The Turtle Farm & Boatswain Beach, now one in the same, advertise one thing and then give another. Is it any wonder they make huge losses ?

Ever since the idea of a Dolphinarium in Cayman started to spread around there were protests for obvious reasons, non other more poignant than “Why? We don’t need one !” Well on the same day that McKeeva Bush Leader of the opposition points out the Government is loosing money, revenues are down this year and Cayman’s debt will be $700 million by the end of 2008; Boatswain Beach gets it’s very own article announcing the government will be covering $8.6 million in operating losses for Boatswain Beach the new Turtle Farm experience.

Now beyond the politics this does push the point that if an organisation like the Turtle Farm that has been in business for a few decades now still can’t turn a profit, why set up more captive marine animal attractions, especially one with larger more pelagic marine animals. Hell the Dolphins won’t even be breeding for release !

Boatswain Beach apparently at some time recently was loosing 1/2 a million a month ! That’s mental losses in tourism, any other business with those losses would be closed before months end. They still seem to be dependant on cruise ship revenue (90%), which must be a mistake when we know cruise ship number are down and if you look at the cruise industry it is obviously going to continue to drop as they change up their destinations. It is time to start focusing once again on the sustainable tourism of stay over or fly in visitors. However even in that world should Boatswain Beach be allowed to carry on operating with such losses ! The image above shows you what type of experience it has become, the left image of baby hatchings looking very cute in the water against the reality of hundreds of large turtles all crammed in on top of each other with sores and scrape all over them. Is that really a tourist attraction ? On an island with so much nature and wildlife all around us in the water and on land do we really need to create a fake viewing area for these very same animals ? If those questions even make you think, why would anyone in their right mind consider a dolphinarium, it is destined to fail on a massive scale, especially when in the age of eco tourism people find out that the dolphins don’t even come from here !