One year since Gulf World Marine Park’s closure: a look at what happened

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - It has been exactly one year since an iconic landmark in Panama City Beach shut down for good: Gulf World Marine Park.

For more than five decades, the marine park was a staple in Panama City Beach. But in March 2025, everything changed.

Bottlenose dolphin Jett died March 1, 2025, during a public show. Reports say he died from acute head trauma.

Local, state, and federal agencies opened a criminal investigation into Gulf World’s parent company, The Dolphin Company.

Inspection reports from the United States Department of Agriculture repeatedly flagged two major concerns: poor water quality and deteriorating structures, including six inches of algae in dolphin pools and broken water filters.

“The USDA does nothing more than document these conditions, and despite us sounding the alarm of the filtration system being broken, and getting images of just how truly deplorable the conditions were they still didn’t do anything, and it wasn’t until FWC got involved that things really were taken seriously about the level of neglect that was happening,” said Valerie Greene, former dolphin trainer and animal welfare advocate.

The Dolphin Company filed for bankruptcy on March 31st, and on May 27th, reports show Dolphin Samira died after ingesting concrete flooring.

Samira’s death marked the fifth dolphin to die in eight months at Gulf World.

“This never should have happened. Five dead dolphins in eight months makes Gulf World one of the deadliest facilities in the United States for dolphins,” said Greene.

On May 28th of last year, Gulf World posted on Facebook that it would close through the end of the week and reopen on June 3rd. But that reopening never happened.

That was the last time Gulf World had guests at the park.

“It was a truly cooperative effort between activists, between former trainers, elected officials, everybody was working together with the common goal, everybody understood that this was not acceptable, and it had to end,” said Greene.

By the end of the summer, all the animals were moved to other facilities.

Gulf world ended with empty pools and lives forever changed.

We asked Greene what she would say to the five dolphins that died if she could. “I would say we tried, we tried our best, and we could not help you, but we helped your friends, we got them to way better places, and there’s some place better, and that’s why we keep fighting,” said Greene.

Gulf World’s property was bought by By The Sea Resorts, a local hospitality company.

Last October, the company said it planned to turn it into a major new asset for Panama City Beach. We reached out again, and officials told us no plans are ready to be shared yet, as they continue evaluating options.

“We had been sounding the alarm about dolphin company facilities for quite some time, so it was very reassuring to see the rapid response from the community in Panama City Beach. They saw animal abuse, they saw conditions that were unacceptable, and they shut it down,” said Greene.

To watch Beneath The Surface: A Gulf World Investigation, News Channel 7’s investigative documentary on Gulf World’s collapse, click HERE.

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