14 animals still blocked in the French marine park

OGreen in the past six months, algae have dismissed flowering from flowering through the ruined tanks of a now closed sea park called Marineland Antibes on the French Riviera, polluting the waters where more than a dozen sea creatures remain blocked. Two orcas – the mother and the son – and 12 dolphins, who once jumped for an impatient audience, now surround the aimless pools, kept alive only by the care of a skeletal crew.

Animals seem to be condemned by a law intended to save them. The park, which opened in the 1970s, was closed in January due to new laws adopted in France which prohibit the captivity of marine mammals and live performance.

Marineland Antibes Management would have said that the algae of the tanks are developing each spring and is regularly deleted by brushing, but recent videos shot by drone suggest that no one takes care of cleaning.

They may not survive if they do not find a new house before the end of the year.

A video of the 24-year-old Orca mother, which humans named Wikie, and her Keijo, 11, slipping through the abandoned dirty pools, began to go online in mid-May, shared by a Canadian marine conservation group called Tide Breakers, whose mission is to release cetaceans from the captivity of the world. A more recent video, filmed in July, also shared by the advocacy group, shows that workers try to repair ruined tanks, polluting them potentially even more, not far from where animals swim.

Laws and closings similar to that of France have taken effect in the world in recent years – in Europe, India, South Korea, South America, driven by marine environmentalists and animal rights. These changes are motivated by an increasing understanding of intelligence and social needs of marine mammals – and devastating consequences that can result from their captivity. More than a decade has passed since the influential documentary of 2013 Blackfish – which tells the story of a Seaworld orca named Tilikum – learned the fate of these captive creatures in the world.

Since the closure of Marineland’s antibriques, almost all of its 4,000 animals – out of 150 different species, including sea lions, turtles and fish – have been moved. But the two orcas and the dozen bottles of bottles remain. The new French law gave parks until December 2026 to find new houses for their animals.

A series of negotiations with sanctuaries and sea zoos around the world, including those in Spain, Japan and Canada, are due to space restrictions, standards of bulk well-being in bulk or delays. Wikie and Keijo as well as 10 of the 12 dolphins were born in captivity and could therefore not be released in the wild.

At first, the park aimed to sell animals to captive dolphin parks in other countries, but various marine environmentalists worked to ensure that they are in place in sanctuaries. One of these defenders is the famous Canadian-American activist of Whale Paul Watson, a first pioneer of Greenpeace and founder of the Marine Charité Sea Shepherd group. (Watson worked for 50 years to combat whale hunting in the high seas and recently spent 150 days in a Danish prison in accusations related to interference with a Japanese whale ship.)

Wikie and Keijo as well as 10 of the 12 dolphins were born in captivity and therefore cannot be released in nature.

A plan for blocked animals involves a sanctuary on a small island in Greece which has not yet been built. This plan is supported by Sea Shepherd France and a number of other conservation groups, including the Jane Goodall Institute, and an informal group of oceanographers, sailors, artists and entrepreneurs who say justice League of the Ocean.

In a proposal subject to the French Minister of Ecology on March 28 and shared with NautilusThe Greek for non-profit The Archipelalagos Institute of Marine Conservation, established its plan to establish the sanctuary of Aegean marine life in the bay of Vroulia on the northeast tip of Lipsi, which is 20 miles off the west coast of Turkey. The sanctuary, which has been in preparation for six years, would take up to another year to build, according to the proposal, and consist of three pens which covered 64,000 square feet of surface with a maximum depth of 160 feet or more. But it’s just enough room for a maximum of seven runners, according to the proposal, which still leaves five dolphins and the two orcas stuck in the limbo, potentially awaiting euthanasia.

This rescue plan has already faced a certain number of road dams along the way, explains Jeremy McKane, member of the Justice League of the Ocean and an internationally recognized underwater and ocean activist. First, France’s withdrawal of animals was retained by authorizing the requirements there, then McKane began to “compose the action,” he said. These telephone calls finally led him to speak with the famous Marine Biologist Sylvia Earle only a few days before she met President Emmanuel Macron. After Earle brought the rescue plan to the French Minister, he agreed to help get there.

“This represents only 50% of the problem, however,” explains McKane. Although they now have the support of the French government, the funds to get the animals out of France and the approval of the mayor of Lipsi, they still need the approval of the Greek government.

For the moment, the project is stuck in the same limbo as the creatures of the marine park: turning, marking time. And even if it is approved, certain creatures will be left behind, victims of a law of involuntary consequences.

Lead image: Qaisfuldin / Shutterstock

• Syria Valentin

  Published on July 11, 2025

  Syris Valentine is an independent essayist and journalist by emphasizing climate and social justice. Apart from his newsletter “Just Progress”, his work appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Grist, And elsewhere.