The team caring for 28 bottlenose dolphins in Dubai imported from the Solomon Islands rejected environmentalists’ concerns that they may have been mishandled. The deal for the dolphins between the Solomon Islands Marine Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Limited and Kerzner lstithmar attracted controversy mainly because a shipment of the company’s dolphins to Mexico in 2003 subsequently saw nine of the dolphins die.

The dolphins were acclimatizing in their new home, Dolphin Bay at Atlantis on the Palm Jumeirah, and in a few days would have access to a 25- million-liter lagoon. The mammals, aged between 2 and 14 years, were eating within an hour of arrival at the dolphinarium and showing good health under 24-hour supervision. Kerzner International Chief Marine Officer Frank Murru said four vets were among a highly experienced team involved in the transportation of the 28 dolphins to Dubai. He claimed the deaths of the mammals in 2003 occurred sometime after the animals left the care of the export company. Environmentalists’ concerns previously raised include the use of wild dolphins because of their claimed high mortality rate in captivity and the cost of the deal.

Dolphin Bay will become Dubai’s first marine animal rescue and rehabilitation facility and the Arabian Gulf’s only centre for stranded animals. It is expected to open at the end of 2008.