Florida Aquarium Activities Focus On Threatened Sea Creatures

TAMPA, FL -- The Florida Aquarium is dedicating three weekends to threatened sea life and the challenges they face to survive.

Starting Jan. 13, the aquarium at 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, will focus on conservation activities intended to preserve sea creatures that play critical roles in maintaining the health of the Earth’s oceans: sharks, coral and sea turtles.

“Today, our oceans face many threats including acidification and pollution to climate change and overfishing,” said Florida Aquarium spokeswoman Bailey Drury. “Due to these challenges, the largest living space on Earth is deteriorating at an alarming rate.”

As a result of these threats, the aquarium is concentrating its conservation efforts on three creatures:

• Sea turtles — because they are barometers of marine health;
• Sharks — because they are essential top-down managers of marine ecosystems; and
• Coral — because they are building blocks of marine habitats and oxygen-giving marine organisms

The aquariums public education efforts will kick off with Shark Days Jan. 13-14 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The weekend will feature educational activities, a special screening of “Tanks to the Ocean” (a short conservation film); shark dive presentations; a special presentation about sharks at the aquarium’s Ranger Station in the Wetlands Trail gallery; and a personal look at the aquarium’s shark conservation work with the aquarium curator Eric Hovland.

The aquarium will follow up with similar activities during Coral Days Feb. 17-18 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sea Turtle Days March 17-18 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All activities are included with a general admission ticket. For more information and a full schedule, visit the aquarium’s website.

Photos via Florida Aquarium