Mystic Aquarium Breaking Ground on New Research Center

Mystic Aquarium will break ground this month on its new, state-of-the-art Ocean Conservation and Research Center.

The center will expand the aquarium’s scientific focus on aquatic animal health and behavior, according to a press release from Mystic Aquarium.

The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22, on the campus of Mystic Aquarium, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic.

The nearly 9,000-square-foot facility will house Mystic Aquarium’s animal care, water quality and research operations, all of which are integral to promoting optimal marine animal care and health practices in both aquarium and zoo settings and in natural habitats.

The new center will be a key component as Mystic Aquarium strengthens its mission programs – conservation, education, exhibits and research – under an interdisciplinary and highly collaborative model entitled “One Ocean, One Mission.”

“As we have grown to have a worldwide impact on ocean and marine animal conservation, our efforts will be enhanced by bringing together our scientific and veterinary functions under one roof to support each other and share and advance their mutual goals of studying and protecting aquatic wildlife,” said Mystic Aquarium President and CEO Dr. Stephen M. Coan.

The aquarium helps protect the population of African penguins in South Africa, belugas off the North Slope of Alaska, and annually responds to more than 100 marine mammal strandings throughout the northeastern United States.

Mystic Aquarium’s Ocean Conservation and Research Center project has two principal components:

• Renovation of the existing Aquatic Animal Study Center
• Construction of a new building that will physically attach to the Aquatic Animal Study Center

Ocean Conservation Work to Expand

Mystic Aquarium is a leading research facility for studying beluga whales with the goal of helping them survive and thrive in their natural habitats.

The new center will help the Aquarium expand its work in ocean conservation. Its conservation efforts include emphasis on research related to aquatic animal health in both Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay, and acting as a forum and convener for public policy discussions and public action.

Mystic Aquarium’s work includes:

• Proficiency and global reach in STEM education

• Expertise in marine mammal health, environments and related ongoing research projects

• Extensive cross disciplinary (research, education and conservation) competency in experiential learning locally and globally

• Robust partnerships in research, education and conservation

• The well-being of aquatic animals

• Public awareness about how the largest population tracts in the world interact with these ecosystems

• Resiliency planning to better understand and prepare for the realities of rising tides and shifting weather patterns

Photo by bunnygoth, via flickr creative commons