When Marine Parks Close: The Whales and Dolphins Left Behind

The short answer: when a marine park closes, captive whales and dolphins are moved to other facilities, moved to a sanctuary if one exists, or, in the worst cases, stay in their tanks for months while owners and governments argue. They cannot simply be released. Here are a few recent cases, and why none of them was as simple as it sounds.

Marineland Antibes, France

Marineland Antibes, on the French Riviera, closed in early January 2025. The park blamed a French law from 2021 that bans shows with cetaceans, and said about 90 percent of its visitors came for the orca and dolphin performances. Most of the roughly 4,000 animals in the park were moved elsewhere. But the two orcas, Wikie and her son Keijo, and a group of bottlenose dolphins stayed. Both orcas were born in the park.

Nobody had made a plan for them. Video released in May 2025 showed pools covered in green algae. In February 2026, a team of experts named by a court found the concrete tanks in serious structural decline, and said the orcas would have to be euthanised if they were not moved soon.

A sea sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, was the hoped-for solution, but it has not been built. In June 2026 the group held a groundbreaking ceremony, yet the provincial lease was still unsigned, federal permits were still needed, and no marine park had committed any animals. In May 2026 the French government said the sanctuaries in Canada, Greece and Italy could not take the animals in time for the emergency, and Loro Parque in Tenerife was proposed instead. Animal welfare groups criticised the choice. Spain’s scientific evaluation agency had earlier found that the pools there did not meet minimum standards for area, volume and depth. As of August 2026 the transfer was still unresolved, because Spain had to authorise it. I could not confirm that the move has happened, so please check the latest news.

Marineland Canada

Marineland in Canada closed to the public in September 2024, with 30 belugas and four dolphins still in its care. It said it could not afford to keep them. Twenty whales, one orca and 19 belugas, have died there since 2019, according to a count by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements. In January 2026 the Canadian fisheries minister gave conditional approval to export the animals to the United States. She had earlier refused permits to send them to China, because she would not subject them to a future of performing in captivity.

Some of the belugas then arrived at an aquarium in Chicago in summer 2026, and local news later reported deaths among them. I have not been able to check the details myself, so I will only say this: moving animals from one tank to another is never free of risk. You can read more in our story about the belugas.

Gulf World, Florida

Gulf World Marine Park, in Panama City Beach, closed on 27 May 2025. Its owner, The Dolphin Company, had filed for bankruptcy protection two months before. Local reports say a fifth dolphin died at the park within eight months, and that the Florida Attorney General opened a criminal investigation. The remaining dolphins were moved: four rough-toothed dolphins went to an aquarium in Clearwater, and seven bottlenose dolphins went to two facilities owned by the same company. Every case is different, but the pattern repeats. Closing is easy. Caring for the animals afterwards is the hard part.

Can whales and dolphins from a closed park go back to the sea?

Sometimes a sanctuary is possible. Two belugas, Little White and Little Grey, were flown from a park in Shanghai to a sea sanctuary in Iceland in 2019. The SEA LIFE Trust, which runs it, publishes updates on how they are doing, and those are the best place for the latest news.

But a sea sanctuary is slow to build and hard to get right. The Nova Scotia project has cost estimates of 15 million dollars to build and 1.5 million a year to run, and its first whales were once expected around 2023. Researchers warn that sanctuaries are not the simple answer they seem, and that finding homes for whales and dolphins when parks close is difficult.

The reason is biology. Animals born in tanks, or kept there for decades, often lack the skills, the fitness and the immunity to survive in the wild. Releasing them can harm them. So the real solution is further upstream: fewer animals bred for shows, and fewer tickets sold to see them.

The ethical layer: where our money goes

Where we spend our money influences which parks stay open and which animals are bred. France’s 2021 law shows that rules can change. It also shows that a law without a plan for the animals leaves a gap someone has to fill. I do not want to preach. People visit these parks for many reasons, often with children, and with good intentions. I only want you to know what happens after the last show.

If you want to meet whales and dolphins, choose a licensed boat that watches wild animals from a distance, and ask questions before you book. That is how we plan every Ocean Calling trip, and why we do not visit marine parks. Wildlife encounters are unpredictable. Whale and dolphin watching should always follow local regulations and experienced professional guidance. You can read about wild orcas and belugas in our Ocean Atlas, or our guide to ethical swimming with dolphins.

A little preparation helps too. A tropical travel kit with a refill bottle keeps a trip lighter and cleaner for the places you visit. A roll-top dry bag keeps your phone dry on a boat day, so you can put it away and simply watch. Travel always has an environmental cost, and flying to see wildlife is part of it, so we try to choose fewer, slower trips.

If this made you curious about meeting whales in the wild, you can explore our upcoming retreats: small groups of six at most, with local operators who never chase, touch or bait wildlife.

Questions people ask

Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed and never forced. Ocean Calling works only with vetted, ethical local operators, and every animal is given the freedom to approach, or not, entirely on its own terms.