Swim with dolphins and sharks in Bahamas

Planet

Bimini has some of the most beautiful marine wildlife including Bottlenose dolphins, hammerhead sharks, grey nurse sharks, lemon sharks, reef sharks, manta rays, spotted ray, manatees and of course our main attraction the atlantic spotted dolphins! We encourage our guests to respect the wildlife and we like to also lead by example. Some of these examples include..
-We follow responsible guidelines for whale watching that have been developed with the encouragement of local communities, local commercial operators, and the media.
-We not do chase or harass the dolphins and we minimize disturbance
-We position the catamaran in close proximity to the dolphin pod, then turn off the engine and it's up to the animals to then approach us, being very curious animals this doesn’t take much waiting ;)
-Maximum experience with minimum impact
-Encourage guests to use established paths and respect all wildlife
-Ensure we don't disturb the balance of marine environment by disposing of rubbish correctly
-We donate a portion of each tour to a non for profit research organisation - The Dolphin Project, dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide. Founded by Ric O’Barry. Dolphin Project aims to educate the public on conservation of these animals and highlight the major issues of captivity, exploitation and slaughter of dolphins.

We like to reduce waste to keep the beautiful Bahamian environment free of pollution in their waterways and land. Here are some examples...
-Minimize pollution by keeping the smallest footprint possible
-Take all rubbish and use existing toilets
-We urge our guests to keep the ocean free of plastic and waste
-Avoid using plastic bottles and we provide every guests with a water flask
-We don't use plastic straws or cutlery and supply each guest with a travel sustainable cutlery pack
-Throughout the tour, guests will learn and be educated on respect and conservation of both the marine life and the environment within the islands
-We work electronically and encourage the guests not to print. Instead we ask them to download itineraries and trip bulletins to their devices.

We debrief our guests on the importance of water saving while on tour. When in hotels we encourage them to reuse towels where possible and only do clothes washing whenever you really need to. Guests are also encouraged to conserve energy by turning off lights when not in the rooms.. We always recommend that our guests fly carbon neutral and are aware of trying to keep transport to a minimum when designing our tours. We do this by doing all our activities in Bimini and also transferring people in minimum groups of 4/5 minimum wherever possible. We like to ensure the that suppliers we use are environmentally aware and do their part to protect the environment. We send them our mission statement to show them our values and encourage them to make a positive difference.

People

We have done a lot of research on the beautiful island of Bimini, and have visited many local places, so we like to make sure our guests really get to know the place and support local as much as they can and spread tourism to those in need. Some examples of how we do this are...
-Meals are sourced organically and locally whenever possible
-While on tour daily trips out on the catamaran with the dolphins we catch our own fish and lobster fresh for lunches. We also collect fresh Conch straight from the seas for fresh conch salads.
-Our trip bulletin includes examples of places guests can visit pre and post tour to support local

One of the issues happening in Bimini is a Malaysian Resort Company wanting to start dredging off the coast of Bimini. The Environmental group Blue Coalition have won a small temporary victory to critics who say the project is damaging the delicate underwater environment in a prized diving and sport fishing destination. It was ruled that Resorts World Bimini, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based casino company Genting Group, had skirted sufficient environmental review and permitting with the Bahamian national government’s blessing, therefore dredging has now ceased. We have signed petitions to try and stop this and also support the small businesses in any way we can.

We aim to support charities for each tour that we do. For Bimini/ Bahamas we are supporting a charity called The Dolphin Project. They support conservation of all Dolphins. As we contract other businesses for each portion of our tour, we do not personally hire staff except for our own guides and admin. We do however use companies that treat their staff very fairly ,hire local whenever possible and we voice our opinion if we feel that anyone has been treated unfairly.

We absolutely support the local arts and culture by….
-We encourage guests to visit local museums and galleries
-We encourage guests to buy local produce and locally handmade souvenirs such as the local arts and crafts
-To lead by example, we ourselves also purchase local arts and crafts

It is so important for us to respect all locals and all cultures whilst travelling. We also encourage our guests to do the same. It’s only polite to respect the people and countries you visit.