Tampa Bay Rays Aquarium is Top Ten in the USA
Tropicana Field's Marine Aquarium Provides Rays Fans with Real Rays
Oct 26, 2008
Marine aquarists may have noticed that the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium has a saltwater aquarium behind the right center field wall that houses a number of the team's namesake animals. What the avid baseball-loving marine aquarist may not know, however, is that this is not just any saltwater aquarium. It is one of the 10 largest marine aquaria in the country. Here are the specifics.
Tank Stats
Officially called the "Rays Tank," the Aquarium at the Tampa Bay Ray's Tropicana Field was built in 2006 in conjunction with Tampa’s Florida Aquarium. The tank is 35-feet long and three-feet deep. It holds 10,000 gallons of saltwater. There is a 20-foot wide acrylic wall facing the outfield, and the rest of the tank is made of fiberglass. The Aquarium has a sandy bottom.
Touching the Rays
Designed to house 30 cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus), the tank is essentially a giant touch tank, where fans can get up close and personal with a ray during any and all home games. Visiting the rays during a game is free of charge, but only 50 visitors are allowed into the tank area at a time. Fans request a time-stamped card indicating when they are able to get up-close with the beautiful animals. "Ray Food" is available for purchase, and visitors are encouraged to touch the rays when they feed them.
The cownose rays in the tank were caught in Tampa Bay, although this past year, the Florida Aquarium has successfully bred cownose rays in captivity. The young rays, according to the Aquarium’s website, will eventually be housed in the Rays Tank. An adult cownose ray can reach 84 inches but usually much smaller in captivity.
Long Migrations
Cownose rays are native to both the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean. In the western Atlantic, they can be found as far north as southern New England, but their range extends south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Cownose rays are known to migrate exceptionally long distances and frequently travel as far south as Brazil.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the cownose ray is listed as "Near Threatened".
Educational Outreach
Thom Stork, CEO of the Florida Aquarium, sees the partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays and Tropicana Field as an opportunity to extend the Aquarium's educational outreach to an audience that might not otherwise choose to visit a public aquarium attraction. “Sure, people will enjoy seeing and feeding the rays while attending the game,” says Stork, “but they will also learn about these interesting animals and possibly want to see more exotic and interesting fish available to them here [at the Aquarium].”
A Homerun for Charity
In addition to educational outreach, the Rays Tank is also a source of funds for the Florida Aquarium. While proceeds from the sale of “Ray Food” go to the aquarium, the big money comes whenever a homerun ball lands in the tank. Every ball hit by a Rays player into the tank during a game results in the Tampa Bay Rays donating $2,500 to the Florida Aquarium and $2,500 to the player's charity of choice.
 |
 |
