Is the Gulfarium in Hot Water?: ?We’Ll Be Fine,’ Manager Says After Surprise Inspection Reveals Problems

By Tom Mclaughlin, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

May 27–OKALOOSA ISLAND — Administrators at Florida’s Gulfarium are working to correct problems — including unreported marine mammal deaths — discovered during a surprise inspection by representatives of three government agencies last week.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday for the inspection.

Gulfarium General Manager Don Abrams initially described the inspection as “standard.” He acknowledged Thursday that the Gulfarium had received “a couple of write-ups” as a result of the visit.

“We’re going to clear them up,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

Abrams said no fines had been issued.

But Mark Oswalt, a spokesman for the law enforcement section of the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the investigating agencies have not closed the books on the Gulfarium’s inspection.

Brought to light so far is the facility’s failure to report any marine mammal deaths, except in one instance, since 1996.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended in 1994, requires parks like the Gulfarium to file annual documents reporting each death of a marine mammal.

A marine park found in violation of reporting requirements can receive a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation, said Mike Gosliner of the Marine Mammal Commission in Washington, D.C.

The failure to report also carries a maximum criminal penalty of $20,000 per animal, Gosliner said. But such fines, which would entail inspectors proving that reporting violations were knowingly committed, are unprecedented, he said.

The Gulfarium might also face permit sanctions, which could, among other things, limit the marine animal park’s ability to bring in animals from other locations, Oswalt said.

There have been at least six unreported dolphin or sea lion deaths at the Gulfarium since 2000.

Gulfarium curator Greg Siebenaler said National Marine Fisheries Service agent Allan Coker had found unreported deaths dating as far back as 1988.

Siebenaler took full responsibility for the failure to report according to Marine Mammal Act guidelines.

“Me and my vet (Dr. Forrest Townsend) were on different wavelengths,” Siebenaler said. “I thought he was sending reports to the Department of Agriculture, and he was forwarding them for me to send.

“The only one to blame is me.”

Death reports are actually sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service, a department of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Siebenaler could not verify how many unreported mammal deaths had occurred at the Gulfarium. But he confirmed several deaths that do not appear on the NOAA’s marine mammal inventory. Those include: –Prince, a bottle nosed dolphin that died in 2004. –Poco, a sea lion that died in 2004. –Two baby dolphins, one of which was stillborn, that died in 2005. –Snorkel, a sea lion that died in 2005. –Panama, a bottlenose dolphin that died in 2005. Prince’s death occurred following Hurricane Ivan and was attributed to the storm. The names of both sea lions and Panama, the dolphin, appear on a NOAA inventory for the Gulfarium obtained recently by the Northwest Florida Daily News. None of the animals is reported to have died.

Abrams said Tuesday that he believed the USDA and NOAA had shown up at his facility in response to the most recent dolphin deaths there. Daphne, a female pantropical spotted dolphin, died April 22. Buster, an Atlantic spotted dolphin, died two days later.

Abrams said the deaths of Daphne and Buster were the only ones he could recall at the Gulfarium that came as a complete shock to the staff.

“Those were the only two deaths I can remember that were just totally unexpected,” he said. “It was a punch-you-in-the-gut kind of thing.”

The Northwest Florida Daily News recently requested federal records related to the Gulfarium. Jennifer Skidmore, who maintains the NOAA Marine Mammal Inventory, said she had contacted public affairs people and Florida fisheries service officials after being contacted by the Daily News.

The USDA has yet to comply with the Daily News’ request, made two weeks ago under the federal Freedom of Information Act, for records of previous inspections conducted at the Gulfarium.

Two USDA inspectors were among those checking the Gulfarium on Tuesday. One was identified by Abrams as a local inspector and another as a regional inspector.

The agents would not identify themselves as they exited the Gulfarium following their inspection, nor would they discuss their findings.

The inspectors also declined to say when the USDA had last conducted a surprise inspection at Gulfarium, although Abrams said it was less than a year ago.

Coker, the Niceville-based inspector for the National Marine Fisheries Service who visited the Gulfarium, was a little more forthcoming than his counterparts. He provided a business card with his name on it, then said, “I can’t talk to you.”

Gosliner, with the Marine Animal Commission, said he doubted the Gulfarium would face severe penalties. The USDA and NOAA tend not to deal harshly with agencies they are required to inspect, he said.

“It’s sort of a two-way street,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like they (NOAA) inquired into why they hadn’t gotten reports. And (USDA), who does the inspections, should know when animals die, or eventually figure it out.”

Agent Jerry Shores represented the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Shores said Coker had asked him to be present because some animals on display at the Gulfarium — river otters, penguins, some exotic birds and alligators — fall under the state of Florida’s purview.

Shores said he issued a warning to the Gulfarium staff for allowing its permit to display state-monitored animals to expire — it had lapsed in 2005 — and gave the facility 30 days to update its license.

“It was not a serious violation,” he said. “In no way does it indicate how animals were being treated.”

Shores said that display facilities for the animals he observed exceeded minimum requirements.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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