miami seaquarium

Three black-footed penguins named Daisy, Blueberry and Tinker wobbled outside their enclosure Sunday and found an unusually robust crowd of several dozen people waiting. It was the last day of the Miami Seaquarium, a South Florida landmark for 70 years, and residents came for a final glimpse of the beloved animals that reminded them of childhood

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA supporters and allies from SoFlo Animal Rights said they will gather outside the marine park at noon Sunday to serve champagne and mark the closure of what PETA has labeled an "abusement park." The marine theme park first opened in 1955.

One magazine called developer David Martin the “King of Miami.” Now, a deal in front of a bankruptcy judge might grant him another title of nobility: ‘King of the Rickenbacker.” For some Key Biscayne leaders, that’s not necessarily a bad thing — as they reacted mostly positively to news that Martin is planning a takeover of the Miami Seaquarium, the one-time home of the 1960s TV’s “Flipper” and, Lolita, the killer whale.

The agreement will see Miami-based development firm Terra Group assume the lease, with a goal of modernizing the Virginia Key property, said Miam-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado.

County lawyers are pressing for a swift decision, saying the park’s new owners don’t have the financial means to care for animals because they are battling with former Dolphin Company CEO Eduardo Albor over control of the international network of marine tourist attractions.

Saying it faces ongoing cash problems in bankruptcy, the new managers of the Miami Seaquarium want the legal authority to quickly sell hundreds of marine mammals without requiring court approval for each sale, which could involve closing many parks.

Fearing for the safety of animals and finding the former Dolphin Company CEO, Eduardo Albor is defying her orders, a U.S. bankruptcy judge imposed sanctions of $10,000 a day on him.

The ousted former CEO of the company that owned Miami Seaquarium concocted a “scheme” to divert sales revenue into a separate company contrary to a U.S. bankruptcy judge’s order, a court filing alleges.

After gaining control of several marine tourist attractions, the new owners of the Miami Seaquarium are asking to put all Dolphin Company businesses up for sale.

A dense web of offshore corporations, complex international law, and a defiant CEO are clouding the future of the Miami Seaquarium, where a new, lender-appointed management team is trying to wrest control and cut a deal with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniela Levine Cava, court records show.

It's the latest chapter in an iconic tourist attraction that has become the focus of protests over alleged animal mistreatment. Miami-Dade County officials have been trying to terminate the Seaquarium’s lease, alleging nonpayment.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office said a judge’s ruling will not deter the County from evicting Miami Seaquarium from its Biscayne Bay location.