Grant: 03-C09C
Project Title: Support for The Florida Aquarium's Marine Turtle Rescue, Rehab and Release Program
Project Manager: Dr. Ilze K. Berzins
Organization: The Florida Aquarium (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $18,060.00
Completion Date: 2004-10-18
Summary: Grant funding would support an expansion of its Marine Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release program through the build-out of much-needed additional rehabilitation tanks at The Florida Aquarium facility. The project will allow the Aquarium to increase its capacity to 24, significantly improving our ability to provide rehabilitation and release services for endangered marine turtle species. 
Results: The Florida Aquarium has built two separate systems for our sea turtle rehabilitation program, each with two tanks. Tanks are large enough to house larger individual adults, such as greens or loggerheads, but they can also be subdivided to accommodate smaller turtles, up to four animals per tank, permitting a total of 16 smaller turtles to be cared for if necessary. Each system is set up with sand filters, heat pumps, in-line heaters, and protein factionators. Both systems are housed in a covered area. (Author: I. Berzins)