County issues lease termination notice to Miami Seaquarium

MIAMI – The office of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a lease termination notice to the troubled Miami Seaquarium Thursday.

The notice, authored by county Chief Operations Officer Jimmy Morales, was addressed to Eduardo Albor, the chief executive officer of the facility’s operator, The Dolphin Company.

It said the termination is the result of “numerous and significant violations and defaults” at the Seaquarium.

The county’s action started after a Local 10 News report detailing disturbing findings at the marine park. In early November, the county had given the park 45 days to fix its problems.

“Lessee’s long and troubling history of violations constitute repeated, continuous and longstanding violations of Lessee’s contractual obligations to keep the Property in a good state of repair, maintain animals in accordance with applicable law, and comply with all laws” set forth in the Seaquarium’s lease agreement with the county, the notice states.

The notice states the Seaquarium has failed to live up to a requirement that it “maintain animals in accordance with federal laws and regulations,” citing “several violations” discovered by United States Department of Agriculture inspectors.

It states that the Seaquarium broke a clause requiring the facility be kept “in a good state of repair and in a clean condition,” citing inspections that found “that structures on the Property are unsafe and structurally deficient,” noting that USDA inspections found “structural deficiencies (that) posed serious risks to the animals.”

The notice also references additional defaults to the lease agreement, including non-compliance with building safety requirements, failure to maintain required certifications with organizations like the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and American Humane Association, and said the Seaquarium failed to submit a required “annual report on the implementation of conservation and education programs.”

Lease termination notice:

“Lessee will surrender and deliver possession of the Property back to the Lessor effective no later than April 21, 2024, and return this signed and dated document by March 11, 2024 via certified mail,” the document states.

Advocacy groups celebrated the news, including a representative from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“PETA is elated. We are thrilled,” PETA representative Wendy Fernandez said. “This is history in the making.”

Levine Cava and Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes the Virginia Key-based Seaquarium, held a 2:30 p.m. news conference regarding the termination.

The pair of officials reiterated concerns raised in their lease termination letter and answered several questions about the future of the site and its animals.

Calling the current state of the Miami Seaquarium “unsustainable and unsafe,” Levine Cava said the situation at the marine park was “dire.”

She noted, however, that the park’s roughly 500 animals are property of The Dolphin Company and not the county. It will be up to the company to decide what to do with them.

“The county does not have the ability to intervene at this point, only the U.S. Department of Agriculture can do that,” Levine Cava said.

Regalado, who said the county is “focused on the health and well-being of these animals,” said the company could move them to one of its other parks.

“They do have resources, they could move (the animals) to other sites that they own that are accredited,” she said.

Watch the news conference:

However, in response to a reporter’s question, they said they are preparing for the possibility that the company may abandon the animals.

“We are preparing for every contingency,” Levine Cava said.

As for the county-owned land the Seaquarium sits on, the two officials said it is considered parkland and is subject to charter restrictions and covenants as to how it can be used in the future.

“It’s a long way off,” Regalado said, responding to questions about what will happen to the property.

Seaquarium officials claimed in social media posts that they were being kept from attending the news conference and that they were present at county hall to deliver a response.

“Allow us to comment,” the park wrote on Local 10 News’ Facebook live stream of the news conference.

Levine Cava disputed that and told them they were welcome to attend. No Seaquarium official appeared at the lectern.

“We will stay outside and open to questions from the media,” the Seaquarium posted to X.

Speaking afterward, an animated Dolphin Company CEO Eduardo Albor said he intends to fight the county.

“That is false, we challenge this,” Albor said.

“When you say it is false, you are saying that what federal inspectors put in their inspection reports is incorrect?” Local 10 News reporter Christina Vazquez asked.

“Correct, that is what I am saying,” he replied.

Edwin Gonzalez, in charge of U.S. parks for the Dolphin Company, said it has been making improvements to the facility. He said the changes take time.

“We have been,” Gonzalez said. “I tell everyone, there’s a lot of people who can’t see it because of the previous owners, a lot of stuff in the back end needed improvements: (the) pump system, the water filtration system.”

Meanwhile, the news was distressing to Gonzalez and other Seaquarium staffers.

“I’ve dedicated 30 years of my life to these animals,” Andrew Scullion, the park’s animal management director said. “(We spend) 70, 80 hours a week with our animals that need us. We are there, we drop and put those animals in front of our families’ needs because they are our family. So, yes, this is not just business, this is personal for many of us.”

“I do know there is no violations, said Gonzalez. I’m speaking from my paper. I know what is said.”

Background

In March 2022, Levine Cava’s office celebrated a lease transfer from Palace Entertainment Holdings to MS Leisure Company, inc. – the operating subsidiary of The Dolphin Company.

Since then, the USDA has issued a series of violation warnings, and findings documenting animals hurt and in distress.

The county’s move to terminate the lease follows that series of deeply troubling USDA reports.

In November, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces sent a letter to the Seaquarium in the wake of Local 10 News’ Nov. 1 report documenting USDA’s troubling findings telling Seaquarium leadership that, “The County has determined that the Seaquarium is in violation” of its lease agreement with the county, adding that the USDA, citing “specific violations…..are violations of the Seaquarium’s contractual obligations to maintain animals in accordance with federal laws and regulations and applicable law.”

In the past few months, more disturbing details enumerated by federal inspectors have included a dolphin found with a 2-inch nail in its throat and another wasfound to have multiple rib fractures.

Another dolphin, who has since been transferred to a different facility, was found to have ingested a zip tie, broken plastic and a large piece of cement. There was a manatee covered in algae, parrots missing feathers due to self-plucking psychological distress federal inspectors said, and penguins living in an enclosure with black mold growth and rust, plus high bacteria levels in the sea lion pools.

Local 10′s Christina Vazquez also asked about USDA’s documentation pertaining to the appearance of black mold growth in the penguin enclosure.

You can view what Local 10 News photojournalist Jasmine Roby shot with her cellphone last week by clicking here.

In fact, since December, two animals that USDA noted had “inadequate” veterinary care have died: Sundance the dolphin and Sushi the sea lion.

Several other animals have been transferred out of the Seaquarium’s care, including manatees.

In August, 40-year-old female dolphin Loke and her 5-year-old son Elelo were transferred to The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

At the time the Shedd told Local 10 News they were responding “to an urgent need to provide sanctuary for two Pacific white-sided dolphins…from the Miami Seaquarium living in insufficient environmental conditions.”

Elelo’s father, Li’i, was later transferred to Sea World San Antonio.

The County, which launched several unsafe structures violations, has also stated the facility owes it tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid back rent while some vendors told Local 10 News the Seaquarium has yet to pay them for work already performed.

The Dolphin Company describes itself as a park operator “with a worldwide presence and the #1 Dolphin Company in the world. Thirty-one Parks and Dolphin Habitats, located in 8 countries and 2 continents, bring the Experience of a Lifetime to more than 2 million visitors each year.”

In December Miami-Dade County issued the Dolphin Company a new default notice after USDA inspectors in November found that the Miami Seaquarium “still lacks a sufficient number of adequately trained employees.”

In September, the Seaquarium bypassed a comprehensive on-site audit by International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) inspectors when it chose not to renew its accreditation.

The marine park also lost its American Humane Association certification. On its website, the Miami Seaquarium lists the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums as its last remaining accreditation.

And just last month, the Miami Seaquarium’s sole remaining veterinarian resigned.

Local 10 News reporter Samiar Nefzi contributed to this story.