There are only about 50 captive orcas in the world. About 100 killer whales were captured in the 1970s, but many of those died because of a lack of knowledge about whale health and nutrition. The number has stabilized in the 1990s, and no orca has been captured since the early 1990s. In the United States, captive orcas are at the three SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando, and the Miami Seaquarium. In Canada, after Bjossa's move, only Marineland of Niagara Falls, south of Toronto, will house a killer whale.
Demand is high for captive orcas.
Nightingale said sea parks around the world, including new ones in Europe and South America, would love to have killer whales in their shows. Orcas, he says, are the star attractions of aquariums. He said the aquarium has received offers of payment from sea parks in other countries. Though anti-whaling activists have spent years protesting Bjossa's captivity, the move isn't a victory for them. Furthermore, he says, the Keiko experiment has not yet proven successful.