Clearwater Marine Aquarium

On behalf of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, I’m excited to announce our AquaGala on April 26 –?a luxurious, black-tie fundraising experience. It will not only be a night to remember, but a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in supporting the Aquarium’s ongoing rescue, rehabilitation and release initiatives. The elegant event will be held onsite at CMA’s Jacobson Ballroom, and will be a fully-immersive fundraising experience with animal encounters, musical guests, delicious food, signature cocktails and a closer look at the vital work being done at CMA, a non-profit 501 C (3). Every year, CMA responds to hundreds of mammal and sea turtle strandings, and by attending this event, your support will help make this possible. Proceeds from the evening will benefit CMA’s core mission: the care and feeding of our resident and rehabilitating marine animals. I invite you to either attend this magnificent event, or be a part of the night by becoming a sponsor. Your generous support will allow CMA to make critical investments to ensure our institution remains a leader in marine life education, research, rescue, rehabilitation and release. We are looking forward to an amazing fundraising event and I hope I can count on your support. For more information and to sign up for tickets or sponsorships, please go to www.AquaGala.org. Thank you.

We're so honored and excited to be nominated for the 2025 Best of St. Pete-Clearwater Awards for Best Family Fun! ?? ? If you've ever had the best time visiting CMA, made amazing memories with our rescued animals, explored our exhibits with your family, or just love what we do, you can help us win by voting once per day now through March 23! https://lnkd.in/eHGjqiwb

Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day! We couldn’t do the work we do without all of the strong women on our team ????These are just some of the many amazing women we have making a difference every day at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and there are more protecting manatees across the region, flying in the Southeast skies monitoring whales, and leading conservation and research efforts throughout the Caribbean, all making impacts around the world. #internationalwomensday

Clearwater Marine Aquarium recently unveiled our new BayCare Kids Check-Up Exhibit in partnership with BayCare! This interactive exhibit teaches families about staying healthy—just like we care for our marine animals. Explore the BayCare Kids Check-Up Exhibit in the Mangrove Key Kids Zone and learn more about our working animal hospital on your next visit to CMA! A huge thank you again to BayCare Health System for their support in making this new exhibit possible.

Another sea turtle returns home! Yesterday, our sea turtle rehab team released Aspen, a juvenile green sea turtle, who was found washed ashore near Fort De Soto on February 13. Aspen arrived with a carapace deformity from a previous traumatic event, likely due to a boat strike, which can cause some buoyancy issues. Although Aspen did initially display some trouble staying submerged, they were able to resolve this on their own. Aspen demonstrated they could consistently rest and forage on the bottom of their pool to ensure they can survive in the wild, and they were cleared for release by our veterinarian and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. All marine turtle footage taken in Florida was obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to FWC MTP-25/26-172.

We are so thankful for the sea of support from AMPLIFY Clearwater and our local Clearwater community!

???? Big turtle release day! Yesterday, we released 15 rehabilitated sea turtles back into the ocean on Florida’s east coast! This group of cold-stunned sea turtles included 9 juvenile green sea turtles from the Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab and 6 juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from New England Aquarium—rescued, rehabilitated, and ready for release! A huge thank you to our visitors and supporters who help make these releases possible! ????

We’re excited to announce that we’ve been tentatively approved for a $6,050,000 grant from the Pinellas County Tourist Development Council (TDC)! This funding will help us bring a brand-new sea lion exhibit to life and make much-needed upgrades to our original building — enhancing both animal care and guest experiences. ? The grant will be reviewed by the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners on March 19, with a final decision expected on March 25. This is a huge step forward, and we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to grow and continue our mission of conservation and education to protect marine life. ? Thank you for your support — stay tuned for more updates! ??

Last week over the course of three days, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI) tagged 11 manatees for monitoring as they were released by ZooTampa at Lowry Park and SeaWorld Orlando. Manatee releases were conducted at Blue Spring State Park on February 11 and Crystal River on February 12-13 with the help of many of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) partners. These 11 animals were rescued as orphan calves and now that they are at an age and weight where they would naturally be on their own, they are being released back into the wild. CMARI outfits each manatee with a GPS tag for the MRP to allow us to monitor their movements and behavior and be sure they are acclimating well back to their natural environment. Once it is established that they can find food, suitable habitat and return to a warm water site they are considered a success and we will remove the tracking gear. The equipment is made with features that allow it to break free if it becomes entangled on anything preventing any harm to the manatee. If at any point the newly released manatees are not adapting well or run into trouble the tracking gear is their lifeline and we will be able to assist or rescue them again if it is needed. All manatee work was conducted under USFWS Research Permit # MA37808A-2. Photos taken at #Bluespringstatepark credit: USFWS, T. Calleson.

We were thrilled to unveil our new BayCare Kids Check-Up Exhibit with BayCare Health System today at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The new interactive exhibit teaches families about taking care of their health, just as CMA cares for marine animals. We are incredibly grateful to BayCare for their partnership and support in making this exhibit possible, and for helping us continue to educate our guests about health and the amazing animals we care for. https://lnkd.in/eQFEvqk5