Gulf World Marine Park Under Investigation

At the direction of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a search warrant has been executed at Gulf World Marine Park, in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Triggered by escalating concerns surrounding the deaths of four dolphins within a span of six months, along with allegedly deteriorating living conditions, on March 27 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other agencies launched an investigation into the marine park.

As reported by the Panama City News Herald, FWC Public Affairs Officer Christopher Boley stated: “The (FWC) takes the health and welfare of all wildlife, including Florida’s marine mammals, very seriously. Due to growing concern about the sanitation and condition of the aquatic enclosures, as well as the well-being of captive bottlenose dolphins at Gulf World Marine Park, FWC has joined partner agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of the facility.”

Attorney General Uthmeier “X” post 3-27-25

Gulf World Marine Park was founded in 1969 by a group of five local businessmen. The first dolphins to perform there were wild-caught from the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico). In 2015, the park was acquired by the Dolphin Discovery Group — under the umbrella of multinational corporation The Dolphin Company.

According to nonprofit organization Ceta-Base, a total of 12 dolphins reside at the park, including eight bottlenose dolphins and four rough-toothed dolphins. In October 2024, three bottlenose dolphins died within a span of eight days: one mammal was euthanized (Gus, male, born in 2009; died Oct. 4), one succumbed to lung disease (Turk, male, born in 2009; died Oct. 7) and another from undetermined causes (Nate, male, born in 2004; died Oct. 11). Then, on March 1 of this year, Jett, a male bottlenose dolphin died from trauma associated with an acute skull fracture. According to multiple witnesses, while performing a jump, Jett hit the shallow end of the pool, allegedly head-first. (Source: Panama City News Herald.)

During a routine inspection by the United States Department of Agriculture — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA) on January 8, 2025, a number of issues of concern were cited. Amongst these:

• multiple primary enclosures housing marine mammals were in disrepair,
• lack of shade in key areas, makes it necessary for the dolphins to face the sunlight while bringing their heads up out of the water to feed during the show, and during guest interactions,
• facility did not have the required testing supplies and due to funding was not able to test for coliforms as per regulations,
• impaired water filtration, with no working filter for dolphin east pool (which went down on November 13, 2024) and 50% functioning of filter for dolphin west pool,
• an abundance of algae growth in multiple dolphin pools, resulting in reduced visibility of the dolphins in all the pools, and,
• in the three months prior to inspection, the facility lost six maintenance employees and seven animal care employees — evidence that the facility does not have enough employees to maintain the prescribed level of husbandry practices.

With such a high number of critical failures, the remaining animals at Gulf World Marine Park need immediate attention to address their potential suffering and possible future deaths. As this is an ongoing investigation, Dolphin Project will update once further information becomes available.

Featured image: Wild-caught bottlenose dolphin will spend the remainder of its life in a concrete cage. Credit: DolphinProject.com