More 'Blackfish' Effect? SeaWorld to End Orca Show as We Know It in San Diego

Gwynne Watkins
·Writer, Yahoo Entertainment
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‘Blackfish’ (Magnolia Pictures)

Looks like SeaWorld is taking further measures to repair its image in the wake of the 2013 documentary Blackfish. The aquatic theme park has announced plans to phase out its longstanding “Shamu” orca show in San Diego, which will be replaced by a new orca attraction in 2017. According to SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby, the new show featuring the park’s 11 orcas (also known as killer whales) will be staged in a “more natural setting,” with a “conservation message inspiring people to act.” Manby did not mention whether the killer whale shows at SeaWorld’s two other locations, in Orlando and San Antonio, would also be changed.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, attendance has been down at all SeaWorld locations since the 2013 release of Blackfish, with the San Diego park seeing the biggest decline. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Oscar-nominated documentary (available on Netflix) was inspired by the February 2010 killing of a SeaWorld trainer by an orca during a performance in Orlando. The film blame the behavior of the bull orca Tilikum, which has been involved in three deaths, on the stress that orcas experience when they are kept in captivity.

SeaWorld has condemned the movie and taken some PR measures to rectify the damage done to its image, including the website SeaWorld Cares. However, the parks have taken a financial hit, including the loss of some corporate sponsors, and legislation has been placed in motion at both the state and federal level to end the captive breeding of orcas (which have long been SeaWorld’s signature attraction).

In an interview with Yahoo Movies last year, the Blackfish director criticized SeaWorld for not addressing the issues in the film. “The problem with their business model is how can you truly take care of an animal — how can you care about he welfare of an animal and the people that work with that animal — when the show always has to go on?” said Cowperthwaite.

Tilikum, the whale who was the main subject of Blackfish, was still performing at SeaWorld as of August.

Watch the ‘Blackfish’ trailer: