Audubon Aquarium in Mississippi, one of the United States’ leading aquariums, has expanded with a new attraction.
Earlier in the summer, the Shark Discovery attraction opened, a 13,000-gallon shark and ray touchpool. The pool is approximately 60-feet long and 16-feet wide at its widest point, making it six times bigger than the aquarium’s previous stingray touchpool.
A huge interactive LED screen extends for the full length of the pool, which is home to a variety of rays, sharks and fish, showcasing the diversity of the ocean.
The touchpool cost $2.9 million to construct and takes up virtually the whole of the aquarium’s second floor. It is the largest project at Audubon Aquarium since the Great Maya Reef opened in 2014.
Audubon Aquarium is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and has teamed up with fellow members of the organisation to assist with the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) campaign.
The campaign provides an alternative approach to collaborative conservation through a Conservation Action Plan. The plan comprises of a range of projects, actions and objectives, designed to cater for the needs of individual species, including sharks and rays.
Rich Toth, senior vice president and managing director of Audubon Aquarium said: “Sharks play a vital role in top-down maintenance of ocean ecosystems around the world. Globally, shark and ray species are threatened with extinction largely due to overfishing and other unsustainable human practices.”
