Dawn Brancheau, 40, was playing in knee-deep water with SeaWorld's largest male orca Tillikum, when he grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her underwater.
She suffered multiple traumatic injuries and drowned, an autopsy confirmed today.
The incident has raised questions regarding the confinement of oceangoing mammals, and sparked outrage amongst those who label their captivity “unethical”.
Dr Ingrid Visser, the only New Zealand marine biologist who specialises in orca, says it is well and truly past the point of saying "enough is enough" in the captivity debate.
"To me it's just not right to have them in captivity full stop. I don't think it's right for us to breed more of them for our entertainment," she says.