την Ελληνική Κυβέρνηση, ούτως ώστε να αρθούν τα εμπόδια που καθυστερούν την αδειοδότηση και λειτουργία του Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary. Τώρα που η βιομηχανία της αιχμαλωσίας των κητωδών (τουλάχιστον στην Ευρώπη) πνέει πλέον τα λοίσθια, θα ήταν πολύ σπουδαίο για την Ελλάδα να γίνει η πρώτη χώρα στον κόσμο που θα προσφέρει στα δελφίνια μια συμπονετική διέξοδο. Το περασμένο Σαββατοκύριακο, το Υπουργείο της έστειλε στο νησί των Λειψών μια εμπειρογνώμονα, συνοδευόμενη από ειδικούς επιστήμονες και δημοσιογράφους, για να δουν επί τόπου την πρόοδο και να εξετάσουν τα εμπόδια που δεν επιτρέπουν στα καταφύγια (στην Ελλάδα και την Ευρώπη) να γίνουν πραγματικότητα.
Η πρόεδρος της οργάνωσης Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, που συνεργάζεται με την Γαλλίδα υπουργό, λέει ότι η δημιουργία του πρώτου καταφυγίου θα σημάνει την αρχή μιας νέας εποχής στη σχέση μας με τα δελφίνια, καθώς επίσης και την αρχή του τέλους μιας παγκόσμιας βιομηχανίας που πολύ θα ήθελε να εκμεταλλευτεί και την τελευταία ρανίδα της αιχμαλωσίας τους. Η επιτυχία αυτού του εγχειρήματος θα καταρρίψει έναν από τους κυριότερους ισχυρισμούς των εκμεταλλευτών τους, που υποστηρίζουν ότι, για τα ζώα αυτά, δεν υπάρχει άλλη λύση πλην της μεταφοράς από δεξαμενή σε δεξαμενή μέχρι το τέλος της ζωής τους. Γι' αυτό και η παρεμπόδιση της δημιουργίας τέτοιου είδους καταφυγίων είναι ζήτημα ζωής και θανάτου για τα δελφινάρια και τους συνεργάτες τους.
Δείτε ολόκληρο το άρθρο μεταφρασμένο στα ελληνικά εδώ: facebook/Archipelago.gr/posts και στην ιστοσελίδα του Αρχιπελάγους, εδώ: https://archipelago.gr/i-gallia-paremvainei-gia-na-enischysei-to-protoporiako-katafygio-ton-delfinion-tis-elladas/
Ακολουθεί η αναδημοσίευση του άρθρου από το Greek Reporter:
The French government is engaged in a race against time to find the best relocation solution for Marineland’s 12 dolphins and two orcas, Wikie and her son Keijo, since Marineland, Europe’s largest marine zoo, shut down in January 2025 due to a forthcoming 2021 law banning shows featuring cetaceans and their use for breeding after 2026. In a statement issued in December 2024, the park said it was shutting its doors because 90 percent of the visitors to the park came to watch the orca and dolphin shows. The fate of the two orcas, France’s last two performing killer whales, has been of particular concern. As of now, they are expected to go to Loro Parque, a controversial marine zoo in Spain, while animal rights campaigners want them housed in a sanctuary.
The idea of sanctuaries for formerly captive marine mammals has been gaining momentum in recent years worldwide. Agnes Pannier-Runacher, Minister at France’s Ministry for Ecological Transition, has publicly supported the creation of sanctuaries and in February, according to the BBC, said she would speak to colleagues in Greece, Italy and Spain about creating a sanctuary together.
Greek Reporter was at the sanctuary during the French government representative’s visit, along with an international team of experts on marine mammals and their rehabilitation, who discussed in depth the sanctuary project with the French expert.
Lamya Essemlali, President and co-founder of Sea Shepherd France, one of the largest non-profit marine conservation organizations, was also present to assess the project and has been working closely with the French minister on the issue. Essemlali tells Greek Reporter that the ministry’s expert sent to Lipsi will make a report on the sanctuary upon her return to France. The fate of Marineland’s captive dolphins has become a “personal issue” for the French minister, who “wants to be the minister who wants to offer a better life for those animals. The minister wants to coordinate with the Greek government to work together in order to lift the obstacles to this project and I think it would be absolutely amazing for Greece to be the first country in the world that offers to dolphins a way out from the captivity industry, because we know that this industry is dying now and sanctuaries are going to be of essence,” Essemlali says.
