(Oct. 9, 2015, 12:50 p.m.) -- Sea World (San Diego) officials went into an Oct. 8 Coastal Commission meeting armed with Coastal Commission staff supporting the company's application to expand the size of its orca whale tank. The company had letters of support from local politicians and state legislators, the local Chamber of Commerce, trade associations, craft unions and 30,000 signed forms supporting the company's position.

Coastal Commission webcast screen save

The company exited with a permit to do the work, but with a condition it said it cannot accept: forbidding breeding of the orcas, which a company rep said would mean the slow extinction of the orcas it now holds.

As seen LIVE on LBREPORT.com, opponents -- including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Animal Legal Defense Fund -- mounted an opposition campaign that helped generate over 100,000 emails and communiques, calling it cruel to keep orca whales captive in a tank.

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The Commission, which usually meets in the Long Beach City Council Chamber, moved its meeting to the LB Convention Center's Seaside Ballroom to accommodate a crowd which still overflowed the hearing room.) During a bruising six and a half hour hearing, Sea World and its supporters said the company treats its animals with compassion, aids scientific research, rescues animals in distress and said the larger tank would provide the killer whales with a more spacious habitat. Opponents denied the tank was a habitat, said the captive animals are under stress and a PETA rep likened Sea World to a circus, comparing its captive orcas to mistreated elephants and said the company was on the wrong side of history.

While a Sea World (San Diego) company representative testified in support of a permit to enlarge its whale tank, opponents displayed signs for the webcast camera (photo right).

Among those testifying against Sea World's permit was actress Pamela Anderson (photo right.)

Veteran Long Beach wildlife advocate and environmental advocate Ann Cantrell was present at the hearing from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. but had to leave without getting to speak. "If I had spoken, I would have urged the commission to deny the permit, or at the very least, require sea pens, not a 15 ft. deeper pool for the Orcas," she said in an email after the hearing. "And along with no breeding, to stop making Orcas perform for their food. I would have also suggested that if Sea World wants to make money, they phrase out their captive animals and expand their rides to compete with Disneyland. I love the idea of a virtual reality show--much more educational than watching Orcas jumping through hoops."

We are aware that veteran coastal advocate Gordana Kajer was also present at the meeting.

When a PETA rep asked those in the audience opposed to granting the permit to stand, the Coastal Commission saw this (photo right.)

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But when the Coastal Commission ultimately voted -- and without much Commission public colloquy -- unanimously to approve a permit to expand the tank, it did so with a calibrated action that could over time phase out the company's practice of holding orcas in its San Diego display tank.

Long Beach environmental and wetlands advocate Elizabeth Lambe played a quiet and effective role in advancing that prevailing position. Ms. Lambe, who is separately Executive Director of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, had been working in her personal capacity since at least September with former Coastal Commission member Sara Wan and others on the strategy that prevailed.

Sea World had the support of Coastal Commission staff for accepting a condition not to take further whales from the wild (the "Virgin" pledge, no whales collected after Jan. 1) A number of wildlife and environmental advocates were disappointed by Coastal Commission staff's support for Sea World's application, felt the Sea World-accepted condition didn't go far enough and set out to move the goal post and reframe the debate. Ms. Lambe was part of that process locally.

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On September 22, a meeting took place at the LB Main Library, organized in part through Ms. Lambe's efforts. At the meeting, Ms. Wan and Lindsay Larris, Regional Director for the Animal Legal Defense Fund discussed strategy with local advocates. (Ms. Wan mentioned this on the LCWLT website.) We're not privy to what was discussed in that meeting, but we did notice (and reported) that prior to the Coastal Commission showdown hearing, a letter -- unsigned but carrying the names of multiple wildlife and environmental groups -- had been circulated and filed. The letter recommended that if the Commission approved a permit, it should prohibit the captive breeding artificial insemination of orcas in captivity, prohibit the sale or offer for sale, trade or transfer for any reason other than transport to a sea pen any orca intended for performance or entertainment purposes. That nuanced position basically ended up the prevailing motion.

During Commission disclosure of ex parte contacts (lawful advocacy on one side), it became public record that Ms. Wan and Ms. Lambe had met with (among others) Coastal Commissioner/LB Councilmember Roberto Uranga (who also traveled to Sea World, met with company officials and saw the facility firsthand.) Former Coastal Commissioner Wan was especially ubiquitous in meeting with current Coastal Commissioners.

At the Oct. 8 Commission hearing, Sea World publicly accepted a limitation suggested by Commissioner Cox, tied to the size of the tank that would have effectively capped the number of orcas in the enlarged tank to 15. But that stopped short of the ban on breeding sought by Wan, Lambe and others.

