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Ocean Park in murky water over dolphins

Reading Time:6 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Simon Parry

Will they or won't they? The saga of whether Ocean Park officials intend to import wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands has, over the past fortnight, become as murky and unfathomable as the Pacific Ocean lapping the islands is turquoise blue and transparent.

The denials have come thick and fast - a denial that Ocean Park employees were on board a boat trying to capture dolphins off the main island of the Solomons chain in early April and a denial that any deal to import dolphins has been struck.

When the presence of two of the park's officials in the Solomons was revealed a fortnight ago, the park issued a statement saying they were there for conservation research only and had 'no exchange agreement of any kind' with the country's government.

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Then when activists said they saw Ocean Park staff on boats with nets attempting to capture dolphins - apparently mistaking another boat for the observation vessel the Hong Kong team was aboard - the park dismissed the allegation, calling it inaccurate and damaging.

The denials have been so firm and the details of what Ocean Park officials were actually doing in the Solomons so correspondingly sparse that radio station RTHK ran a story on its news website last week announcing: 'Ocean Park rules out dolphin imports.'

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In fact, the reality is rather different. Ocean Park has confirmed to the Sunday Morning Post it is poised to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Solomon Islands government that will see it donate around US$100,000 towards a study into dolphin numbers expected to start this year.

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