Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach and two other Florida-based dolphinariums have been listed for sale.
The Gulf World property was listed on Loopnet, a commercial real estate site, on 15 July. The Miami Seaquarium and the Marineland Dolphin Adventure in St. Augustine were listed on 17 July.
None of the facilities have listed sale prices. However, Gulf World is assessed to be worth just over $2.3 million, while Marineland and the Miami Seaquarium‘s total assessments are $4.5m and $45.6m respectively.
Via the listings, Gulf World consists of 7.98 acres of land, while the Miami Seaquarium and Marineland properties are made up of 38 acres and 6.06 acres respectively.
All three properties are owned by the Dolphin Company, which declared bankruptcy on 31 March “due to numerous financial and operational issues”, it said in a statement also regarding the Gulf World closure.
“Prior to the bankruptcy filing, Gulf World experienced years of neglect by the company’s previous Mexico-based management team,” it added.
The Dolphin Company bankruptcy filing
The bankruptcy filing came after Gulf World Marine Park was raided by US law enforcement and wildlife officials due to animal welfare concerns and the deaths of five dolphins in less than a year.
The raid was in response to “concerning reports related to the sanitation and condition of aquatic enclosures and the health and welfare of captive bottlenose dolphins” at Gulf World, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a statement.
In January, the Marineland theme park in Antibes, France closed down due to a 2021 law banning live shows with dolphins and whales in the country.
In recent years, travel companies like Thomas Cook, Tripadvisor, British Airways and Expedia have cut ties with attractions featuring captive cetaceans.
According to its website, the Dolphin Company operates more than 30 marine parks and dolphin habitats in eight countries.
