No More Dolphins at Miami Seaquarium?

No more dolphins at Miami Seaquarium? Under a proposed development deal filed in federal bankruptcy court, the property would be redeveloped and modernized, with no more marine mammals kept in captivity.

According to the Miami Herald, the plan, released on September 26 by local developer David Martin, would see the property transformed into a destination complete with restaurants, shops, a marina, an event space, and a saltwater aquarium. The family-friendly attraction would also feature an educational component, without the use of live dolphins.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Cava’s statement on Miami Seaquarium. Credit: X, 9-26-25

“Phew…finally” ~ Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project

Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project has spent decades campaigning against the Miami Seaquarium’s use of captive dolphins. It’s been a difficult – and painful – fight, given that O’Barry himself worked at the facility as a dolphin trainer and diver in the 1960s. Among the dolphins he trained were the ones who starred in the TV show Flipper, as well as Hugo, the first orca kept in captivity east of the Mississippi River. By the time O’Barry founded Dolphin Project on Earth Day 1970 – which has become the longest-running anti-captivity dolphin welfare organization in the world – he was fully committed to ending the barbaric practice of keeping these sentient mammals in captivity.

Ric O’Barry with Hugo, Miami Seaquarium

Background

In August 2023, Lolita (also known as Tokitae), the most famous orca in captivity, and the subject of a decades-long, global movement to retire her to a seaside sanctuary, died at Miami Seaquarium.

In 2024, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Cava launched eviction proceedings against the facility, after a number of USDA inspections raised serious allegations related to the care and handling of the dolphins and other mammals.

The following year, in March 2025, the owner/operator of Miami Seaquarium, The Dolphin Company filed for bankruptcy.

Japan Dolphins Day, Miami, 2016

If this deal is approved, the remaining dolphins would likely be relocated to other Dolphin Company-owned facilities. But at least, Miami Seaquarium’s practice of keeping dolphins in captivity would finally come to a permanent end.

LEARN MORE and TAKE ACTION FOR DOLPHINS 

Sources used in this blog:

Miami Seaquarium set to close under development deal for marina, restaurants, Miami Herald, 9-26-25
Lease Termination Notice Issued to Miami Seaquarium, Dolphin Project, 3-7-24
Ongoing Serious Concerns at Miami Seaquarium, Dolphin Project, 10-27-23
One Dolphin’s Story – Hugo, Dolphin Project, 8-2-15

Featured image: Miami Seaquarium main entrance, credit: By Pietro (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons