One of the last performing shows that Clacton Pier staged was of course the dolphins, whales and sea lions. My good friend DolphinBoy has of course got the wonderful site 'The Whales & Dolphins of Clacton Pier' (
http://www.clactondolphins.co.uk/) for those new readers of this thread it is a site that companions this topic of Clacton Pier in the 70's and 80's not only for the dolphinarium but the site also hosts a lot more on the history of the Pier in its photograph and newspaper articles sections.
Here is a ITN news report covering the day when Nemo left the Pier, it was certainly an interesting day , not only for Nemo but also trying to recover the crane from falling through the decking.
The clip is a preview clip, so apologies for the low picture quality, the trainer in the clip is of course Peter Bloom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3tdU_mSX-U
CE