PCB tour boats fined for illegal dolphin feeding

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Three Bay County tour boat companies are facing fines for unlawfully feeding wild dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but at least one of the companies says the charges are false.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charged operators of the tour boat “Sea Screamer” with two counts of illegal dolphin feeding in July 2011 and August 2012, resulting in a $10,000 fine.

“We are disputing these claims,” said Capt. Andy Redmond, the owner of the Sea Screamer. “We do not feed dolphins aboard the Sea Screamer.”

Redmond added that each tour begins with a verbal admonition to passengers that it is illegal to feed or harass dolphins and that the sea creatures are fully capable of finding all the food they need. He added that charges stem from one incident in 2011 and another in 2012 and that while undercover agents from NOAA had been aboard his boat several times in the past few years, they have not seen humans feeding dolphins from the vessel.

“All we do is observe dolphins,” he added. “We do not feed dolphins.”

Also charged were AAA Jet Ski Rentals and Tours and Blue Dolphin Tours, with each company facing a $5,000 fine for illegal feedings in August of last year. Contacted by phone Sunday, a man with AAA Jet Ski Rentals said the business would not comment on its fine. The owner of Blue Dolphin Tours was unavailable for comment Sunday.

“We work very closely with the (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), and these cases were a result of a planned working group,” said Jeff Dadonski, the acting deputy special agent in charge at NOAA’s office of law enforcement. “All of the cases were witnessed by law enforcement or other components.”

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is illegal to feed, touch or pursue wild dolphins, and Bay County is a known hotspot for illegal dolphin interaction. 

The incidents happened a year or two ago, but officials said it is not unusual to take that long to conclude an investigation and file federal charges.

NOAA Fisheries bottlenose dolphin conservation coordinator Stacy Horstman said the area’s large commercial and recreational boating fleet coupled with a growing tourism industry presents a unique challenge when it comes to preventing dolphin interaction.

“Panama City is the one scientifically documented place where we know dolphins have been fed so people can get in the water and interact with them,” Horstman said. “The uniqueness about Panama City is the amount of vessels in a small area; you’ll have upwards of 25 boats encircling two dolphins and trying to interact with those dolphins.”

In an attempt to counteract the negative effects of dolphin interaction, NOAA has headed outreach programs in Bay County for more than two decades.

Horstman said outreach focuses primarily on educating the public through brochures, posted signs, workshops, billboards and on-air public service announcements. This season, the agency also has begun utilizing banner plane flyovers as a means to communicate the message.

Despite two decades of effort, Horstman said the huge influx of commercial businesses and tourism in a small geographic area has smothered any progress.

“There was a time when we were seeing improvements, but unfortunately in the last few years it’s just as bad as it’s ever been,” Horstman said. “We really need everybody’s help to keep the people and the dolphins safe.”

However, local tour businesses Osprey Charters and St. Andrew Bay Ferry have made an effort to adhere to the initiatives set forth in NOAA’s Dolphin SMART partnership, even though the program has not yet been implemented in the area.

“You can safely and responsibly view dolphin from a vessel,” Horstman said. “We know it can happen, but there are a lot of commercial and recreational boaters in the area and it’s going to take everybody to really help us solve this problem.”