'Blackfish' Documentary: SeaWorld Stock, Profits, Attendance Fall Drastically, 84%

According to an official statement from SeaWorld, the company has seen a decrease in profits, attendance and stock since the release of the 2013 documentary Blackfish. This film took aim at the aquatic attractions theme park regarding the dangers of Orca (Killer) Whales in captivity. Despite a huge PR campaign to battle animal activists and regain some clout with potential visitors, SeaWorld's profits have dropped 84%. Read more on this news below.

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In an official statement to investors, SeaWorld president and CEO, Joel Manby explained the troubles the company has faced recently, naming "brand challenges" as one of the biggest factors of the decrease in profit.

"We realize we have much work ahead of us to recover more of our attendance base, increase revenue and improve our performance as returning to historical performance levels will take time and investment," he said this week, according to The Guardian. "On the reputation side, early feedback on our campaign has been positive, however, we recognize that fully resolving our brand challenges in California will require sustained focus and commitment to correct misinformation."

We can only assume that this decrease is directly related to the bad publicity Blackfish has caused the company. Issues on the animals' care and general captivity have caused outrage over the world, which has obviously hurt the company.

Manby and SeaWorld are struggling to get out from under this controversy and perhaps won't ever. It's difficult for the public to accept SeaWorld saying it treats the animals well after watching the documentary. What do you think of this situation?

You can watch a trailer for Blackfish (which is available for streaming on Netflix) right here:

Let us know what you think of this SeaWorld news in the comments section below.