One of the things that needs to be studied when doing a film like this is — how do we fit into the whole “Dolphin Captivity” puzzle. Once you start becoming involved in this, you quickly discover just how passionate people are — and how much there is to think about. One basic conundrum is that to have dolphin “actors” in a film generally means you’re going to work with captive, trained dolphins — and right away that puts you at odds with many involved in the debate about captivity.
So there is the matter of the reality of the existence of the dolphins that we are working with, and then there is the matter of what we are depicting onscreen and our attitude toward that.
In EOD we depicted two captive research dolphins at the facility but by the end of the film we showed an evolution toward something akin to the Dexter Cates Third Phase Alternative to Dolphin Captivity — a concept developed by Ken Levasseur in which instead of captivity, dolphins are led gradually into a situation where they come and go freely, working with humans in enclosures but not living there.
In WOD we show the facility four years later and at this point, a full-on Third Phase program is underway.
Anyway — I need to update the following article but for now I’ll just post it here. This was my original film-maker’s statement on dolphin captivity issues, published just before EOD came out last summer:
By Michael Sellers, Writer/Director, Eye of the Dolphin
Eye of the Dolphin is a film which has as its basic message the idea that in order to understand one another, we must, as the protagonist Alyssa says, “learn to listen right”. She says this in the context of her father–a dolphin communication researcher–trying to understand dolphins. But it applies just as much to her own efforts to understand her father — and his, to understand her. The film sees “open-ness” and readiness to listen and understand as a major virtue to be sought, nurtured, and developed on many levels within individuals and society.
To be true to this essential value expressed in the film we were making, we as film-makers felt that it was important that we try to do the same thing — “listen right” — to the issues relating to dolphin captivity that swirled around the film from the beginning. Our goal was to make a film that would address a range of “dolphin issues” in the context of a fictional narrative feature film, and that within the limitations imposed by that form that our work would be regarded as thoughtful and intelligent and making a positive contribution by stimulating awareness and dialogue on the very emotionally charged issue of whether there are any circumstances in which dolphin captivity if justified, and if so — what are those circumstances.
Against this backdrop, the following is intended as a statement from the film-maker of Eye of the Dolphin on the dolphin captivity and other “dolphin issues” raised by and explored within the film.
BACKGROUND
Some of those who read this will be experts who are intimately familiar with dolphin issues, but many will be generalists whose interest was piqued by the movie, and who may not fully understand the “battleground” of dolphin captivity as a topic of intense debate within environmental and animal protection circles. So for these generalists — I will offer some background. It is a generally established scientific fact that a rule, cetaceans (dolphins and whales) held in captivity have shorter lifespans, greater infant mortality, and suffer substantially greater health and psychological problems than is the case in wild populations. Some studies have shown that captive dolphins suffer mortality in the 7% range for a given population, compared to less than 2% for even the most stressed wild dolphin populations (i.e. those facing pressure from net fishing,etc). In practical terms this means that, for example, on average a captive study group of 100 dolphins would be expected to be reduced by deaths to 50 dolphins in 7 years, far faster than would be the case for a similar population in the wild. This mortality problem, as well as evidence of psychological and other physical problems experienced by captive dolphins, has led to an intense argument between what might be termed the “SeaWorld proponents” on the one hand, who argue that with good management practices the educational and entertainment value of dolphin captivity outweighs the concerns, and the “no-captivity under any circumstances” proponents on the other hand, who argue that the price is too high and/or it is simply morally wrong.Breaking the issue down further, it can reasonably be argued that there are management and environmental factors in dolphin captivity that tend to either exacerbate or alleviate some of the problems associated with the captivity. In other words — some forms/types of captivity are worse for the dolphins than others. These factors include the size and type type of enclosure (larger fenced open water enclosures being better for the dolphin than smaller concrete tanks), and whether or not operant conditioning is a major component of the training. (Operant conditioning in this context means rewarding desired behavior with, typically, food — which in turn means keeping the dolphins in a relatively constant state some degree of food deprivation.) Thus at one end of the captivity spectrum would be, on the negative side, dolphins kept in small concrete enclosures and trained with heavy reliance on operant conditioning — and at the other end of the spectrum would be dolphins kept in larger, natural fenced lagoon enclosures with little or no operant conditioning. Those wholly against dolphin captivity would argue that neither approach is acceptable. More moderate opinions would consider the quality and nature of the dolphin environment and management policies of the facility, as well as the meaningful benefits (if any) to human and/or dolphin society from the work done at the facility.
DANCE WITH THE DEVIL? EOD’S CHOICE OF DOLPHIN FACILITY
It is a simple fact that if a film-maker elects to make a live action film depicting specific, scripted dolphin behavior using real (as opposed to computer generated) dolphins — then in today’s world that film-maker going to have to work with some captive dolphins. Thus the film-maker is immediately faced with a dilemma. If he/she objects completely to captivity and wants to take the “high road” by not rewarding captive dolphin programs by working with them — then he/she might as well move on and make another movie, or turn it into an animated feature or opt for a documentary. But if the film-maker decides to proceed, then obtaining dolphin “actors” means working with captive dolphins.So, having decided to make a live action film about dolphins, the film-maker must choose a facility from which to source the dolphins. In our case we looked at half all facilities in South Florida, the Florida Keyes, and the Caribbean. We chose what seemed to us to be the most progressive “dolphin-friendly” facility we could find, that being UNEXSO in Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama. We felt that in comparison to the other facilities we examined, UNEXSO offered the best environment for its dolphins. What is that environment?
UNEXSO is a large facility which uses fenced enclosures in a natural lagoon with easy access to the open seas and regular flow-through of tidal waters. There are 16 dolphins and UNEXSO management told us, credibly it seemed, that mortality rates were very low — comparable to those in the wild and far below the industry norm of 7% — and birth rates were high, without evidence of frequent complications. The population of 16 included 3 young dolphins born at UNEXSO in the previous two years.
In terms of work accomplished by the facility and its dolphins, UNEXSO is a “swim with the dolphins” (as opposed to SeaWorld type “show”) facility. Visitors come to UNEXSO to experience close contact with the dolphins. This contact is accomplished in special petting pools as well as in the canals and inlets adjacent to the facility where dolphin swims take place just outside the confines of the pens. (During these canal swims, the dolphins are not in a physically enclosed area.)
In terms of physical environment — the UNEXSO facility consists of approximately 8 holding pens, dolphins spend each night outside of their small enclosures, swimmint freely together in a large lagoon 15-20 acres in size. They are also allowed to go out into the open ocean (not all, but most) for regular supervised “walks” — and it is not insignificant that they do this and routinely, and apparently happily, return home. [[Note: Captivity opponents are skeptical of the logic that the dolphins must be happy, else they would not return voluntarily from these “walks”, citing “battered spouse syndrome” as an example of the type of psychological condition that may be in play.]]
In terms of training techniques, we observed that food based operant conditioning is used, although there seems to be much less of an emphasis on this than is the case in “dolphin show” type facilities. The dolphins have a limited repertoire of behaviors which they will perform within the context of the “swim with” event (jump, tail-walk, spray waer, and a few others) and these behaviors are rewarded with a whistle (each behavior) and food (less regularly). Other than during the tourist events (once or twice daily, involving less than half the dolphins in a given show), the dophins were fed regularly and without requiring specific behavior in order to be given the food.
In sum — we felt that UNEXSO represented the most responsible choice we could make and still achieve our objectives, and so we decided to work with UNEXSO.