The group also visited the institute’s research headquarters on the island of Samos and discussed the sanctuary project along with marine conservation on the deck of the institute’s sailboat “Triton,” with wild dolphins swimming by from time to time as the boat sailed softly through the Aegean’s blue waters. On a research trip aboard “Triton,” those on board were able to witness wild dolphins freely swimming in the Aegean Sea, as nature intended them to.
Aboard “Triton” Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, a German veterinarian from World Animal Protection Denmark, who also leads the scientific expert advisory board of the Archipelagos sanctuary, explains to Greek Reporter that dolphins are animals with high intelligence, with a very complex social structure and communication system that allows them to hunt for their prey. They can make dives hundreds of meters deep and reportedly reach swimming speeds of up to 64 kilometers per hour. All these abilities, which have been gifted to them by nature in order to thrive in the complex of ocean environment, are muted in captivity. In fact, dolphins born in captivity might struggle to survive in the wild, unless they are carefully prepared to live in that environment again. While most captive dolphins will not be able to live as nature intended them, with proper and gradual long-term preparation before and after their move to a sanctuary, they can still thrive in a natural environment. What makes the Lipsi sanctuary so fit for such an endeavor he says, is that while it is part of the sea, by being a cove, among other things, it will allow the dolphins to be in a natural setting while at the same time provide them with the safety of an “enclosure” such as they have been used to for years.
Thodoris Tsimpidis, Founder and Head of Conservation Actions of Archipelagos, who was also aboard “Triton,” says the French government’s visit is of critical importance. “On a political level, France leads the way internationally for a real solution on the problem of captive dolphins and the abuse of marine mammals for commercial exploitation and we believe that this initiative will give a pan-European push to solve this problem, for which pressure from the public intensifies.” CMA is offering visitors a number of “dolphin experiences” that can cost as much $549/person. Dolphins are animals with high intelligence, with a very complex social structure and communication system. In the wild, they can make dives hundreds of meters deep and reportedly reach swimming speeds of up to 64 kilometers per hour.
At the same time, more marine parks are scheduled to close. In Belgium, the Flemish government ruled in November 2024 that the dolphinarium at Boudewinj Seapark in Bruges must close by 2037. The decision has been framed as a step toward improving animal welfare but the park’s management argues that it breaches prior agreements. “When a dolphinarium closes in a country, there is no other option than [for the dolphins] to be sent to another dolphinarium. And that’s how they perpetuate the industry,” Essemlali says, adding that the creation of the first dolphin sanctuary would be the beginning of a new era for the dolphins and also the beginning of the end for the captivity industry. “The captivity industry is dying in Europe anyway and I think we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the first sanctuary when it happens because it will shut down one of the captivity industry’s main arguments, which is to say ‘there’s no way out for those dolphins.’ For the captivity industry, this is almost a matter of survival. That no sanctuary ever opens.”
In contrast with France’s interest in the pressing need for the operation of the Archipelagos sanctuary, which has been almost complete for some time, Greece’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy, responsible for issuing the relevant permits, has been failing to do so for seven years. The issue of the sanctuary’s operation came to the spotlight again, after Attica Park, Greece’s main zoo near Athens, announced on January 22 that it would send five of its captive dolphins to a Florida aquarium in the United States by May 2025. Animal activists in Greece and all over the world have been calling for the animals to be transferred to the Lipsi sanctuary, instead of spending the rest of their lives in another concrete tank. According to Archipelagos, the institute has been applying for a permit to operate the marine mammal care center, which is a prerequisite in order to get the dolphin sanctuary permit, since 2018. Documents seen by Greek Reporter, reveal that the institute got the first, written response from the ministry six years later and almost five months after the fifth request.
