75 



attention. In addition, the training staff provides a changing environment for the 

 animals, thus allowing them to use their natural curiosity ana predatory skills. 



Despite the many benefits I have outlined, some individuals want to further re- 

 strict or even eliminate the public display of marine mammals in places like South 

 Dakota's Marine Life Aquanum. I don't believe this is in the interest of the Amer- 

 ican public, or the animals themselves. These aquariums provide a unique oppor- 

 tunity to build strong public interest and awareness in our earth's environment and 

 the survivability of marine mammals in their natural habitat. 



Further, imagine with me the devastating environmental impact if an additional 

 one million people attempted to view these marine manunals in the wild. This would 

 mean more boats, more trash, and more disruption of the migration of whales, for 

 example. Ladies and gentleman, can you picture what this sort of increase could do? 



The small number of marine mammals on public display in ecoparks, or zoos, and 

 aquariums in the United States eliminates this need. Public display facilities in- 

 crease public awareness of our animal friends in the sea without the serious envi- 

 ronmental consequence of viewing them in the wild. 



I 



Questions Asked by Senator Inouye and Answers Thereto by Mr. Prescott 



Question. The Dolphin Quest program is very impressive. Would you briefly de- 

 scribe the various programs at Dolphin Quest. 



Answer. Dolphin Quest offers a variety of educationally oriented programs for the 

 public as well as programs for Hawaiian school children and youth groups. 



Programs for adults focus on the dolphins unique adaptions to life in the marine 

 environment and current marine conservation issues. 



Teen programs include similar discussions as well as information on career oppor- 

 tunities in the marine sciences. 



Pro-ams for children focus on the special characteristics of dolphins and whales, 

 their important role in the marine environment and ways that children can help 

 preserve our marine resources. 



Although only one of Dolphin Quest's public programs is a SWTD program, each 

 involves a degree of personal interaction with the dolphins. Through personal in- 

 volvement in the learning process, participants internalize their educational experi- 

 ence and become truly committed to preserving our ocean resources. 



FORMAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 



"Discover Dolphins"! — This full day educational field trip program for elementary 

 school groups is conducted once or twice a week, free of charge. Students participate 

 in classroom learning activities and receive instruction and a demonstration with 

 the dolphins and their trainers. Discover Dolphins! is designed to nurture awareness 

 and concern for conservation issues and to foster a sense of environmental steward- 

 ship in our children. 



Educational and Scientific Conferences — Scientific and Educational Conferences, 

 such as Dolphin Day for Teachers, are offered to Professional educators from the 

 Big Island and throughout Hawaii. 



Marine Mammal Seminars — ^Educational seminars, conducted free of charge by 

 Dolphin Quest and the Waikoloa Marine Life Fund (WMLF) staff and guest speak- 

 ers, cover natural history of various marine mammals, current research, and marine 

 conservation issues. 



Outreach Educational Services — Dolphin Quest and the WMLF support local 

 schools by supplying a large variety of current materials to assist teachers in devel- 

 oping units for teaching about marine mammals and the ocean ecosystem. Edu- 

 cational reference materials, computer software, and creative learning centers are 

 also available for loan to schools. 



Publications — Dolphin Quest's, Director of Education has published The World of 

 Dolphins and Whales" a classroom curriculum for grades 4, 5, and 6. The curricu- 

 lum contains 15 detailed cooperative-learning lessons and 15 full-color photographs 

 of marine mammals. Proceeds from this curriculum go to the WMLF. 



Question. Does Dolphin Quest survey the people who participate in its programs 

 about their experiences, and if so, what do the surveys show? 



Answer. As part of the public display community. Dolphin Quest takes its com- 

 mitment to education and increasing public awareness of conservation issues very 

 seriously. We continuously seek feedback from participants in order to monitor our 

 program's educational effectiveness and ability to impart a meaningful conservation 

 message. A statistical compilation of 9249 questionnaires completed by program par- 

 ticipants and returned to Dolphin Quest between December 1988 and June 1993 is 

 attached. 



