Sea Life Park Hawaii, the 62-year-old oceanarium overlooking Makapuʻu Point in Waimanalo, has a new owner: the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. The nonprofit’s for-profit arm, known as the Hawaiian Council, has acquired the marine park from Herschend Family Entertainment for an undisclosed sum, taking over a facility that employs roughly 100 people and sits on state-owned land near one of Oahu’s most scenic coastal drives.
The purchase was first reported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, which detailed how Hawaiian Council tapped Valerie King, who retired from the park in 2023, to lead the transition back into day-to-day operations. The park will continue to be run by Attractions Hawaiʻi, a subsidiary of Hawaiʻi Holdings & Investments, which the Star-Advertiser reports oversees the commercial enterprises supporting Hawaiian Council’s community initiatives. Hawaiian Council says operations will continue uninterrupted, with dolphin, sea lion, reef shark and Hawaiian reef fish programs unaffected during the changeover.
Sea Life Park sits on 105.9 acres of state-ceded public land in Waimanalo, operating under a sublease from Hawaii Pacific University, which holds the master lease from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Per the Star-Advertiser, Hawaiian Council has obtained a long-term lease for the property and says it will work closely with Hawaii Pacific University, the state and other partners as it moves forward. The DLNR-managed leasehold structure has historically required periodic regulatory approvals for commercial sub-leases, a framework that will continue to shape how the new owner can develop the site.
From Tap Pryor’s Dream to a Corporate Carousel
Sea Life Park opened in 1964, founded by Taylor A. “Tap” Pryor, who had studied sharks as a graduate research assistant at the University of Hawaii. The park reported 800 paid visitors a day in its opening year with a 70-person payroll, and was projected in 1966 to reach 400,000 visitors annually, the Star-Advertiser reports. Its founding organization, the Oceanic Foundation, went bankrupt during the 1970s, setting off decades of ownership turnover…