There are many things that could be considered “over the top” at The Palm Resort Atlantis Hotel in Dubai.  The gazillion dollar resort is built on a completely man-made group of islands known as the Palm Islands.   Fashioned to resemble a palm leaf, the island is the result of a United Arab Emirates  initiative to utilize state wealth to expand developable shorelines and to provide a place for the richest people of the world to retreat for a little rest and relaxation.   To many around the world, the opulence  is an in-your-face reminder that most of the countries of the world are exporting massive amounts of hard-earned money in exchange for oil; which is then used by the oil-rich countries for boondoggles like Palm Island.  Now, the resort is getting even more pressure because of Sammy the Whale Shark.

The shallow waters around the man-made Palm Island are not very conducive to the survival of a migratory species like the whale shark.  In August of last year, a small female whale shark was spotted near the island and fishermen feared that the animal was in distress due to water conditions.  The owners of the Palm Atlantis resort responded by capturing the shark and placing it in the gigantic lagoon at the hotel.  From the beginning, they promised to simply provide the shark with a protected place to recover from the stress and to provide around-the-clock protection and medical care.  From the moment of capture, they insisted that the shark would be released.

Pressure is now building for the hotel to do exactly as they have promised.  Officials from wildlife preservation organizations all over the world say that the risk of releasing the animal now are far smaller than the continued risk of maintaining the shark in this captive environment.  However, there is fear that the resort is moving extremely slow on the promise because the visitors to the hotel simply love seeing this majestic animal.  Simply put, the Sammy the Whale Shark is good for business.

While resort management claims that the circumstances around the capture were necessary because of  the immediate stress that the shark was experiencing, some employees of the resort say that management intended to capture a whale shark all along.  Regardless of the motives and no matter what the current circumstances are, support for immediate release is building.  We will provide updates as more information is released about this situation.

Phil Ellis

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