Mote Marine Aquarium

Sarasota, Florida: For more then 50 years, Mote Marine has been one of the premier research labs in the world in the field of marine biology. The facility on City Island in Sarasota is part laboratory, part marine hospital, part aquarium and part classroom, all geared to the conservation of marine ecosystems and their inhabitants.

To help educate the public in species conversation, the laboratory opened the Mote Aquarium in 1980. Today the aquarium and the Marine Mammal Center welcomes over 400,000 visitors a year.

As you enter the main aquarium building, you will begin your journey from the Rivers to the Seas. Here you will see what animal live in freshwater Florida. Here you will see crawfish, snails and even stingrays.

Next you will follow the trail into the bay. This mix of salt and fresh water is home to many fish native to the coastal areas. In this exhibit, you will see cowfish, puffers, snook, crabs and more.

As the water gets deeper, we next encounter our reef inhabitants. These are the more colorful fish that people vision when they think of saltwater fish. Here you will see angel fish, butterfly fish, and even jellyfish.

The tour of exhibits now leads outdoors to the Mollusk Hall. They highlight of this exhibit is the preserved body of a 27 foot long giant squid named Molly the Mollusk. Also found in this exhibit is some Pacific Octopus and Lionfish along with a few others.

Then its one to the keystone of Mote Marine, the shark exhibit. When Mote Marine was founded in 1955, its main focus was on shark research. As the lab grew to explore other species, they still remained dedicated to sharks. The first part of the exhibit is Shark Tracker. Here you can see the labs research and tracking of blacktip and bonnethead sharks in Terra Ceia Bay and bull sharks in the Calooshatchee River. Next visit the 135,000 gallon shark habitat. There is a platform above the water and large window under the water to view the sharks of the exhibit. The tank is home to nurse sharks, bull sharks, blacktip sharks, sandbar sharks and even the Goliath grouper.

In addition to these exhibits in the pavilion, there is two touch tanks. One for invertebrates such as sea stars, sea urchins and more. The other is a touch tank for stingrays.

As you head back inside the aquarium building, you will be able to catch a glimpse at a few of the labs. One of the visible labs is the Seahorse Conservation Laboratory. Here you can see the staff working to raise baby seahorses.

There is also a restaurant and gift shop available to catch a bite to eat of pick up a souvenir before resuming your trip.

Your tour of Mote is not complete yet. A short walk down the pathway leads you to the Marine Mammal Center. Here you will see a few more of the aquariums famous residents. The Marine Mammal Center is home to sea turtles, manatees and dolphins.

You can also choose to enhance your experience by adding on the additional Eco-Tour. The tour operated by Sarasota Bay Explorers take riders on a floating classroom for a tour Sarasota Bay. On the tour you will get to see many of the animals that call the bay area home.

Mote Marine Aquarium is a non-profit organization while all proceeds benefiting animal research. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and remains the only congressionally designated Center for Shark Research.

Click on the photo above to view my Mote Marine photo gallery.

Updated November 7, 2010