SeaWorld has said it would stop breeding orca whales, and those currently at its parks would be the last.
Orlando-based SeaWorld has faced sagging attendance and years of criticism over its treatment of the whales as well as pressure from animal rights activists to end public exhibition of killer whales altogether.
SeaWorld, which operates parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, said in November it would replace its signature "Shamu" killer whale shows in San Diego with displays focused on conservation.
California regulators had said earlier that they would bar SeaWorld San Diego from continuing to breed orcas, if it went ahead with a planned expansion of their artificial habitat.
SeaWorld has 29 killer whales under its care, including six on loan to third parties, according to its website.
The first orca was born in a SeaWorld park in 1985. Since then, 30 have been born in the parks, including the first-ever births through artificial insemination.
The company also faced a backlash after the release of the 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which depicted the captivity and public exhibition of killer whales as inherently cruel.
The film, which SeaWorld has criticised as inaccurate and misleading, also explored the circumstances leading to the 2010 death of a top SeaWorld trainer, who was pulled underwater and drowned by an orca she had performed with in Florida.
The company has sought to counter negative publicity surrounding "Blackfish" with a public relations blitz aimed at drawing attention to SeaWorld's role in marine mammal research and its rescue and rehabilitation of animals in the wild.
