Clearwater Marine Aquarium has come a long way since the city turned a one-time wastewater treatment plant into a tourist attraction in 1972. Now more than half-way through a multi-year renovation, tanks have been transformed with state-of-the-art finishes to accommodate rescued dolphin, sea turtles and otters. The dolphin tanks are open to the sky and new underwater viewing windows allow visitors to watch them frolic from below. Visitors can peer at turtles recovering in an ICU wing, or stroke stingrays in a “touch tank” beneath a beach where a faux loggerhead lumbers ashore to lay her eggs.

But for CEO David Yates, the best part of CMA’s renovation may be the new mini-IMAX theater housed in what had been a round wastewater tank because it gives the aquarium an opportunity to tell guests about its most important mission: rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine creatures.

“That’s what we’re really here for,” he says. “The aquarium itself is an important part of our focus on environmental education and gives us a place to house animals that can’t be released, but our real mission is rescuing and rehabilitating dolphin, turtles and otters.”

More than 500 volunteers make that mission possible, performing more than 80% of the total work accomplished by the aquarium. They’re charged with everything from helping CMA staff patrol Pinellas County beaches for sea turtle nests, rescuing injured animals or preparing specialized food for the aquarium’s resident animals to showing guests through the aquarium and sharing their knowledge with the hundreds of children who participate in the aquarium’s summer camps.

CMA is one of the few facilities on the Gulf Coast of Florida authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service to respond to marine mammal strandings. A team of professionals and volunteers is on call 24/7 to respond to stranding reports from the public on animals ranging from the bottlenose dolphin to dwarf sperm whales.

Protecting sea turtles – from rescuing sick animals reported by boaters to patrolling Pinellas County beaches from Clearwater Beach south to St. Pete Beach — is also a critical part of the CMA mission. Each nest is evaluated, moved if necessary and then covered with a protective cage to ensure that hatchlings are restrained until trained staff can release them and ensure they head toward the water not the bright lights of Gulf Boulevard.

A separate team responds to sea turtle strandings that may mean either living or dead turtles. CMA has become one of the largest rehab facilities on the west coast, working with statewide organizations including Mote Marine Laboratories to nurse turtles back to health, including minor surgeries in the brand-new operating room with windows that allow visitors to watch some procedures.

Animals that can be rehabilitated are released — like the nine turtles returned to the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year to the cheers of nearly 5,000 people. CMA, which usually has from 50 to 100 turtles in various stages of rehabilitation, specializes in turtles infected with a virus that causes large tumors. “The turtles come from all over the state and stay for an average of three to 18 months, depending upon how sick they are,” Yates said.
Other animals, for one reason or another, couldn’t survive in the wild. Four resident otters, for instance, were abandoned as babies and never learned how to hunt for food.

Winter, a young dolphin found entangled in a crab trap near Cape Canaveral in late 2005, has become the aquarium’s most famous resident. She had probably spent 36 hours with the line acting like a tourniquet around her tail. The wounds were so deep that her tail flukes fell off and injuries to her mouth made it difficult for her to eat. Some experts did not expect her to survive but she pulled through with 24/7 care from staff and volunteers. She’s since become a world-wide phenomenon who inspires injured children and adults to overcome their physical challenges.

More than 100,000 people visit the aquarium every year, even though it’s literally off the beaten track to the beach, just north of Highway 60 in Island Estates. Admissions and donations are its largest source of funding and a series of innovative educational programs are offered throughout the year. Along with summer camps, “Trainer for a Day,” “Day with a Dolphin,” and “Dolphin Encounter” offer a behind-the-scenes opportunity for children and adults. The Marine Life Adventures program ranges from two-hour excursions to four-day research events on topics ranging from counting scallops to tagging sharks.

And with the highly visible renovations to the main aquarium nearly complete, CMA will turn its attention to the triage area in the back of the aquarium, where open tanks are sheltered with tarps instead of a real structure. Under the direction of volunteer board member Frank Chivas, Yates hopes to begin construction later this year on the $250,000 project that will make it possible for CMA to accept even more sick and injured animals.

CMA is located at 249 Windward Passage in Island Estates, just north of Highway 60 on Clearwater Beach. The aquarium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adult admission is $11 or $7.50 for children ages 3 to 12. Volunteer orientations are held the first Monday of every month. For more information, visit www.cmaquarium.org.