Dolphin Docks

I don’t know what that other reviewer’s problem is but I had a great time. She sounds like a PETA nazi. The animals are treated with great care and respect and the handler identifies all the fish in the net and only let’s you touch the safe ones. The dolphins weren’t even all that active the day I went but I had a blast. Just goes to show negative people will take the most pleasant experience and trash it. The dock crew was really friendly and created a very nice excursion for us. Their business doesn’t deserve to be bashed. All the passengers were thanking and tipping the crew when we left. I’ve been telling everyone I know they should go.

I took the «Eco Tour» at noon on the 26^th of December. Seeing as it was marketed as an Ecology tour and I am not from Texas, I was excited to learn more about the area and the animals that live here. I was sorely disappointed.
The ecology portion of the tour was dropping a net from the back of the boat and seeing what marine creatures we could catch and put into a large plastic tub filled with two buckets of water. On the day I went, we got two pufferfish and a starfish.
The pufferfish were then passed around the tourists for pictures. They were forcibly puffed up, then held out of the water for minutes on end, ignoring their obvious discomfort and fear. When I voiced my concern and asked if we could return them at least to the tub if not the sea, I was told no, and not to worry since they can survive out of the water for 20 minutes.
That didn’t really satisfy me. They can survive, sure, but nonetheless they’re unable to breathe. You wouldn’t approve of that treatment of animals if it was a pet. Why approve of it if it’s a fish?
We then motored around the lagoon with the fish in the tub, unsupervised, with kids picking them up for pictures again and again. (As they can bite off a finger according to google, I would at least have required supervision for the children.) At the end, they were dumped out the side of the boat while we were going quickly.
At the least, we got to see lots of dolphins, who were happy to swim around and under the boat. However, I learned nothing about the ecology of the area, and was disturbed by the utter lack of respect for the animals that live here.
Needless to say, I won’t be coming back.

We took the mid-​day dolphin eco-​cruise when we were on the island for Thanksgiving. The weather was great and we really enjoyed the cruise. We saw many dolphin.
They call this an eco cruise because they drag a small net behind the boad (similar to a shrimp net). The deckhand pulls the net and dumps what they catch into a small tank. You can touch and learn about some of the critters in the Laguna Madre.
This cruise is excellent for kids and families. The crew was great! The captain let each of the kids take a turn piloting the boat. A great photo opportunity — lots of happy smiling kids.
The cruise was about two hours and, for the price, was great. Highly recommended.