Mote Marine begins its process of moving aquarium

July 6 will be the last day members of the public can visit the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium facility on City Island, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.

The marine center is transitioning its public outreach to a $132 million facility west of I-75 near University Town Center. 

Under the name Mote Science Education Aquarium, the new center at Nathan Benderson Park will center around public education. When first announcing the project several years ago, experts anticipated it could draw upward of 700,000 visitors in its first year.

That means the City Island-based facility will be closed to the public during the transition, allowing researchers to focus on animal rehabilitation and research.

"Mote’s long-standing plan in the preparation for the new facility has included a period of time where operations at Mote Aquarium on City Island would transition to focus efforts on animal quarantine and transfer, as well as staff and volunteer training for Mote SEA operations," the organization said in a public release.

Visitors have only a few weeks to get tickets for their last visits to the center.

"The following day, July 7, all operations at Mote Aquarium on City Island will transition to dedicated preparation and support for the opening of Mote SEA," the release continues.

The center said it does not yet have a date set for opening the new facility, the timeline for which hinges upon water parameters and quarantine procedures for moving the animals there.

Mote thanked community members for supporting its mission over the years.

"This major transition period is an extremely exciting milestone along the pathway to a grand opening for Mote SEA, where Mote will continue to open a window into the globally significant marine science research conducted at Mote Marine Laboratory," the statement said.