The Florida Aquarium in Tampa has announced that it will be closed from Tuesday through Thursday in preparation for Hurricane Milton. The aquarium's coral conservation team is actively working with various organizations to relocate over 4,000 juvenile corals and more than 100 broodstock from the Coral Conservation and Research Center in Apollo Beach.
Notably, the Florida Aquarium is the sole facility globally that looks after endangered pillar coral and boasts the largest number of reproductive size elkhorn coral. Due to the impending hurricane, colonies of both species are being moved to different locations for their safety.
The corals are being transported to Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium, Key Biscayne's University of Miami, and West Palm Beach's Reef Institute. These corals include specimens that were rescued from a marine heatwave in the Florida Keys during the summer of 2023, as per a news release.
In addition to the coral relocation efforts, a sea turtle that was discovered in a roadside ditch following Hurricane Helene's storm surge is being transferred from the sea turtle rehabilitation center in Apollo Beach to the Florida Aquarium's Tampa campus. The aquarium's Tampa location has the necessary facilities to house the sea turtle on its second floor.
