THE EDITOR, Sir:
REFERENCE IS made to the "Letter of the Day" of October 12, 2003 titled "Mr. Lambie, You are so Wrong' signed by a Karl Aiken, Ivan Goodbody, Deborah Ann Rowe and George Warner, none of whom are known to the 27 deep-sea boat operators in Ocho Rios/Runaway Bay/Discovery Bay. I understand that they originate from the Mona Campus. Typical!
First, let me congratulate Mr. & Mrs. Stafford Burrowes for the visionary and persistent patience they have demonstrated in planning the expansion of Dolphin Cove. It is the fulfillment of a dream of the late Kemp Skefferey of the Urban Development Corporation who invited the Seaquarium of Miami to consider such a project as far back as 1981. The approval is timely as a number of similar attractions are planned for other Caribbean destinations.
The letter claims that my article of September 29, 2003 'Give Flipper a Chance' is incorrect in five ways. But all of the criticisms of my article are incorrect. Here is my irrefutable response, which I am prepared to defend:
LACK OF EVIDENCE
Without proof, they flatly said that I did not contact the four oceanographic institutions as I said nor did the vessels of Woods Hole and Script visit Ocho Rios. Their rationale is that these vessels 'would have had to obtain government permission'. They cite the case of the French vessel 'Slavic', which had to obtain such permission. However, this rationale is incorrect as the United States and 16 others are signatories to the Cartagena Treaty of March 16th 1983 that allows members free access to each others waters. There are two other intergovernmental agreements (RCU, IOCARIBE) between Jamaica and the United States as listed in the Oceanus Magazine Vol. 30 no. 4 published by Woods Hole that implements this agreement. The French are not a member. Even French explorer Jacques Cousteau would need a permit.
None of these signers of the letter of October 12th 2003 have contacted me nor have they questioned knowledgeable persons in Ocho Rios about the ships. I have evidence to back-up what I said.
I previously quoted an article on the topic from the documentation received from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Puerto Rico. I also delivered an extract to the offices of the Jamaica Environmental Trust at 11 Waterloo Road on September 19th 2003 for the attention of Diana McCaulay inclusive of specific reference to the mortality of dolphins in the northern Caribbean. They refer to the UWI lab at Discovery Bay. But I have visited it many times and found no one and not even a canoe. There are no ocean-research boats there.
The referenced letter disputes the statement I made that the Cayman Trench is the second deepest in the world. They said it is just the deepest in the Caribbean. My proof is The Encyclopedia Britannic, World Atlas, Page 287, and under the heading "Oceans and Seas of the World" shows that the greatest depth of oceans at occurs at the bottom of underwater canyons at fault zones and are listed in order. The Cayman trench is the second deepest in the world.
They say that Dolphins can swim across the channel between Jamaica and Cuba by eating 'surface mackerel' since the depth is too deep for normal fish. No fisherman I know has seen these out in the channel. Dolphins need about 30 to 60 pounds of fish per day. It's mostly sharks, barracudas and marlins out in the channel. Moreover, it would take a dolphin three days to cross the average 150-mile width to Cuba. The occasional dolphin that beaches themselves in Saint Ann's Bay or Galina Point follow in the wake of boats. We are debating whether Jamaica has pods(colonies) of dolphins
that can be the source in quantity that they can be caught from in the wild to be used at Dolphin Cove.
PERSONS NEED TO BE INFORMED
They have presumptuously said "journalists when writing about subjects which they are not familiar..." They should be informed that I am not a journalist and have written only on professional matters with which I have the expertise. Specifically, I am a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and a Master's in Urban and Environmental Engineering from McGill University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. I am a graduate officer in Coastal Engineering of the US Corps of Engineers, passed the Florida State examination in Environmental Engineering, a former dive instructor in the Green Beret/Seabees at Guantanamo Bay, consultant to the UDC on the Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Oracabessa coastal reclamation.
On the practical side, there are few people that I know of with more than my 50 years of experience in marine affairs of the Saint Ann/St. Mary area having lived at Seville from birth. I hasten to add, however, that I have a lot of respect for Bunny Francis, Ernie Smatt, Bobby Marsh and Colin Mills. None of these men have been consulted by the authors of the letter. I come from four generations of sea experts: my grandfather established all the fishing cooperatives in these parishes funded by Alex Gordon (grandson of William). My father was the first head of the Coastal Home Guard during the 2nd World War, Commissioner for the Sea Scouts and wharfinger at Saint Ann's Bay for 30 years. I myself, am an Eagle Scout in sailing, inter-school swimming champ at Cornwall College, water ski instructor at Discovery Bay, life guard at Silver Seas hotel and have crossed the straits to Cuba and Cayman many times.
I am, etc,
MAX E. LAMBIE, B.Eng.,
M.Eng, MBA, P.E.
