A shopping mall-based interactive aquarium chain that has a presence in New Jersey filed for bankruptcy.

In a Dec. 2 filing in the District of Idaho bankruptcy court, Boise-headquartered SeaQuest Holdings LLC said it is voluntarily seeking Chapter 11 protection.

The company reported up to $1 million in assets, with estimated liabilities between $10 million and $50 million.

SeaQuest also said it has $13.6 million in unsecured claims with its top 20 creditors. According to the company, gross revenues declined from more than $27 million in 2022 to about $15 million this year.

The petition for Chapter 11 relief comes in the wake of years of animal abuse allegations and human injury claims at several of the company’s aquariums.

According to an ABC News investigation, various government agencies cited SeaQuest more than 80 times in the past five years for issues including human injuries, disease hazards, animal neglect and animal deaths.

Over the past two years, SeaQuest closed sites in Colorado, Connecticut, Texas and Georgia.

On probation

Within New Jersey, the five-year-old aquarium at Woodbridge Center was put on an indefinite probation by the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year. The action reportedly stemmed from activist complaints about inadequate animal care and safety measures.

As part of the order, SeaQuest cannot acquire any new exotic animals nor can it open any new “please-touch” interactive exhibits. The state has said if any terms of the probation are violated, it will revoke SeaQuest’s operating license and permanently shut down the location, Patch reported.

Besides Woodbridge, SeaQuest continues to operate four other sites across the U.S.: Utah, Nevada, California and Minnesota.

In a statement to NJBIZ, Seaquest CEO Aaron Neilsen said, “At this point, it is business as usual. Rest assured that the animals are safe and cared for and our employees are secure.”

Meanwhile People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging SeaQuest to shutter its remaining locations and surrender the animals to “reputable, financially responsible facilities.”

In a statement, PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski said, “SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters. This bankruptcy must not be a lifeline to keep this cruel and incompetent chain afloat.”