Clearwater Marine Aquarium addresses financial shortfall

Still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, administrators at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) have begun dramatic cost-saving measures, including the “temporary furloughs” of 22 full time and 28 part time employees, out of a combined staff of 175.

Facility leadership, including CEO Joe Handy, are taking salary reductions.

“I think this will help us drastically, now that we’re getting to spring break, and into the summer,” Handy told the Catalyst. “My anticipation is that things will bounce back.”

It was not, he said, an easy decision to make. “This is not something any leader wants to get good at. No one takes any enjoyment from doing this. But we are hopeful that this is a short term impact.”

CMA, which treats injured and/or ill marine mammals and reptiles, relies on tourism, donors, sponsorships and grant monies.

“We’ve had some trying times in this country,” Handy said, citing inflation and high interest rates. “And I think that has resulted in low attendance at a lot of attractions, across the country.”

In Clearwater, he stressed, “the hurricane didn’t help.” He called the situation “a confluence of bad luck.” CMA is pursuing financial support from FEMA and the Small Business Administration.

Winter lived at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium for 16 years.

The sudden, unexpected death in November, 2021 of Winter, the facility’s star attraction, caused a serious drop-off in attendance. The bottlenose dolphin lost its tail flukes as a baby, due to entanglement in crab trap ropes, and had been successfully fitted with a prosthetic tail.

The 2011 movie Dolphin Tale, filmed on location at CMA, was a worldwide success. Inspired by the story of resilience, fans flocked to Clearwater to visit Winter, who because of her handicap could not be re-released into the wild. At the peak of Wintermania, more than 800,000 people passed through the turnstiles annually.

Dolphin Tale 2 (2014) told the story of Hope, another distressed dolphin rehabbed at CMA. Also deemed unreleasable, Hope has lived at CMA since 2010.

In 2020, CMA debuted an $80 million expansion, including a new 1.5 million-gallon water dolphin habitat.

“The movies really highlighted the work and the care that our team does each and every day,” Handy said. “So people wanted to be exposed to that. People wanted to see it. And Winter was a star.”

Winter’s loss was a devastating blow to the aquarium. For the year ending Sept. 30, 2023, the nonprofit reported $21,322,978 in revenue, against $26,306,149 in expenses, a net loss of nearly $5 million.

At the same time, $3.5 million in state funding was earmarked for the construction of a manatee rehabilitation facility; it was completed last July.

CMA is a member of the statewide Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership, a licensed consortium of agencies and organizations partnering cooperatively in rescue, rehabilitation, release and monitoring efforts.

The manatee center immediately welcomed two underweight juvenile animals, Zamboni and Yeti, that had been rehabbed at ZooTampa.

They were to be brought back to a releasable weight and studied before re-release into the wild. The goal was for CMA to become an authorized critical care facility within two years.

In September, Hurricane Helene sent four feet of water into the CMA buildings, which abut Clearwater Bay. Chief Biological Officer James “Buddy” Powell said the facility suffered “catastrophic damage,” and that “most” of the facility’s life support systems had been destroyed.

Zamboni and Yeti in the CMA manatee pool, Aug. 16. Video screengrab.

Although the filtered, 80,000-gallon manatee tank survived, much of the immediate observation area did not. Out of an abundance of caution, Zamboni and Yeti were trucked back to ZooTampa.

Numerous sea turtles being rehabbed were temporarily transferred to a Boca Raton facility.

None of the resident CMA dolphins were threatened during Helene, or by the high winds of Milton two weeks later.

The entire CMA facility was closed to the public for more than three weeks as repairs were made.

Launched in February of last year, “Rising Tides” is a $32 million, long-term facility revitalization project.

Handy has found a silver lining in the current financial cloud. “It actually gives us an opportunity to re-launch our comprehensive campaign,” he said. “We were in the midst of soliciting donations for ‘Rising Tides,’ and then we got into the hurricane situation.”

Once fully funded, the facility revitalization project will include construction of a sea lion habitat, major enhancements to the hospital area, an educational section that will tell the story of indigenous Florida animals and other animal exhibits. “Having that campaign re-launched will allow for us to fund the initiatives that we have in place over the next six years,” Handy explained.

What will never change, Handy insisted, is CMA’s dedication to its core mission. It’s not an amusement park where marine mammals jump through hoops on command.

“We are focused on rehabilitation, research and rescue,” he said, as well as educating guests about marine animal ecology and conservation. “And that’s something that’s unwavering for us.”