Last week’s fiasco involving environmentalist, Dr. Peter Vine raises interesting questions. Vine was thrown into the sea after boarding a barge involved in soil testing surveys in the Gulf of Paria.

Following the incident Guardian columnist, Attillah Springer wrote, “We’re killing Flipper and nobody cares.  But an unarmed physicist gets thrown into the sea.”

She further admonished, “Chances are, if you’re killing Flipper you either don’t know or don’t care that dolphins are protected under the 2000 Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region."

"But everybody has to eat a food.  So Flipper and his brothers and sisters will continue to get slaughtered.  And physicists will be man-handled for daring to ensure that the laws of this country are upheld.”

The popular view on the issue thus far appears to be tipped in Springer’s favour that the treatment Vine received was barbaric, primitive, uncivilized and inhumane.

While we support environmentalists in the struggle to preserve the environment, the humanitarian perspective voiced over the handling of Dr. Vine in our view demonstrates a general lack of understanding of the laws of the sea.  Moreover, while it may be argued that Flipper is protected under the 2000 Protocol, Dr. Vine is not.

It is unfortunate that the fishermen who supported Vine in this exercise did not warn him of the rules at sea.  Yes, the oceans are there for us all to enjoy but you cannot board a vessel without due authorization.  Such unauthorized visits would/could be treated in much the same way as an unwanted/uninvited guest walking into ones living room, which is not an unreasonable safety precaution considering the perils of the sea.

By his actions, Dr. Vine unwittingly violated the laws of the sea and as such may have been seen by those on board the vessel as a hostile visitor, in which case the treatment meted out to him was by no means extreme or excessive.

Occurences like these beg the question just how informed is our populace about the laws, treaties and the crime fighting initiatives used to secure our coastline?