Marineland remains closed in Niagara Falls, Ont., says it hasn't decided if it will open this year

With the busy summer tourist season in Niagara Falls, Ont., weeks away, Marineland says it still hasn't decided if it will open this year. 

The beleaguered aquarium told CBC Hamilton in an email Tuesday "no final decision has been made." 

"As Marineland has repeatedly publicly stated, we continue to be actively engaged in a sale process and transition to new ownership," said the statement from the marketing department.

"The long-term health and welfare of the animals remains Marineland's priority in the transition process."

As of Tuesday, its main phone number wasn't working, its Facebook page was taken down and its website made no mention of its reopening date.

This time last year, its reopening date of June 28 was already posted to its website, according to internet archives.

The park has traditionally closed for the fall and winter, and reopened in the spring, but in recent years scaled back operations, said Janet Adams, an employment co-ordinator at the Niagara Employment Help Centre. 

At its height, Marineland would hire 500 to 700 seasonal employees, she said. 

But last year it hired only a few janitors and cashiers, and called back employees from the year before, Adams said. 

This year, they haven't posted any summer positions at all, impacting students looking for work, she said. 

Ontario's Animal Welfare Services has been investigating Marineland for five years, visiting the park more than 200 times since 2020. 

Eighteen beluga whales, one killer whale and one dolphin has died at Marineland since late 2019 — including one beluga earlier this year.

The province declared in 2021 that all marine mammals at the park were in distress due to poor water, but told The Canadian Press last year the water issue had been brought up to standard. 

In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario's animal cruelty laws over its care of three young black bears.