While Greece is notorious for its unrelenting bureaucracy, Tsimpidis says that in the case of the sanctuary, the problem goes far beyond that. He insists that the delay comes from two ”specific, lower-level ministry employees,” who are members of the ministry’s committee for the relevant licensing and who he alleges are “part of a system that opposes the establishment of the sanctuary.” He further says that none of the committee members have ever visited the sanctuary in Lipsi nor have they requested any information on the project. Moreover, one of them, who is also a partner at Attica Park, has already cleared the park’s dolphins for the long air trip to Florida. (The names of the ministry employees, along with the allegations against them have been disclosed to Greek Reporter by Archipelagos through an official letter of protest the institute sent to the Greek Ministry of the Environment and Energy in early March 2025). The dolphin sanctuary on the island of Lipsi is the first of its kind worldwide.
In a question by Greek Reporter to Greece’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy in late January 2025 regarding the delays for the dolphin sanctuary and the allegations against some of its employees, the ministry said in a statement that the relevant authorities are looking into the case and that a decision will be made soon. However, Archipelagos says nothing has changed since and they have yet to be contacted by the ministry.
Meanwhile, on February 13, 2025, a number of MPs from Greece’s PASOK socialist party (Manolis Christodoulakis, Manolis Chnaris and Giorgos Nikitiadis) put a question in Greece’s parliament and, addressing Theodoros Skylakakis, then Minister of the Environment and Energy, questioned him on the ministry’s “inexplicable” delay in granting the permit to the Lipsi sanctuary. They also questioned the dolphins’ transfer to the Florida aquarium, which, “according to American media reports, has a high mortality rate among its resident dolphins.” The hope for Archipelagos now is that with a new minister at the helm after last week’s cabinet reshuffle, the case of the sanctuary will be reviewed by authorities with a renewed sense of urgency.
The transfer of Greece’s captive dolphins to an aquarium across the Atlantic Ocean fueled a controversy along with an outcry. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has applied for a federal permit to import the dolphins from Greece under File No. 28233 to be used “for public display.” The application was submitted in December 2024 to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, an American scientific and regulatory federal agency, and was open to public comment until February 3, 2025. However, due to a high volume of comments from all over the world, including Greece and the United States objecting to the transfer, the deadline was recently extended until March 20, 2025. As of March 17, NOAA Fisheries had received 1,679 comments. As seen in Clearwater’s application file photos, the aquarium’s dolphin complex is a massive concrete enclosure where dolphins are kept indoors.
In a letter dated February 14, 2024 (which is included in Clearwater’s public application for the import of Greece’s dolphins) sent by Attica Park’s director and CEO Jean Jaques Lesueur to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, he mentions that Robert Gojceta (the park’s marine mammal curator, according to the park’s website) held talks at Clearwater during his visit to Florida. “From what Robert described to us you have outstanding facilities and this makes this move a very positive outcome,” the letter reads towards the end.
Two years ago, according to animal activists and reports in local media, four of nine bottlenose dolphins died at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which originally was the water treatment plant for the city, within 16 months. The four dolphin deaths followed the 2021 completion of the $80 million Ruth J. & O. Stone Dolphin Complex, tripling the aquarium dolphin habitat, which can now hold up to 20 dolphins. There are currently five dolphins at the facility.
Moreover, in September 2024, Florida, which is an area prone to extreme weather and hurricanes, was hammered by Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive destruction to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium facilities, reaching millions of dollars. According to local media, animals had to be temporarily moved, vital equipment was damaged and in January 2025, administrators began dramatic cost-saving measures, including cutting salaries and the “temporary furloughs” of several of its 175 employees. While currently not at 100 percent and with attendance already down even before the hurricane, according to several local media reports, Clearwater Aquarium says it hopes to make a comeback in 2025.
Greek Reporter reached out to Attica Park’s CEO via email to ask whether it still considers the Clearwater facilities “outstanding.” Jean Jaques Lesueur responded that “The weather damaged occurred in early October last year, and Clearwater reopened to the public in November after a $1.5 million damage refit and that there are no staff on furlough today.” Asked whether Attica Park has a plan B in place, should the US government does not grant Clearwater the import permit, Lesueur said: “We are confident that the permit will be granted.”
