North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

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The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is a science museum located in Kure Beach, North Carolina at Fort Fisher. It is one of three state-operated aquariums in North Carolina and has been accrediated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Contents 1 History 2 Exhibits 3 Aquarium Expansion 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] History

In the early 1970s, three multi-purpose marine centers were built on the coast of North Carolina. The cost was $4.6 million, with $2.7 million coming as a federal grant from the Coastal Plains Regional Commission, and the remainder from the state matching of those funds. The goals in establishing the new facilities were to enhance coastal environmental education for the public, schools and teachers, and to boost the coastal and state economies. The marine centers were originally administered by the North Carolina Office of Marine Affairs, a multi-purpose agency within the North Carolina Department of Administration.

In 1976, the three facilities were opened and were visited by a total of 341,000 people in their first year of operation. Subsequently, the number of visitors, school groups and programs grew steadily, and visitation has topped one million each year since 1985. In 1986, the names were changed to The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (Wilmington, North Carolina area), The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, Morehead City, North Carolina area) and The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island (Manteo). Thus, their mission was brought into focus and the educational effort was more clearly defined.

[edit] Exhibits

The focus of the aquarium is to educate the public about the waters of the Cape Fear region. The Cape Fear Conservatory, the visitor’s first stop in the aquarium, features freshwater life. In this large, tree-filled atrium, streams, ponds and swamps are home to frogs, snakes, bass, catfish and perch. Herbivorous plants and box turtles hide among the conservatory’s groundcover. American alligators native to North Carolina occupy one of the larger exhibits in the conservatory. In 2006, the aquarium opened an exhibit featuring the venomous snakes of the region, including several species of rattlesnake, copperheads and cottonmouths.

The Coastal Waters Gallery, which includes the Coquina Outcrop Touch Pool, provides hands-on opportunities to learn about sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, whelks and other creatures of a rocky outcrop surf zone. Masonboro Inlet Jetty features the fishes common around a wave-washed rock jetty, an indoor salt marsh, a sea horse habitat, and a loggerhead sea turtle display.

The Open Oceans Gallery includes Sharkstooth Ledge, which features fish common to offshore North Carolina, such as pufferfish, hogfish and filefish. The gallery also displays octopus, jellyfish and corals native to the state's waters.

Holding 235,000 gallons, Cape Fear Shoals is the largest of the aquarium’s saltwater exhibits. The 24-foot-deep replica of an offshore reef offers two-story, multi-level views of large sharks, stingrays, groupers and moray eels.

The Exotic Aquatics display features animals native to the Indo-Pacific oceans. These displays include cuttlefish, the yellow-lipped, or banded sea krait (Laticauda colubrina), and the erabu sea krait (Laticauda semifasciata), the red lionfish (Pterois volitans) and North Carolina native, the spotted scorpionfish (Scorpaenae plumieri). They are both known for their inconspicuous, venomous spines. Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but in 2000 they were confirmed as having established themselves in North Carolina.

The 550-gallon Pacific reef display feature living corals, giant clams and anemones, cardinalfish, hawkfish, clownfish, wrasses, surgeonfish, and nearly a dozen other fish species.

[edit] Aquarium Expansion

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher closed in November 1999 for a major expansion and reopened in March 2002. The new construction increased the size of aquarium systems from 77,000 gallons to 455,000 gallons. The expansion included the creation of the Cape Fear Shoals tank, a 235,000 gallon exhibit recreating the hard bottomed coral reefs off the coast of North Carolina.

[edit] Trivia

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher has provided locations for the filming of the WB TV series Dawson's Creek, the NBC TV series Surface (TV series) and the independent film Loggerheads (film).

Information provided by the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher

[edit] External links

• The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher Website.
• The official Website of the North Carolina Aquariums.
• The Turtle Trails project uses satellite transmitters attached to juvenile loggerhead sea turtles to follow their movements after rehabilitation and release from the North Carolina Aquariums.
• [1] Fort Fisher State Recreation Area.
• The Fort Fisher Hermit, The Life & Death of Robert E. Harrill: A documentary on the life of Robert E. Harrill, the Fort Fisher Hermit.

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