SAN DIEGO — SeaWorld officials publicly shared their plans to double the size of their park’s killer whale tank in front of the Mission Bay Advisory Committee Tuesday night.
The Blue World Project expansion will cost an estimated $100 million and would increase the orca tank’s volume to 10 million gallons of water, according to Mike Scarpuzzi, Vice President of Zoological operations at SeaWorld San Diego. The tank will be 350-feet long.
The move comes on the heels of a plunge in SeaWorld’s attendance, its stock and an outgoing CEO.
SeaWorld has also been the target of criticism over the release of the movie “Black Fish” which raises questions about the park’s treatment of its killer whales.
It’s why some groups like PETA believe the move to build a new tank is an attempt at improving SeaWorld’s image.
“It’s a desperate attempt,” said Matt Bruce with PETA.
But plans for the project have been in the works for years, according to SeaWorld officials.
“It’s a coincidence, it has nothing to do with everything that’s going on,” said Scarpuzzi, “We aren’t doing this because the whales aren’t happy, they are very happy.”
SeaWorld plans to increase the number of its whales through its breeding program after the new tank is built, Scarpuzzi said.
“We hope they continue to reproduce,” said Scarpuzzi.
SeaWorld’s next step will be to obtain a permit from the San Diego Coastal Commission.
If it does, park officials plan to break ground on the project before the end of 2015 and have it open for visitors by 2018.