WHAT IS DEPICTED IN THE MOVIE
The next question is — what dolphin activity and capabilities are depicted in the movie? Are these depictions accurate? Does it demonstrate “good science”? And in the end, does the film present ideas which advance the understanding of dolphins and/or contribute meaningfully to the debate concerning dolphin intelligence, communication, and dolphin captivity issues?Following is a summary of dolphin behavior depicted in the movie:
–James Harker (Hawk, as he is known in the movie) is seen studying wild dolphins from his boat, the Hanky Panky. His interest is in dolphin communications and he is not interfering or interatcting with the dolphins–just listening. Out of nowhere a tourist boat owned by Hawk’s nemesis, Dekker, arrives, and moments later tourists are jumping in the water and swimming with the wild dolphins. Enraged, Hawk challenges Decker and eventually scares the tourists and the dolphins away. He is immediately called on the carpet by the tourism commissioner for scaring “9 tourists off the island”. Hawk justifies his actions as being in the interests of the dolphins, trying to explain to the commissioner that uncontrolled tourist interaction with wild dolphins is bad for the dolphins. He also explains that his research involves studying sonic imaging data from his two captive dolphins and comparing that to the same data from wild dolphins; thus he needs to study both the captive and the wild dolphins.
–We see Hawk’s assistant, Daniel, playing tic tac toe with Bogie, one of Hawk’s captive research dolphins. We see that Bogie and Bacall are kept in a lagoon water pen at Hawk’s docks, with his boat, the Hanky Panky, docked adjacent to it and arranged so that his underwater portal faces into the pen, allowing direct observation of the dolphins. No operant conditioning is depicted here or anywhere else in the movie — the dolphins cooperate without being given food rewards. [[Note: This specific behavior was suggested by dolphin research scientist Ken LaVasseur, who came up with tic tac toe as a game that would be easily within the ability of dolphins to learn and play.]]
–We see Hawk and Daniel conduct an experiment depicting dolphins echolocation and communication capabilities. One dolphin, Bogie, scans a plastic box with an object inside and in another pen the other dolphin, Bacall, selects an object from a choice of three objects. Hawk then opens the box and we see that the object in the box–previously unseen by anyone, human or dolphin–matches the object selected in the next pen by Bacall. The conclusion we are expected to draw is that Bogie scanned the box using echolocation, “saw” the object, then communicated the object to Bacall who correctly selected the corresponding object.
–Alyssa, Hawk’s teenaged daughter just arrived from the mainland, walks down to the dolphin pens and the dolphins react to her, showing interest and swimming up for a closer look
–From inside the boat we hear a ruckus outside. Hawk runs out to find that Alyssa has fallen in to the pen. He dives in and pulls her out o the water. The dolphins are essentially helpful, although mainly it is Hawk who pulls her out of the water.
–Alyssa sees a lone solitary dolphin in an inlet while she is on a conching outing with Tamika, Hawk’s girlfriend. She feels a connection to the dolpnin and believe the dolphin “looked right at me” when jumping out of the water. There is no interaction – just the moment when the dolphin leaps in the inlet.
–Hawk, in a presentation in front of his board of directors, presents the videotape of his experiment conducted earlier and makes his “pitch” — that the reason we have fallen short in establishing full communication with dolphins has more to do with our shortcomings than theirs. He points out that 90% of their communication takes place at frequences we can’t even hear, and he puts forward the notion that their echolocation and sonic imaging capabilities may come into play as well — that “it’s as if I could email you an image of this cup without the use of a computer”. He says that when we look for dolphin “words” we may be oversimplifying their system of communication. [[Note: This is an attempt to grapple with the fact that after fifty years of study, humans have yet to “crack the code” of dolphin communication. The intent is to suggest that to get the right answers, you have to ask the right questions–and that by assuming that dolphin communication would follow human pattern of coded language, perhaps we are making wrong assumptions.]] Hawk’s presentation is challenged by Elizabeth Glinton, who is presented as a pragmatic, skeptical dolphin scientist, who notes that there were deficiencies in Hawk’s scientific technique (it was not a double blind trial, and thus Hawk, who knew what was in the box, might have cued the animal a la the famous “clever Hans” the counting horse experiment, in which the horse’s handler was eventuall proven to be unconsciously cueing the animal). Thus in this scene, Hawk is ultimately presented as something of a dreamer, and a skeptical alternative is presented by Glinton who is also referenced as having written an article citing that “the dolphin’s brain more closely resembles a hedgehog than a human’s”. [[It isn’t explained in the movie, but the intention here is to cite the fact that hedgehogs use echolocation and this is the reason their brain structure is in fact similar, at least insofar as they share the dolphins physical apparatus for echolocation.]] It is made clear to Hawk that Glinton has been brought in to look at ways of commercializing the research facility — noting that Hawk’s “research only” approach has not had the desired economic impact on the impoverished island. Hawk and Glinton are presented as opposites–Hawk a proponent of “pure research” and Glinton a proponent of “education/entertainment” which the audience is expected to interpret as a Seaworld type approach, with trained dolphins, shows, and so on. Hawk is shown as more sympathetic and reasonable; Glinton’s approach is shown as possibly having greater appeal to the locals, who have an “economic imperative” to consider. (The island is depicted as relatively poor and recently ravaged by Hurricanes –both of which, by the way, are accurate representations of Grand Bahama Island in the summer of 2005 when the film was shot.)
–Tamika is depicted feeding the captive dolphins. No operant conditioning is seen. She simply feeds them. No behavior is required from the dolphins.
–Alyssa, after a quarrel with her father, returns to the inlet where she first saw the wild dolphin. An encounter ensues in which the wild dolphin approaches and Alyssa, seeing it, wades into the water. They show interest in each other. The dolpnin approaches, then flees, then approaches again, then flees, and eventually comes close enough for Alyssa to touch the dolphin — then it departs the area completely. Alyssa is disappointed. [[This is intended to depict a plausible “lone sociable dolphin” event as documented variously by many observers, see A Review Of Literature Pertaining to Swimming with Wild Dolphins by Amy Samuels, Lars Bejder, and Sonja Heinric plus various other articles viewable on this link. The film at this point takes no position on the appropriateness of Alyssa’s behavior in encouraging the interaction and touching the dolphin.
–On the morning after the quarrel with Alyssa, Hawk is depicted dejectedly sitting on the dock as one of the captive dolphins swims nearby and seems to show interest/concern/empathy.
–Hawk and Alyssa “walk the dolphins” — using a small launch, they release the dolphins into the outer lagoon and take them on a “walk”, going out the inlet to the opening to the ocean before turning back for the facility. The dolphins are depicted as being free with access to the open sea, but they remain near the boat. Alyssa questions this: “Why don’t they just swim away”. Hawk says they are used to living with the humans: “We’re their family now.” Hawk and Alyssa then sit on a dock near the inlet (not the facility dock — another one, this one in the open inlet) while the dolphins play nearby without swimming out to sea. [[Note: This scene was written to capture actual activity that is regularly carried out at UNEXSO, where all but the youngest dolphins are taken out for such “walks” regularly. In the case of UNEXSO, they go all the way out into the open sea. This is an activity that is illegal in the United States, where it is not permissable to take captive dolphins into the open ocean without restraint. It is not illegal in the Bahamas and is viewed as a healthy activity by the training team at UNEXSO.]]
–Arriving back at his research lab, Hawk is told by Daniel that Coakley has called and Hawk has been given 48 hours to vacate the premises without Bogie and Bacall. Hawk leaves to confront Coakley and Glinton. Alyssa goes with him. At the meeting Hawk is told that Glinton is taking over operations; it seems her vision of the facility will prevail. Hawk objects; eventually Coakley agrees to give Hawk a chance to present his case to the town committee (the townk, represented by the town committee, is a 1/3 partner in the venture and thus a swing vote in the confrontation between Hawk and Coakley). That night Alyssa approaches Daniel, who is night fishing on the beach. Daniel tells her stories about human dolphin cooperation — fishing villages in Brazil and Africa where dolphins help the humans in return for a share of the fish. He plants the idea that dolphins can be helpful. [[Note: Daniel’s stories are intended to make Alyssa and the audience aware of human-dolphin cooperative fishing as documented in Laguna, Brazil, Myanmar, and other places.
