As part of its Kona Kai Ola project, Jacoby Development Inc. proposes incorporating a nine-acre marine wildlife park at the center of a lagoon system to be constructed on lands owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. According to the project’s proposed Master Development Plan (MDP), the lagoons will include animal exhibits displaying local fish, ray, turtle and shark species, and the wildlife park will cater to hotel and timeshare visitors, as well as Kona residents.
Associated with a proposed marine science center, the park will “provide an opportunity for visitors to interact with Hawaiian marine wildlife. Both the Marine Wildlife Park and Marine Science Center result from JDI’s association with Marineland of Florida,” the MDP states. (According to its website, Marineland is a dolphin conservation center built in the 1930s and is being redeveloped by JDI as a “research resort destination.” Marineland offers several programs, ranging from $65 to $275, that provide opportunities for visitors to feed, touch or swim with dolphins.)
— Teresa Dawson
Volume 17, Number 8, February 2007
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