After breakfast on Sunday 5 May, we began class with a debate on dolphin hunts in Japan – it got pretty intense at some points! After the debate, we had the chance to simply discuss the topic and being stereotypically Canadian, we considered possible compromises. After the debate, we worked on photo-ID, looking at our photos from Friday. After lunch, we snorkeled the mangroves. Some of us saw a lionfish – an invasive species! We also saw a nurse shark. We then went out to the west side of the island in an attempt to look for dolphins and assess the sea conditions, but it was too rough. So when we arrived back at the hotel, we had a lecture on the invasive lionfish and dolphin senses. We learned invasive species are bad – but apparently tasty! Their spines are venomous, but the meat is safe to eat. In the Atlantic, their reproduction is much faster than in their native Pacific, which is making the problem much worse; plus, they have no natural predators, hunt all day long and host of other factors that are allowing them to thrive here.
Eat Lionfish!
“Aboot ‘em dolphins eh?” UNBSJ 2013