Dolphin Encounters is a natural seawater dolphin facility located on Blue Lagoon Island, (Salt Cay), Nassau, Bahamas. The company started as a rescue facility in 1989. The beach scenes in the movie Splash were taped on Blue Lagoon Island and the facility houses Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, and California sea lions. Dolphin Encounters is owned and operated by a local family. The facility has received a Cacique Award from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. In 2003, Dolphin Encounters and Project B.E.A.C.H. received the Cacique Award from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.HistoryBlue Lagoon Island, a private island previously known as Salt Cay, was used by pirates and privateers in the 19th century. From 1916 to 1979, the island was owned by John T. McCutcheon, an American political cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner. In October 1979, L.A. Meister became the 6th owner.Dolphin Encounters began in Nassau, Bahamas when two dolphins from a closed aquarium were rescued and relocated to a large seawater habitat in Abaco, Bahamas. Soon after, six more dolphins were imported into the facility on Salt Cay. A few years later, the marine park on Blue Lagoon Island opened. In 1995, after a multimillion-dollar expansion, the operation was renamed Dolphin Encounters.Location and facilitiesDolphin Encounters is located on Blue Lagoon Island, 1 mile from Paradise Island and Nassau, Bahamas. The only way to access Dolphin Encounters is by boat. The island encompasses over 3 acres of natural saltwater habitat, research & educational center with classrooms, photo & video lab, gift shops, restaurant, and guest services.
