This video story produced and reported by Jorgelina Manna-Rea and David Rose. Web editing by David Rose.
The Clearwater Aquarium is a sanctuary for marine life and their many daily visitors, but the facility is also a marine hospital. Dolphins, sea turtles and even otters have all been rescued, treated and later released at the aquarium.
“These animals, they’re amazing, the stuff that they can live through,” said Clearwater Aquarium Veterinarian Shelly Marquardt. “They just need a chance and we’re going to help provide that for them.”
Clearwater Aquarium has a dual objective of treating these animals and spreading sustainable conservation habits to all who visit.
“So our goal is to respond to these animals, get them healthy, get them back out to the wild and then also in the process, expose all of our guests to what we’re doing all these different threats that these animals are encountering,” said Marquardt.
The aquarium has a rescue team that responds to sick, injured and deceased marine life along Florida’s west coast. Many of the animals are found by residents, fishermen and visitors who contact Clearwater Aquarium.
“We get reports of dolphins that are out in our waters that have fishing line, you know, wrapped around their dorsal fin or around their flukes,” said Marquardt. “If they swallow the hook, we have to go in and do surgery potentially, to remove that.”
Marine animals in Florida have also been facing record levels of the red tide during the past year. Red tide is a harmful algal bloom that produces brevetoxins, a toxic chemical. This can affect the central nervous system of fish and other vertebrates, causing them to not swim right, have a seizure or even drown from loss of neurological function.
“And this toxin then gets onto the seagrasses, which they eat. And then some of the smaller fish eat those, the grass, and then larger fish eat, and it kind of bioaccumulates up the food chain,” said Marquardt. “When that happens and it gets to a certain level, then they kind of start out getting a little bit lethargic.”
The aquarium is still treating animals affected by this year’s red tide, which brought over 15 tons of dead fish to the shores of Tampa Bay in July. They have taken in 59 sea turtles this year and released 18 back into the wild. Over 850 animals have been released since 2010.
“They are remarkable. sea turtles, manatees also even dolphins. These guys, what they go through and the things that they see on a daily basis, they’re tough,” said Marquardt. “So we just need to give them the chance to get through it.”
