Rebecca García Camps, Dominican Republic
I have always loved dolphins since I was a kid. I would see them from time to time. My dad and I used to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to go snorkelling to different beaches around the bay of Ocoa in the Dominican Republic and at that time we would see bottlenose dolphins.
They used to play with the boat. It’s amazing how they interact when they are free in the ocean and how they soar out of the water!
They just seem carefree. I once saw a group of ten dolphins do a line and at the same time they all started swimming really fast, it looked like if they were doing a race.
Every time I see them I cannot hold in my smile; they bring me ultimate happiness.
I haven’t seen them in the bay for a while, I really hope that I can have an encounter with them again. I know that they are there and I do everything in my power to protect them.
I’m part of a group called Rescue The Bay, we are trying to remove a group of ships that carry liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). These ships illegally use the bay as a port.
Sometimes there are 10 tankers at the same time, with their engines constantly running and that creates noise pollution. They also anchor themselves, ruining the ecosystem that lies below.
With Rescue The Bay we have gone on television and on meetings with politicians to try to resolve this issue. Now there are less ships but we will not stop until there are none.
I also teach kids in the community about the importance of these animals and their intelligence. The more they know, the more they are going to protect these marine mammals.
