Looking up, a person sees a majestic black and white creature above the water. Looking down, they see a tank relatively small for the giant killer whale. Facing negative criticism, SeaWorld presents prospects for a new tank but a ban on breeding new orcas comes attached.

As SeaWorld projected to create a $100 million holding facility, the California Coastal Commission created a ban on breeding orcas in captivity.

Released in 2013, the documentary “Blackfish” targeted SeaWorld for animal abuse and neglect, highlighting the improper conditions of the captive whales. As a result, attendance and profits sharply decreased. Within two months after the documentary premiered, the attendance went from 4.5 million to 4.4 million people. SeaWorld is still trying to fight off the negative criticism from the documentary. SeaWorld Entertainment’s recent report recorded a net second-quarter income drop of 84 percent.

SeaWorld President and CEO Joel Manby said in a public statement, “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.”

In an effort to correct their image, SeaWorld began offering several discounts and added new elements to the current park. The park tried to win public support by building a larger environment for its orcas. Compared to the current 1.7 million gallon pen, the new 5.2 million gallon tank would also include a 450,000 gallon pool.

The Coastal Commission approved the plan, but placed restrictions on SeaWorld’s orca program. SeaWorld can keep its current orcas until they naturally die out, but the firm cannot breed any more whales. The ban intends to eventually get rid of the orca attraction, which is SeaWorld’s iconic attraction.

While reviewing the potential outcome of SeaWorld forgoing the new tank, equity research analyst James Hardiman said, “A lot would need to happen for SeaWorld’s business to be over. This does not mark the end of SeaWorld.”

However, SeaWorld could abandon the expansion project and keep its current enclosure for the animals instead of abiding to the new proposition and ban attached.

SeaWorld’s best option would be continuing the project. If SeaWorld wants to ensure its customers the firm’s actual goal is caring for its animals, then it would follow through with the best option for the whales: making a larger, and more suitable environment for the wild creatures.

As potential customers and residents of California, Cathedral Catholic High School students weighed in on the current situation for SeaWorld.

“[SeaWorld] should not breed anymore,” Harper Kolb ‘16 said. “They already have a set of killer whales.”

Many students said that SeaWorld should take care of its current animals and their interests. While the new tank will not benefit new killer whales, the tank will offer better conditions for their current orcas. SeaWorld is not forced to give up its current whales, which gives the attraction at least 40 more years if the whales live up to the healthy and average age.

Megan Lowrie ‘16 said, “[SeaWorld should] give the whales the ginormous tank that they need, or let them live in the wild.” SeaWorld’s current whales could not survive the wild, so SeaWorld should at least give them a more suitable space that is a necessity for the health and well-being of a creature that size.

SeaWorld’s current tank is comparable to a bathtub. Wild orcas swim up to 100 miles a day, which is equivalent to swimming 1,208 laps around their current tank. While the project for the new tank is not equivalent to space in the wild, the new space triples the whales’ current pen.

SeaWorld can continue to rescue wild animals. Instead of artificially breeding new killer whales, SeaWorld can rescue injured whales that are no longer able to survive the wild or at least preview the rehabilitation process of the whale as an attraction. SeaWorld should not breed new whales because the whales in captivity lack experience in the wild, making them ill-equipped for nature and highly susceptible to death when released.

One of the main conflicts of this debate is whether or not SeaWorld’s rights have been violated. While the ban may help the animals, the new proposition would conflict with SeaWorld’s right to property and revenue.

“I do not see a problem with breeding whales [that is a part of SeaWorld’s right],” AP Government student Ashley Knepler ‘16 said. “But they really cannot put the whales back in the wild. I can see the situation [involving both sides of the ban] either way, but that is SeaWorld’s main attraction.”

Banning the breeding of orcas may be detrimental to their orca attraction, but it would not be the end of SeaWorld. There are other attractions and more animals, which creating a suitable environment would be easier to achieve.

SeaWorld can also improve their current attendance and attractions by focusing on other areas.

“I think one solution would be adding more rides,” Environmental Club member Maxine Sakai ‘16 said. “[When I went to SeaWorld] I got sad watching the animals. However, I did enjoy the rides.”

SeaWorld has a lot to offer besides the killer whale attraction. While some aspects and conditions were true, “Blackfish” still exaggerated other conditions that SeaWorld has faced. In response to the negative criticism, SeaWorld has also tried making improvements. The documentary highlighted many negative aspects of the entertainment park while neglecting the positives. SeaWorld educates people about marine life, allows marine biologists to study a variety of creatures, rescues and trains shelter pets, and rehabilitates many of the marine animals.

According to the SeaWorld rescue page, the animal rescue teams have been around for more than 50 years and have helped more than 23,000 animals. The rescue teams are on call 24/7 assisting animals that are orphaned, ill, injured or in need of expert care.

On the animal rescue page, SeaWorld asserts, “Our goal is to successfully rehabilitate animals for return to the wild. The small percentage of animals whose injuries are too debilitating to permit release are given lifelong care.”

Maybe the best solution for SeaWorld is continuing to look out for the best interest of the animals. When bad criticism does come around, many people forget the the good that SeaWorld has done. SeaWorld should build the larger tank, stop artificially breeding whales and continue to rescue and rehabilitate the creatures.

Highlighting its positive work, SeaWorld could potentially transition from making whales doing tricks an attraction to allowing people to see the rehabilitation process of the animals. The animals would benefit from the care, and people could learn more about these creatures. Changes such as these could benefit and please both SeaWorld and animal rights activists.