SeaWorld won praise when it stopped breeding killer whales, but Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby admits that alone won’t rescue the company from rough waters in the near future.
“I think it’s still going to be a bumpy recovery,” Manby said Monday. “But I am really, really confident in the plans we have in place.”
Manby talked with the Orlando Sentinel about those plans, aimed at making SeaWorld Entertainment known for conservation rather than controversy. SeaWorld’s stock, attendance and profit have all suffered after the 2013 anti-captivity documentary “Blackfish.”
SeaWorld is focusing on lower prices, more thrill rides and animal issues. It also plans to open its own hotels — something Manby admits the company is “many years behind the trend” on.
Since SeaWorld announced last month it will phase out its orcas, its stock has risen more than 20 percent. The stock spiked in March and the price has remained stable this month.
Deciding to end breeding was ” a very complicated issue that took a lot of research and a lot of debate with the board,” Manby said. “This was a six-month debate. You don’t have everyone supporting you internally. The board was very, very supportive, but inside the company some people disagreed with it, and so that was hard.”
Several of SeaWorld’s top people — including its primary spokesman, chief parks operations officer, chief zoological officer and former president of the Orlando park — have departed in the last few months. Last week former CEO Jim Atchison stepped down from the board of directors.
After becoming CEO in April 2015, Manby said he had polling done. The results were clear: Mainstream America no longer approved of orcas in theme-park tanks.
The Ringling Bros. circus responded to similar societal shifts when it announced last year it would end elephant shows. After that, Manby said, “all the effort went on SeaWorld; all the fundraising for PETA, all the attacks went to us.”
Those attacks will continue. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — which wants the orcas released to sea pens — last week released a new anti-SeaWorld ad featuring actress Lily Tomlin.
Others have applauded Manby.
“I think phasing out the breeding program is a big step and he deserves kudos for that,” said Jeff Ventre, a former SeaWorld trainer who turned against captivity and appeared in “Blackfish.”
The Humane Society of the United States also backs SeaWorld’s decision. On Monday, the two organizations sponsored ads in national newspapers calling for an end to commercial whaling. The two will also work on trying to end shark finning. Other issues facing the oceans include whales and dolphins dying because they get caught in fishermen’s nets, Manby said.
“Isn’t that really the real enemy of the wild?” he said. “Isn’t that what’s really going to disrupt the species — not 29 orcas under human care treated incredibly well?”
Manby even suggested that there might once again be demand for orcas in captivity as wild ones face more threats.
“I think 100 years from now or 200 years from now, people will be begging organizations like SeaWorld to do what they’re doing with orcas as well, because they’re already going extinct off the coast of Washington, there’s PCB problems off the coast of England,” he said.
“Today, frankly, you go to our orca show, you don’t leave knowing about the plight of orcas. It’s entertaining but it’s not educational. I think we need to do both.”
spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5240