–The next morning, perhaps inspired by what Daniel told her the night before, Alyssa returns to the remote inlet alone and this time, when the wild dolphin approaches, she enters the water and eventually swims with the dolphin — swimming side by side and carrying out dorsal tows. Hawk learns of Alyssa’s whereabouts and arrives, forcing Alyssa to leave the water and the dolphin alone. Later he explains that dolphins who are alone and seek out humans are typically psychologically unstable, and encouraging this type of activity typically ends badly for either the human or the dolphin. He specifically mentions the possibility that lone sociable dolphins eventually become aggressive when their human friend tries to leave the water. This issue/activity is well documented in various of the articles cited previously. Alyssa objects to his analysis. She feels a bond has been created and the human/dolphin friendship is healthy and works for both parties. Hawk forbids her to have further contact with the dolphin.
–At the town meeting Hawk makes his pitch for maintaining the “research only” nature of the facility. He is countered by Dekker, who is regularly making money by taking tourists out to swim with the dolphins. He’s all about the money and so is the impoverished town — who is presented as having a legitimate need for the money that would flow from Glinton’s tourism/edutainment facility. The town votes Hawk down. Glinton wins.
***SPOILER ALERT: THE REMAINDER CONTAINS “SPOILER” INFORMATION REGARDING THE RESOLUTION OF THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE. YOU WERE WARNED.***
–Hawk’s research venture has come under increasing pressure from Glinton and Coakley; now he is informed that Glinton is taking over day to day operations. When he resists, police and Glinton and Coakley show up with a court order evicting Hawk. A standoff ensues. Alyssa, standing on the docks, makes eye contact several times with Bogie and Bacall, who are agitated and seem to be trying to convey something to her, although we can not tell for sure if this is the case. Alyssa runs away. Shortly thereafter she arrives at the remote inlet and calls Rasca, her wild friend, who appears, and tows Alyssa out to sea, then parallel to the beach where local townspeople see the two heading in the direction of Hawk’s facility. Alyssa and Rasca eventually reach the facility and slip past the police, opening the gate and allowing Bogie and Bacall, escorted to the wild dolphin Rasca, out to sea. Glinton blames Hawk for setting them free; Alyssa climbs up onto the dock and admits it was she who did it. Hawk is shocked: “You know they can’t survive in the wild.” Alyssa says: “Rasca will help them.” She also says she can call them back anytime. Hawk and the others are stunned.
–Days later, Hawk, Tamika, Daniel, Glinton, Coakley, and Alyssa are gathered on the dock of Hawk’s facility. It is evident that Alyssa’s claim that she can call the dolphins back will be put to the test. Alyssa dives in and swims out of the lagoon into the inlet that connects to the sea. She taps the water, blows the dolpnin whistle that Hawk uses with Bogie and Bacall, then she disappears under the water. She re-emerges after a suitably suspenseful 10 seconds or so with all three dolphins. The three swim in, and all three enter the pen. Alyssa climbs out onto the dock. Hawk hugs her. He is about to close the gate and Alyssa stops him – saying that isn’t needed, the gate can be left open.
–Alyssa is shown addressing the townspeople and presenting her intuitive vision of what the facility should do. She promotes a vision of human-dolphin interaction that emphasizes education and meaningful interaction as opposed to entertainment and “shows”. Dekker steps up and supports Alyssa — whose credibility is rooted in the fact that the townsfolk saw her being towed by Rasca and thus she is viewed as having special insight.
–In the final scene, narrated by Daniel (who has emerged as a spiritual mentor), we see Alyssa and Rasca interacting with young children in a shallow lagoon pen, with Alyssa allowing the children to carefully touch the dolphin in a quiet environment. There are no tricks performed. Hawk is shown back in his lab, continuing his research into dolphin communication; and in a final segment the three dolphins are shown swimming freely out through the open gate and playing in the lagoon, free to come and go.
WHAT, ULTIMATELY, IS THE FILM’S POSITION ON DOLPHIN CAPTIVITY?
Like all fictional narrative films, Eye of the Dolphin presents an “argument” between opposing views. In this case, the basic argument is betweeh Hawk, who pursues research only with the dolphins and uses social conditioning to obtain cooperation, and Glinton, who pursues an entertainment/education model and presumably uses operant conditioning and otherwise displays a lack of sensitivity to dolphin capitivity issues. A third element introduced into the equation is the “lone sociable dolphin” equation — and the argument is between Hawk, who takes the position that it is harmful to reinforce Rasca’s outreach for human companionship, and Alyssa, who benefits from that outreach and sees nothing wrong with it. The end solution is presented by the film-maker as an inspired model of cooperation and conciliation in which all conflicts are resolved through the use of a system of dolphin/human interaction that is derived from Kenneth LeVasseur’s A Third Phase Alternative to Dolphin Captivity. This is a proposed alternative to current captive dolphin management programs which typically rely on operant conditioning (food rewards and hence food deprivation) and complete captivity. Under the alternative model, dolphin management would evolve to a “third phase” (first phase is training, second is typical captivity/exhibition) in which dolphins are maintained in a facility that has direct access to the ocean and are allowed to travel between ocean and facility, interacting with humans in enclosures on a part-time and voluntary basis, with social reinforcement rather than food reinforcement used as the exclusive means of training and inducement of cooperation.In the film, Rasca’s problem (not having a pod/family) is solved by grouping Rasca and Bogie and Bacall into a functioning pod. Hawk’s problem is solved because the facility remains a “research friendly” environment without operant conditioning and “dolphin show” distractions. Bogie and Bacall benefit b ecause they are able to progress from Second Phase captivity to the Third Phase Alternative. Even Glinton is mollified, because the facility now possesses a uniqueness that will indeed attract visitors — not for conventional dolphin shows, but rather to interact substantively with dolphins who are not captive in the conventional sense.
The film-makers intent is clearly to suggest that this third phase alternative is a rationale and desirable way of reconciling welfare isues as they relate to captive dolphins, and human educational and psychological benefits (dolphin therapy, for example) derived from close interaction with dolphins. Is this Third Phase Alternative viable? Clearly, certain pre-requsites must be met–particularly that the facility must have connectivity with the open ocean, and the dolphin participants must agree to cooperate. In the LeVasseur model, enhanced human dolphin communication (via an artificial whistle language, used much in the way that sign language is used with chimps to enhance human-chimp communication) is an essential element. In the movie – this element is provided by Alyssa’s intuitive abilities with the dolpnins–but aside from this variation, the basic “argument” follows LeVasseur’s propsed Third Phase alternative as a means of converting captive dolpnins into voluntary part-time participants in structured human-dolphin interactions. The film-makers acknowledge that this is a theoretical system–not a proven one. But just as Hawk in the movie says, “Well if it were proven, we wouldn’t have to test it,”, the film-makers would say: “If the third phase alternative were proven, we wouldn’t need to make a movie about it.” If making a movie contributes to the dialogue and evaluation of this possible solution to dolphin captivity, then an important objective of the film-makers will have been realized.
I saw the first movie. I bet the people at SeaWorld and places like that weren’t all that happy with it. It clearly took a negative view of captivity of dolphins for public “show” purposes. I think there’s a difference between dolphins held captive at some “circus” location, and those involved in research or even “swim with dolphin” programs.