A Middle Keys dolphin facility in operation since the early 1990s will close and send its eight animals to SeaWorld, Delaware bankruptcy judge Laurie Selber Silverstein ruled on the morning of Jan. 28.
The legal conclusion comes after weeks of attempts to postpone the closure of Dolphin Connection, owned by the bankrupt multinational operator Dolphin Company and operating out of leased natural seawater lagoons on the grounds of Hawks Cay Resort.
In December 2025, after months of reported negotiations with parties interested in purchasing the facility and animals, a court filing laid out a plan to complete a wind-down of operations at Dolphin Connection and transfer the eight dolphins to Orlando, if objections were not received by Jan. 2.
Corporate restructuring officials and two objections filed to the transfer painted differing pictures of negotiations held out of the public eye. Chief restructuring officer Robert Wagstaff of Riveron Management Services LLC, hired to manage the Dolphin Company’s bankruptcy proceedings, wrote that the “debtors did not receive an actionable bid … at a value that would provide a net benefit.”
Objections to the transfer, filed by Marineland Dolphin Adventure zoological director Kelly Fischbach and former Dolphin Connection manager Danay Voiles, also a bidder for the facility, criticized a plan to remove the dolphins from natural lagoon environments and transfer them to artificial tank facilities.
While taking care to specify that SeaWorld is a global leader in zoological care practices, concerns for the transfer of specific animals included Chinook, a geriatric retired Navy dolphin north of 40 years old and 22-year-old Balla, born and raised in the Duck Key lagoons without experience in a tank environment.
Voiles said a lack of transparency from Riveron, paired with a reported unwillingness by Hawks Cay to extend the facility’s lease past its original end date of October 2026, necessitated more cautious bids.
Earlier this month, executives with Hawks Cay told the Weekly the resort was not involved in decisions to cease operations for the facility and transfer the animals.
But last week, new court filings showed the resort had told interested bidders in September 2025 that Hawks Cay was unlikely to modify the existing lease for new owners – and that the resort itself had engaged in negotiations to purchase the business.
Following Voiles’ and Fischbach’s objections, attorneys and executives engaged in a final round of negotiations with interested parties, including Voiles and Key Largo-based Dolphins Plus, at a minimum price of $765,000. However, communications reviewed by the Weekly showed a continued demand for “no contingencies, including … negotiating any change to the License Agreement, including an extension beyond the contractual termination date of October 31, 2026.”
Contacted again by the Weekly to reconcile the resort’s previous stance with new court filings, Hawks Cay executives declined to provide a reason for the unwillingness to extend the facility’s lease, reiterating that “Hawks Cay Resort was not involved in the decision for Dolphin Connection to file for bankruptcy and did not direct the cessation of its operations or the removal of the dolphins.” Previous calls and emails to Wagstaff and Hawks Cay parent company Brookfield Asset Management were not returned.
While Voiles withdrew her objection on Jan. 23, multiple sources told the Weekly that talks with Dolphins Plus for a last-minute animals-only sale and transfer to Key Largo were ongoing as recently as Jan. 27. Representing Hawks Cay, attorney Ivan Gold appeared to confirm the same, as well as prior interest from Hawks Cay itself, on Wednesday.
“There were a number of other parties, but nothing came to fruition,” Gold said. “I don’t think it’s disputable that there’s probably no better party equipped to handle this than SeaWorld. … Parties felt the need to interject themselves at the last minute.
“We’re working to cooperatively facilitate the removal of the animals at the same time in a way that’s not only safe, but also doesn’t interfere with the operations of the resort … although many people here in the courtroom said it would probably be fun to watch.”
“There really is, quite frankly, no option,” said Silverstein, approving the transfer. “The debtor has exercised its business judgment, the animals need to find a home somewhere else, and they need to be transported safely to that home. My understanding is the dolphins are being kept together in their current grouping, and that SeaWorld is an appropriate transferee.”
“Enduring the roller coaster over the last several months of watching corporations and people who don’t know (the dolphins) try to decide what their future should look like has been beyond troubling,” one Dolphin Connection trainer told the Weekly, speaking anonymously to avoid retribution. “They don’t have a voice to speak up for themselves. Though devastated and broken-hearted for them, our team will continue the same excellent standard of care that we always have until the last truck is gone. … Somehow along the way, bankruptcy, deadlines and finances got in the way of what should have been the precedent: What is best for the animals.”
