In 2007, a six-month-old female common dolphin was found stranded on the coast of Portugal, after being taken to local rehabilitation facility CRAM-Q, she was named Martinha, and it was advised she would be held there until she regained her strength.
Despite continued assurances that the dolphin would be rehabilitated and returned to the wild, sadly the young dolphin never saw her natural home again. She remained in captivity, held in a medical rehabilitation tank less than 2m deep which undoubtedly severely hindered and compromised her welfare as stress can actually prevent the healing process from occurring. The medical tank was not built for long-term, permanent use to house a cetacean, and Martinha lived in her tiny tank under totally inadequate conditions for approximately 10 years, before being moved to a new larger tank at CRAM-ECOMARE. As was the case previously, she was kept away from the public eye and was for most of the time very much alone.
In 2016 a coalition was formed comprising of marine mammal scientists, conservationists and international NGOs including Marine Connection. The purpose was to raise awareness of Martinha and her plight and also assist in improving Martinha’s situation to give her the best life possible. The coalition corresponded with the relevant authorities offering to work alongside them to formulate a plan that would ultimately improve conditions for Martinha. The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests were ultimately responsible for the dolphin and despite regular contact with them, the coalition’s pleas were ignored.
Keeping Martinha in solitude was very inhumane, and it was with mixed feelings that Marine Connection learned of her death last week. We were deeply saddened as the life of yet another dolphin had been lost, the only consolation being that she no longer is forced to endure life in captivity in a tiny tank, isolated and locked away from the world. Many wild dolphins (and whales) which are ‘rescued’ are deemed non-releasable and remain in captivity for the remainder of their lives, but surely a better solution for Martinha, a species known to be a social creature, could have been found had the pleas put forward been listened to by those in authority.
Preliminary results from the necropsy have revealed a serious illness process of acute evolution, however, further examination will help confirm the exact cause of death.
