Chimps is a bit harsh, as is treehuggers. As I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong), the gear pin prevents gear retraction - hardly something likely to bring down a plane, which means more time, which means flying out over the water to dump fuel should have been no problem.
An of course marine biologists are going to be protective of the water - it's their job, and they understand the negative effects of dumping gallons of Jet A on it better than anyone.