Sea creatures at home at SEA Discovery Center in Poulsbo after pandemic closure
About 300 sea creatures have returned home from "foster" facilities around Puget Sound nearly two years after leaving their home aquarium in Poulsbo following a pandemic shutdown.
Downtown Poulsbo's SEA Discovery Center, owned and operated by Western Washington University, will reopen on Friday. The aquarium was shut down in October 2020, and all the facility's animals were sent to four neighboring aquariums to be taken care of before it closed.
More: Western Washington University to close SEA Discovery Center in Poulsbo temporarily
Animals began moving back to the center earlier this month in preparation for the reopening of the facility. Staff members are lining up educational programs and exhibitions.
"We're just really excited to be reopening," said Holly Hill, Western Washington University's outreach and continuing education senior director, who oversees the facility for the university.
"A lot of people thought we weren't going to reopen, but here we are," Hill said.
Animals slowly return home to center
In 2020, SEA Discovery Center reached out to regional marine science centers for help in fostering the sea creatures, Hill said.
"They were absolutely amazing and really said 'Yes, we'll take whatever you need,' without hesitation," Hill said.
The four centers that fostered the animals were Puget Sound Estuarium in Olympia, Marine Science and Technology Center at Highline College in Des Moines, Port Townsend Marine Science Center in Port Townsend and Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles, according to Hill.
For the fostering of the animals, SEA Discovery Center received a $7,500 grant from the Russell Family Foundation, a private foundation in Gig Harbor, with each marine center getting $1,500 and some costs to cover transportation, equipment and supplies SEA Discovery Center needed, Hill said.
Hill said before moving the animals, the center had to get permits from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to move the marine invertebrates and fish.
After those were secured, the center had to carefully execute the move to make sure the animals were safe and had the proper life support systems.
The animals were put in coolers with bubblers and were moved in a specific timeframe to ensure their safety during the transportation, Hill said.
Following their return to the center the, animals are being given time to acclimate to their new tanks before being introduced to the visitors, Hill said.
SEA Discovery center estimates getting the last group of its animals back to Poulsbo in June.
Stimulus funds help cover loss of donations
The center lost monetary donations, one of its primary financial sources, during the pandemic closure and relied on long-term volunteers to assist with basic building operations, such as water changes for tanks. The facility was able to cover its maintenance and operation fees during the closure with rental income from a tenant in the building and some state and university funding, Hill said.
The aquarium also received $50,000 in federal pandemic stimulus funds from the city of Poulsbo via the American Rescue Plan of 2021 to cover the significant revenue loss from donations.
Hill said the money "was an immense help to allowing us to reopen" and thanked the city for its generosity.
All full-time staff members left the center during the pandemic; the center started to hire new employees last fall to prepare for the spring reopening.
The new staff members plan to offer some informal education opportunities to the public during open hours this spring, called "tank talks." Staff plan to resume the center's school programs in the fall. Some special exhibitions, one related to orcas, will be launched in the coming months, Hill said.
Hill encourages people to donate when they visit the facility, she said.
"We have to raise all of the funds to pay the staff essentially, and the donations from the public are really important in that process," Hill said.
Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to kitsapsun.com today.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Sea creatures back at Poulsbo's SEA Discovery Center after 2-year closure
