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Over the past six months, algae has spread bloom by bloom across the crumbling tanks of a now-closed marine park called Marineland Antibes on the French Riviera, polluting the waters where more than a dozen marine creatures remain stranded. Two orcas—mother and son—and 12 dolphins, who once leapt for eager audiences, now circle the pools aimlessly, kept alive only by the care of a skeleton crew.
The animals seem doomed by a law intended to save them. The park, which originally opened in the 1970s, was shuttered in January due to new laws passed in France that ban marine mammal captivity and live performances.
Marineland Antibes management reportedly says that the algae in the tanks develops each spring and is regularly removed by brushing, but recent videos shot by drone suggest that no one is taking care of the cleaning.
They may not survive if they don’t find a new home before the year is out.
One video of the 24-year-old mom orca, that humans named Wikie, and her 11-year-old Keijo, gliding through the dirty abandoned pools, began making the rounds online in mid-May, shared by a Canadian marine conservation group called Tide Breakers, whose mission is to free cetaceans from captivity around the world. A more recent video, filmed in July, also shared by the advocacy group, shows workers attempting to patch the crumbling tanks, potentially polluting them even more, not far from where the animals swim.
Similar laws and closures to the one in France have taken effect around the world in recent years—in Europe, India, South Korea, South America, pushed through by marine conservationists and animal rights activists. These changes are driven by a growing understanding of the intelligence and social needs of marine mammals—and the devastating consequences that can result from their captivity. Over a decade has passed since the influential 2013 documentary Blackfish—which tells the story of a SeaWorld orca named Tilikum—brought the plight of these captive creatures to the world.
Since Marineland Antibes closed, almost all of its 4,000 animals—of 150 different species, including sea lions, turtles, and fish—have been relocated. But the two orcas and the dozen bottlenose dolphins remain. The new French law gave parks until December 2026 to find new homes for their animals.
A series of negotiations with sanctuaries and marine zoos around the world, including ones in Spain, Japan, and Canada have fallen through, either because of space restrictions, loose animal welfare standards, or time delays. Wikie and Keijo as well as 10 of the 12 dolphins were reportedly born in captivity and so cannot be released into the wild.
At first, the park aimed to sell the animals to captive dolphin parks in other countries, but various marine conservationists have been working to ensure that they are transferred to sanctuaries instead. One of those advocates is renowned Canadian-American whaling activist Paul Watson, an early pioneer at Greenpeace and founder of marine conservationist group Sea Shepherd. (Watson has worked for 50 years fighting whaling on the high seas and recently spent 150 days in a Danish jail on charges related to interference with a Japanese whaling ship.)
Wikie and Keijo as well as 10 of the 12 dolphins were born in captivity and so cannot be released into the wild.
One plan for the stranded animals involves a sanctuary on a small island in Greece that has not yet been built. This plan is backed by Sea Shepherd France and a number of other conservation groups, including the Jane Goodall Institute, and an informal group of oceanographers, mariners, artists, and entrepreneurs who call themselves the Justice League of the Ocean.
In a proposal submitted to the French Minister of Ecology on March 28 and shared with Nautilus, the Greek non-profit the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, laid out its plan to establish the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary in Vroulia Bay on the northeast tip of Lipsi, which lies 20 miles off the western coast of Turkey. The sanctuary, which has been in the works for six years, would take up to another year to construct, according to the proposal, and would consist of three pens that cover a combined 64,000 square feet of surface area with a maximum depth of 160 feet or more. But that’s just enough room for a maximum of seven dolphins, according to the proposal, which still leaves five dolphins and both orcas stuck drifting in limbo, potentially awaiting euthanasia.
This rescue plan has already faced a number of roadblocks along the way, says Jeremy McKane, a member of the Justice League of the Ocean and an internationally recognized underwater artist and ocean activist. First, removing the animals from France was held up by permitting requirements there, so McKane started “dialing for action,” he says. Those phone calls eventually led him to speak with the famed marine biologist Sylvia Earle just days before she was scheduled to meet with President Emmanuel Macron. After Earle brought the rescue plan to the French premier, he agreed to help make it happen.
“That’s only 50 percent of the problem, though,” McKane says. Though they now reportedly have the support of the French government, the funds to move the animals out of France, and the endorsement of the mayor of Lipsi, they still need the approval of the Greek government.
For now, the project is stuck in the same limbo as the creatures at the marine park: circling, marking time. And even if it is approved, some creatures will be left behind, victims of a law of unintended consequences. 
Lead image: Qaifuldin / Shutterstock
