Welcome to my new blog!

Please watch this space for important information regarding the new movie "Dolphin Tale Two," and the stars Winter and Hope that made it all possible with Clearwater Marine Aquarium that is their permanent home.

                                                                  Winter

                          Who I am, what I hope to accomplish and why!

I got involved in 1989 when the dolphins were being slaughtered in the tuna nets. This soon expanded to other issues that involved dolphins, such as pollution, and captivity.

In 1990 I formed Dolphin Defenders, a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the protection of dolphins everywhere. From 1990-1998 I lectured at schools, and any organization that asked for a speaker on the subject. In 1995 I wrote a book titled  “A Dolphin of Many Colors”. It's primarily a children’s book but can be enjoyed by all. 

My passion for the dolphins has never wavered. I have been going to Clearwater Marine Aquarium since 2012 and witnessed how these and other dolphins are cared for. The first time I went there I could not believe how small their living quarters were. There were 3 dolphins at the time. Panama, Winter and Hope. Panama died September 25, 2013. As time went on and I revisited the aquarium I saw Winter change from a dolphin that swam the small parameter and interacted with Hope to a spiritless animal that stays to herself of just floats motionless. Every time I go there I rarely see any interaction between trainers and dolphins unless there is a paying customer getting their picture taken. No toys or other stimulus for them. 

There is another dolphin by the name of Nik that lives there also. He lives in a very small pool with no shelter from the Sun on the second level. He does performances occasionally. I have only seen him interact with a trainer once, and that was to “paint a canvas for a customer”. Other than that when I visited him I was the only visitor.

I have been trying for months to get someone from the news media to confront this issue but no one has even returned my calls or emails. Then last week I received an email regarding “The Dolphin Truth” featuring Ric O’Barry, Dr. Maddalena Bearzi, Naomi Rose, Lori Marino, among others that are exposing all the “dirty little secrets” as Ric O’Barry always says.

This is my first blog and hope you will come back as I reveal the layers of deficiencies at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Tomorrow I will talk about when and how Clearwater Marine Aquarium began.

Jennifer Semro