Commissioner Dayna Bochco then moved an amendment (to Coastal Comm'n staff's recommended approval) that lets Sea World enlarge its orca whale tank BUT (Bochco condition) prohibits captive breeding, artificial insemination, the sale, trade or transfer of any orca in captivity (exceptions for health of animal or rescue animals.) The Commission approved the Bochco amendment, making it a condition of the permit. Immediately prior to the vote, a Sea World rep said publicly that the company didn't accept the condition, noting it would mean the gradual extinction of its current captive whale population.

Bochco's amendment carried 11-1 (Cox dissenting), and with the amendment added, the Commission approved the permit without dissent. Commissioner [and LB Councilman] Roberto Uranga was present and voted "yes" without comment. For AUDIO of the Commission's final discussion (sound clip begins with salient portion of Comm'r Bochco's remarks) including motion and vote, click here.

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What happens next remains to be seen. During the Oct. 8 Commission meeting, Commissioners held a closed session and emerged with the public acknowledgment that discussion included potential litigation arising from the Sea World matter.

During the hearing, Sea World argued what while the Coastal Commission has land use authority, it lacks jurisdiction under state law, and is preempted under federal law from attempting to regulate conditions for the whales. Wildlife and environmental advocates disputed that position.

The bottom line: Sea World left the hearing with a permit to expand its orca whale tank. If it chooses to use that permit to construct the larger tank, it will be subject to a condition that over time could phase out holding orcas in Sea World's San Diego display tank.

"We won," said Ms. Kajer in an email after the hearing.

Additional background for the record:

To view the full Coastal Commission staff report (including Sea World submitted materials), click here.

To view support and opposition materials (so numerous that Coastal Comm'n staff put them in a separate file, click here (337 pages) organized as follows:

• Support letters: Letters from government officials; Letters from industry groups; Sampling of individual public comments Form letters with approximate number received; staff summary of points raised in public comments, As summarized by Commission staff, points in support included:

  [Coastal Commission staff text]:

  SeaWorld has a long history of caring for orcas and other marine mammals.

  SeaWorld employees multiple experts to care for the orcas.

  The orcas in SeaWorld are protected from the natural and man-made threats that orcas in the wild experience.

  SeaWorld is a long-standing contributor to San Diego and is a large employer.

  SeaWorld is an educational facility that provides many people their first or only opportunity to interact with multiple marine animals in a single place.

  SeaWorld has provided multiple field trips to students to allow them to learn about the marine environment at the park.

  SeaWorld has long been a safe, enjoyable family destination.

  SeaWorld is a good employer who takes the training and safety of its employees seriously, as well as the care of the animals in its parks.

  SeaWorld is a large contributor to marine research – both monetarily and with data.

  Orca captivity provides an excellent and hard-to-reproduce opportunity to be able to study orcas up close in a controlled environment, helping to set baselines to compare to orcas in the wild.

  SeaWorld has long bred orcas in captivity, and those orcas form social. connections just like the orcas in the wild.

  The orcas in captivity could not survive if released into the wild.

  SeaWorld has inspired many people to pursue a career in the marine sciences.

  SeaWorld has not taken an orca from the wild for decades, and its captive population is mostly captive bred and are cared for under vetted guidelines from both the government and recognized marine mammal groups. [end Coastal Comm'n staff text]

• Opposition letters: Legal memos and supporting information; Form letters with approximate number received; Petitions; Sampling of individual public comments; staff summary of points raised in public comments

As summarized by Commission staff, the opponents' points included:

The size of the proposed orca facility would still be inadequate in light of the natural ocean environment in which orcas live.

Expanding the tank will allow for more breeding of captive orcas resulting in less space per orca.

Captive orca breeding engenders in-breeding and causes harm to the health of the orcas.

Captive orcas display unnatural behavior, indicating psychological or physical harm from captivity.

Captive orcas live shorter lives than wild orcas.

Orcas in the wild travel hundreds of miles a day which they cannot do in captivity.

Orcas have a complex family relationship which is damaged when individuals are separated.

Sonar echolocation is impossible to use in the tanks the orcas are kept in.

Sea pens or wild release would be beneficial to the captive orcas.

Orca captivity gives San Diego, and the United States in general, a bad name worldwide.

SeaWorld’s declining attendance indicates the changing public attitudes against orca captivity.

Tourism will suffer if the project is approved

The Coastal Commission should wait until the proposed legislation in the California State Assembly regarding orca captivity reaches a final decision.

SeaWorld is no longer an educational facility but has instead become another amusement park.

It is immoral to keep animals for human entertainment and profit.

The expansion should only occur if captive breeding is prohibited.

SeaWorld pollutes Mission Bay.

SeaWorld causes noise and water pollution from fireworks.

Expanded tanks should not be allowed in a drought. [end Coastal Comm'n staff text]