wim with the Dolphins General Manager Mr Emmanuel Gilbert has given the assurance that the dolphins there are not affected by the invasion of sargassum seaweed as the entity conducts frequent water testing as a quality control measure. Photo: VINO

Mr Emmanuel Gilbert has assured that the staff at Swim with the Dolphins are welled trained to care for the dolphins and have been exhibiting a high level of professionalism when it comes to their safety and protection. Photo: VINO

Build-up of sargassum seaweed at Prospect Reef on September 28, 2015. Photo: VINO/File

Workers during a cleanup exercise at Swim with the Dolphins on September 28, 2015. Photo: VINO

An excavator removing seaweed in the vicinity of Swim with the Dolphins at Prospect Reef. Photo: VINO/File

Swim with the Dolphins remains in operation despite the seaweed invasion in the VI. Photo: VINO

“We take the water sample every day to analyse the water to make sure that everything is ok,” Mr Gilbert told Virgin Islands News Online in an exclusive interview.

Recently hundreds of dead fish have been popping up in areas infested with rotting seaweed, including in Virgin Gorda and Tortola which prompted this news site to query about the safety of the dolphins in captivity at Swim with the Dolphins.

About a week ago, however, excavators and other heavy equipment were rolled in to remove tons of seaweed from the area at Swim with the Dolphins in Prospect Reef.

“I really appreciate that you are concerned and that you can give the information and the right answer to the people that may come and pass by and see a lot of seaweed because that is the side where you can see it from the road but that’s the side that we designed to get the sargassum. It floats and we take it out and there are no dolphins there,” explained Mr Gilbert.

According to the general manager, the sections of the facility where the seaweed had managed to enter by passing through and over the meshed fencing had no dolphins as they were all secured in an unaffected section.

“Where it looks like there are seaweeds there are no dolphins on that side. So we take it (sargassum seaweed) out and that’s it.”

He further explained that the seaweed becomes a problem when it is left to the stage of rotting. “The seaweed affects when you leave it… that’s when the quality of the water is affected but here we take it out every day (remove the seaweed) so we don’t have that issue.”

Daily cleanup exercises

Mr Gilbert further said that since the massive cleanup exercise for which they had to hire equipment, the company has been engaging in daily cleaning of the sea. “We have to clean it every day because some of the seaweed comes in. We point it to one side where we can clean it, of course where there are no dolphins.”

Speaking to the cost of the daily clean-up activities, Mr Gilbert said now that the seaweed is lessening, it is not costing the company a single extra dollar as they effectively handle the situation with their internal human resources.

“At the beginning, yes, we had a cost because we had to hire the excavator and the trucks and all the stuff so it’s expensive,” Mr Gilbert said, noting that the company would have spent in the vicinity of some $12,000 in the initial stages of extensive cleaning up. “But after that, No.”

Mr Gilbert has assured that the staff at Swim with the Dolphins are welled trained to care for the dolphins and have been exhibiting a high level of professionalism when it comes to their safety and protection.

“We still having our customers, we have the programme, we have no seaweed and we have some reservations from the internet, or cruise ships from St Thomas, or like now the cruise ship here on Tortola, so we are still in the game.”