Image copyright Reuters Image caption Attendance at SeaWorld has declined in the wake of criticism of its treatment of whales 
 
 Jim Atchison, the chief executive of SeaWorld, has resigned. 
 
 The aquatic amusement park has struggled to attract visitors in the wake of a 2013 film, Blackfish, which criticised its treatment of killer whales. 
 
 SeaWorld acknowledged in August that the film had hurt revenues at its San Diego, California park. 
 
 The company's share price has fallen 44% this year, and now trades around $16 per share. 
 
 In a statement, SeaWorld said that current board chairman David F D'Alessandro would serve as interim chief executive, and that the firm would also continue with its plans to reorganise in order to save $50m by the end of 2015. 
 
 The company said that part of the restructuring would involve job cuts. 
 
 SeaWorld operates 11 theme parks globally. 
 
 In its most recent earnings report, it said attendance had dropped to 8.4 million visitors in the third-quarter of 2014 from 8.9 million in the same period a year earlier. 
 
 It attributed the decline to "a combination of factors including negative media attention in California along with a challenging competitive environment." 

 With its stock price suffering and attendance dropping, SeaWorld announced Thursday that CEO and President Jim Atchison is stepping down and it is laying off employees. 
 
 A company spokesman would not say whether the board asked for Atchison's resignation. 
 
 "It has been an honor to lead SeaWorld," Atchison said Thursday in a news release. 
 
 SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has been fighting public-relations crises since 2010, when the orca Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in Orlando. Controversy over killer whales at its theme parks has been fueled by last year's documentary "Blackfish," which suggested the stresses of life in captivity may have caused Tilikum to lash out. Just last month, Atchison told analysts that SeaWorld had hired new people with expertise in public affairs, along with outside advisers "to help us navigate some of this." 
 
 The board was likely looking for someone who can better handle SeaWorld's public-relations problems, said Bob Boyd, a leisure analyst with Pacific Asset Management. 
 
 Boyd said the board probably will probably seek someone who "is less about the operations of the park and a lot more about how do we ... get people to understand our product better, how do we handle the public relations and the media aspect of SeaWorld. I think that's the biggest challenge they have now." 
 
 Jim Atchison Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison during an interview at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove. SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison during an interview at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove. (Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel) 
 
 Atchison's resignation is effective Jan. 15. Chairman David F. D'Alessandro will become interim CEO until the board selects a replacement. Atchison will become vice chairman of the board and will continue as a consultant on international expansion for three years. The board of directors expects to complete a search for a new CEO in six to nine months. 
 
 SeaWorld announced a restructuring program that "will result in the loss of some positions." It did not say how many. Laid-off workers will receive severance packages. 
 
 Atchison's severance package will include a cash payment of $2.4 million. He will also receive an annual consulting fee of $440,000. And he will be eligible for continued vesting of stock options. 
 
 In the news release, D'Alessandro said Atchison had helped SeaWorld "realize its vision of becoming a leader in the theme park industry, one of the world's foremost zoological organizations and a global leader in animal care." 
 
 The company owns 11 parks, including Busch Gardens in Tampa, where Atchison got his start parking cars as a teenager. He held various positions throughout the company and has been president and chief operating officer since 2009. 
 
 Tilikum, a 6-ton orca, drowned and battered Brancheau in 2010. SeaWorld became the subject of a critical book, "Death at SeaWorld," and then the film "Blackfish." 
 
 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SeaWorld and recommended no longer allowing trainers to perform in the water with the whales without a physical barrier. The company recently decided not to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court. 
 
 Attendance has declined at the company's flagship SeaWorld parks. This summer, on Aug. 13, the company acknowledged bad publicity had taken a toll. The stock dove 33 percent that day and has sunk lower since; on Thursday it closed at $16.09. 
 
 The company now faces a federal lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about the impact of "Blackfish." 
 
 SeaWorld has also had a difficult time competing with blockbuster attractions such as the new Harry Potter land at Universal Studios Florida. And it has had other problems too: The Falcon's Fury ride at Busch Gardens was several months late in opening, putting a dent in attendance. This week, a customer filed a federal lawsuit over SeaWorld's automatic renewal of its theme-park passes. 
 
 But many think controversy over the killer whales is SeaWorld's biggest problem. 
 
 Earlier this year, SeaWorld announced a project to nearly double the size of its orca tanks. That did not pacify animal-rights activists, who have pushed for the company to end its breeding program, release its whales into sea pens and focus on exhibits that don't involve captive animals. 
 
 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals cheered Thursday's announcement. 
 
 "Jim Atchison's watch has meant lawsuits, tanking stock, canceled performances by musical acts, falling ticket sales, and continued deprivation and isolation for orcas at SeaWorld," the group said in a prepared statement. 
 
 But Atchison's departure doesn't mean the company will necessarily make any changes to its overall philosophy. In fact, D'Alessandro said in a statement the board wanted to "express our ongoing support for our long-term strategy." 
 
 Naomi Rose, a marine-mammal scientist with the Animal Welfare Institute, said "changing the leadership means maybe the management of the animals changes for the better. It also carries the risk it could change for the worse." 
 
 spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5240
– As SeaWorld attendances drop and the share price heads toward Davy Jones' locker, the theme park company's chief executive is stepping down. CEO and President Jim Atchison will depart in January and an undisclosed number of workers will be laid off, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A company spokesman wouldn't say whether the board had asked Atchison to step aside. The company, which operates 11 aquatic theme parks around the world, has seen its share price drop 44% this year. It admitted earlier this year that the documentary Blackfish, which looked at the 2010 killing of trainer Dawn Brancheau by an orca, had hurt attendance, the BBC reports. (The movie also caused Pixar to rewrite the ending of its upcoming Finding Nemo sequel.)