The long weekends and the holiday season are drawing large
crowds to Kalpitiya to watch the antics of the diving dolphins.
It seems that the dolphins sensing they are the centre of
attraction of thousands of spectators are performing their incredible and
amazing acts of rapid dives and graceful movement through the water to thrill
the visitors.
The dolphin season usually ends by the middle of May with
the advent of strong winds in the North-Western regions. It begins again in
September. Wildlife Department officials say the income earned through the sale
of admission tickets has doubled. Assistant wild life range officer N.C. Dissanayake
said the department has three offices at Illanthadiya, Kandakkuliya and Kudawa
in Kalpitiya where tickets are sold for viewing Dolphins. Dolphins and Whales
are considered as endangered species of fish and protected under the second
schedule of the Flora and Fauna Act and regulations are in place for their
safety.
As such no vessels are allowed any closer than 50 meters of
the dolphins and no closer than 100 meters of the whales. The visitors are also
prohibited from feeding these fish.
Tourists are charged US$8 while for locals its Rs.20 each.
Illanthadiya Tourist Boat Owners Association Vice President
Sanjeewa Fernando who is also an active member of the dolphin viewing centre
confirmed that the boats used for the transportation of spectators are very
safe and only six people are allowed on a boat. Every person travelling in
these boats are provided with a safety jacket and owners of each boat are
issued with a certificate of training by the Oceanography University.
More than one thousand families depend on the Dolphins and
Whales for their livelihood and the presence of Dolphins and Whales is an asset
to the ocean and therefore it is of paramount importance to protect them.
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