at Grotto Bay, are once again set to appear here.

The Southampton Princess Hotel yesterday announced plans to introduce a year-round attraction featuring the popular marine mammals beginning next year.

Not so much a show as a learning experience, visitors will be able to see the dolphins in their natural habitat and learn about marine conservation.

The education approach to marine entertainment was developed by Marine Quest, a non-profit US organisation.

Pioneered by veterinarians, Dr. Jay Sweeney and Dr. Rae Stone, Marine Quest turned to hotel resorts to provide a larger and more natural environment than traditional dolphinariums.

"Coastal resort properties like the Southampton Princess have access to large bodies of ideal marine habitats for our dolphins,'' Dr. Stone told a press conference.

"This turned out to be a perfect marriage.'' Preparations are underway to create a four-acre pen at Whaler Inn Bay which will reach up to the beach. A flotation system is to be installed consisting of linked fencing anchored to the seabed.

The dolphins will be taken out to the reef off South Shore on a regular basis by their trainers to give them an opportunity to interact with their natural environment.

Dr. Stone emphasised there would be no harmful impact on local marine species because contact with the dolphins will be limited. Moreover, Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins are an indiginous species to Bermudian waters, she said.

Emphasis is placed on the educational aspect of the programme. Visitors will be able to touch and observe close-up the six to eight Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, which are to be brought from the US.

"People are fascinated by dolphins'', said Dr. Stone. "They want to experience what they feel like, how smart they are and how they communicate''.

The Bermuda Biological Station and the Aquarium are to collaborate with Marine Quest to provide new educational programmes especially aimed at children.

"Visitors to Bermuda are well-educated and well-traveled and are looking for such a rare opportunity to learn something new and exciting'' Dr. Stone said.

Mr. Stephen Barker, regional vice-president of the Princess Hotels, said the programme will further enhance Bermuda's reputation as a world-class destination as well as providing local job opportunities.

Profits are to be ploughed back into research projects aimed at protecting the local marine environment. Eventually, Marine Quest hopes to establish a long-term breeding programme of Bluenose dolphins, now threatened by commercial fishing enterprises and diminishing food supplies.