How Is the National Aquarium Supporting Cleanup in the Gulf?

The National Aquarium is working with partners in the East Coast Stranding Network to be prepared to rescue and rehabilitate animals injured in the Gulf oil spill. There are only seven species of sea turtles in the world, and all of them are endangered or threatened. This man-made disaster has the potential to be devastating to these fragile animals. To that end, we have been assessing our facilities and are working with our partner, Mote Marine Laboratory, in Sarasota, Florida, which has wonderful marine mammal and sea turtle rehabilitation facilities, so we are prepared to take in animals.

Marine Animal Rescue Program - MARP

The National Aquarium is a regional and international leader in the quest to improve the health of the world's oceans.

The Aquarium participates in a variety of cooperative programs, and has initiated many programs to help preserve the health of our oceans. Among these are:

MARP - The Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine mammals and turtles. » Learn more.
Project Puffin - The Aquarium participates in this international project that studies the life of North Atlantic puffins.
Shark Tagging - The Aquarium collects data about wild shark populations and shares that information with organizations world-wide.
Shark Head Start - The Aquarium raises young sharks in controlled environments before releasing them to the ocean in an effort to return balance to the rapidly declining shark population.

» Learn more about the steps the Aquarium takes to protect the aquatic world.

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