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Repaired Seaquarium reopens today

The Miami attraction was closed for months after Hurricane Wilma wreaked havoc.

MIAMI - The buzz of drills and the whoosh of power washers joined the whistles of bottlenose dolphins and barks of sea lions Friday as the staff of the Miami Seaquarium made last-minute preparations for the park's reopening today.

The aquarium on Virginia Key has been closed since late October when a storm surge from Hurricane Wilma dropped silt into low-lying exhibits, killing more than 1,000 fish and 15 sharks. The storm also downed trees, flooded large parts of the park and damaged its seawall.

Visitors will notice several changes, said Seaquarium general manager Andrew Hertz. There's a new sea lion show, and the park's color scheme has been changed from largely greens and browns to brighter, Art Deco colors.

The park also has more fish, as curators collected more than 2,500 from Biscayne Bay and nearby reefs to replace the fish that died after the storm.

"There's twice as many fish as there were before Wilma," Seaquarium curator Robert Rose said.

Some of the new fish were donated, while Rose and other staff members went out on boats and donned scuba gear to do some of the collection themselves.

The task of replacing the fish was a large one, but also fun, Rose said.

"It's not every day that you get to come to work and get on a boat and go out and swim in the ocean," he said.

Hertz said the storm cost $2.5-million in property damage and $4.4-million in lost revenue to the park, where the 1960s television series Flipper was filmed. The repairs are continuing.

"We've got more trees to come. We've got more growth to come," Hertz said.

During the closure, the park also worked on improvements mandated by the county in 2003, bringing the 50-year-old park up to current building standards. The upgrades are expected to be finished by this summer and have so far cost approximately $8.5-million, Hertz said.

The park's main building and Reef Aquarium, which were closed for repairs before Wilma, will reopen later this month, Hertz said.

The Seaquarium was also hard-hit after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Five sea lions were electrocuted and several sharks died when the pumping system in their pool flooded. But employees also found five new baby peacocks and a 50-pound baby manatee.

[Last modified February 11, 2006, 01:14:11]