VIRGINIA KEY, FLA. (WSVN) - Attorneys for the Miami Seaquarium are calling out Miami-Dade County officials one day after they filed a lawsuit to evict the long-running Virginia Key attraction, saying the county’s interests do not lie with the marine animals or the facility,
The marine park’s management and their attorneys said Wednesday that they’re ready for a fight and have no plans to leave the property, adding that the county just wants the land for future development.
Hilton Napoleon, an attorney for the seaquarium, spoke with reporters.
“Let’s call a spade a spade. The county was contacted by people about the land, and that is what this is about, and nothing else,” he said. “It is not about the animals. It is not about the facilities. Something smells fishy.”
Wednesday’s first press conference was the seaquarium’s first since their landlord, Miami-Dade County, filed the lawsuit.
But the seaquarium has refused to back down.
“Now, all of a sudden, you think that we’ve just become a derelict company where we don’t know how to take care of sea animals? That’s improbable,” said Napoleon.
Napoleon picked apart the county’s lawsuit.
“The claims by Miami-Dade County [are] an insult to our federal authorities. Our animals receive unparalleled monitoring,” he said. “We have cured every single non-compliance that has been issued by the [Department of Agriculture].”
Napoleon argued that the county does not care about the animals, but simply financial and political interests.
When asked whether there is evidence to support that claim, the attorney replied, “We received information that the county has been contacted about the Miami Seaquarium and its land.”
Edwin Gonzalez, the seaquarium’s executive director, told 7News in an one-on-one interview that sales have dropped tremendously since the county cited multiple violations.
“Percentage-wise, we’re right now at 40% lower than last year, but a lot people think we’re closing, and our job is to tell them we’re open,” he said. “Miami Seaquarium is going to be here for a long time, I’m telling you. I guarantee we’re going to be here for a long time.”
Gonzalez also took 7News on an exclusive tour of the seaquarium, a rare look inside the usually closed-off walls, to show some of the improvements they have made.
“It’s clear water,” he said.
Gonzalez also took the opportunity to reiterate his stance.
“They’re all lies, but it affects when my employees come to me saying, ‘Why are they saying this? Why? Are we going to be open?’ And I have to tell them, ‘We are going to be open, we’re doing the right thing,'” he said.
When asked what his response was to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the lawsuit filed against the seaquarium, Gonzalez replied, “They’re basically – she has an opinion about our park, and we’re telling her, in my opinion, she’s completely wrong. We are doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
When asked whether he believes the seaquarium has violated its lease, Gonzalez replied, “No, not at all.”
Napoleon said they have several legal strategies to respond to the county’s lawsuit, adding they will likely file something as early as Thursday.
Levine Cava’s office did not immediately respond to 7News’ request for comment.
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