The California Coastal Commission made the move after the San Diego SeaWorld applied for permission to build new tanks for their captive orcas.
The Commission granted them this - but only under the condition that they did not breed new orcas, conduct artificial insemination, or trade, sell or transfer any animal in captivity.
Spokesman for the Commission Noaki Schwartz said they had received 120,000 emails about the proposed expansion - mainly from people opposing it.
Meanwhile SeaWorld’s San Diego president John Reilly said they were ‘disappointed’ by the ruling.
‘Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane’ he said.
Animal Rights group PETA meanwhile are celebrating the milestone move - saying it ensures ‘no more orcas will be condemned to a non-life of loneliness, deprivation and misery.’
The ruling only applies to this particular SeaWorld however, and does not affect the Texas or Florida sites.
Following the documentary Blackfish, that was released in 2013, SeaWorld has become far less popular with the general public - after the conditions in which orcas are forced to live were revealed.
In August 2015, the company reported an 84% drop in earnings compared with the same period last year.