The chief zoological officer for the Florida aquarium, James Powell told Josh Rojas of the local ABC news affiliate that “We need additional animals there with our current animals to pθrovide the social makeup that you would typically see in a wild population. So that’s kind of driving this.” Dr. Powell explained that the aquarium would not be “buying” the Attica Zoo dolphins but would be paying for their relocation expenses. “We’re trying to do the right thing here in terms of providing these animals a forever home,” insisted Dr. Powell. “This potentially is a very positive situation. We want to provide the best care that we can. We’re a science-based research conservation base.” O’ Barry, along with many other animal activists and organizations worldwide, dismisses those claims, suggesting “a much more humane alternative would be to take the dolphins directly to the Greek island of Lipsi,” a maximum distance of under 200 miles, “where they can live out the rest of their lives in peace and dignity.”
Πηγή: https://greekreporter.com/2025/03/17/france-boost-greece-innovative-dolphin-sanctuary/
*Στις μέρες μας, πολλοί ζωολογικοί κήποι ανά την Ευρώπη αναστέλλουν τη λειτουργία των δελφιναρίων, είτε λόγω χαμηλής επισκεψιμότητας, είτε λόγω νομικών μέτρων που πρόσφατα έλαβαν κυβερνήσεις, όπως αυτές της Γαλλίας και του Βελγίου. Καθώς περιβαλλοντικοί και φιλοζωικοί φορείς ανά τον κόσμο, αλλά και μεγάλο μέρος των πολιτών θεωρούν πλέον αδιανόητο να εγκλωβίζονται τα δελφίνια σε τσιμεντένιες δεξαμενές, περίπου 3.000 δελφίνια φυλακισμένα σε δεξαμενές, σε διάφορες χώρες του κόσμου (στην Ευρώπη είναι περίπου 300) ψάχνουν "σπίτι".
Το Κέντρο Περίθαλψης Θαλάσσιας Ζωής έχει, από την πρώτη μέρα, την στήριξη του δήμου και της τοπικής κοινωνίας του νησιού. Το Ινστιτούτο Αρχιπέλαγος έχει ανακατασκευάσει και εξοπλίσει ένα πρώην εγκαταλελειμμένο κτίριο του Δήμου Λειψών, ενώ η έκταση 7 στρεμμάτων γύρω από αυτό έχει παραχωρηθεί από το ΥΠΕΝ για τον συγκεκριμένο σκοπό. Πρόκειται για ένα πρότυπο πράσινο κτίριο 800 μ² που ήδη λειτουργεί με πλήρη ενεργειακή αυτονομία (ΑΠΕ), καθώς και με αυτονομία υδροδότησης (πρότυπο σύστημα αφαλάτωσης μικρής κλίμακας με χαμηλή ενεργειακή κατανάλωση), σύστημα θέρμανσης με βιομάζα, και σύστημα διαχείρισης και επεξεργασίας νερού. Έχει αναγνωριστεί από πολυάριθμους φορείς του εξωτερικού ως πρότυπο αειφόρου λειτουργίας. Ο σχεδιασμός έχει γίνει από την Αρχιτεκτονική Σχολή του Πανεπιστημίου Τορόντο του Καναδά, ενώ, κατά τη διαδικασία κατασκευής του, το έχουν επισκεφτεί επιφανείς προσωπικότητες από την Ελλάδα και το εξωτερικό.
Την περασμένη Κυριακή (16 Μαρτίου), ολοκληρώθηκε επιτόπια συνάντηση στο νησί των Λειψών, από εμπειρογνώμονα που απέστειλε η Γαλλίδα υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος Agnès Pannier-Runacher, συνοδευόμενη από ειδικούς επιστήμονες και δημοσιογράφους. Η συγκεκριμένη επίσκεψη είναι ενδεικτική του ενδιαφέροντος της γαλλικής κυβέρνησης, να δώσει ένα οριστικό τέλος στα δελφινάρια και να πρωτοστατήσει διεθνώς στη μετάβαση σε μία νέα εποχή με πραγματικό σεβασμό στην ευζωία των ζώων.
facebook.com/Archipelago.gr/posts/ -- https://kirkinews.gr/articles/ermaio-tis-grafeiokratias-to-thalassio-katafygio-stous-leipsous/ -- https://www.tanea.gr/editor/ntinos-siotis/
