All hands on deck at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

by Danielle Puleo

“I’ll sit down and meet with partners and discuss project scope, budget, timeline and then we’ll pull together groups of stakeholders that include those partner organizations, board members, members of the aquarium and volunteers, and have brainstorming sessions,” Jewel shared. Her exhibits team manages everything that isn’t animals; the artwork, graphics, displays and atmosphere that create an unforgettable aquatic experience all fall into their hands.

Some exhibits are permanent, while others rotate quarterly. Jewel pointed out the temporary ceramic sea art gallery, created by local artists Jenny Barrier and Tansy O’Bryant, before walking through the work of James Melvin and his artistic portrayal of Richard Etheridge and the great watermen who served with him in the late 1800s at the only all-black lifesaving station on Pea Island. “Right now, we’re working on an exhibit to highlight some of the conservation work we are doing,” she said. “It will be a turnkey exhibit, available at all of our locations … on our sand tiger shark research.”

To enhance the exhibit experience at the aquarium, Jewel noted that they are keen on surveying the general public and asking for feedback. A current goal she is hoping to achieve is to expand on the exhibits within the building, such as at the STAR (Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation) Center, where technician and aquarist Katie D’addato is busy caring for current patients.

“A majority of my day, especially during winter months, is attending to cold-stunned sea turtles,” D’addato mentioned. The STAR Center has had a massive number of sea turtles enter their doors this past winter season, with roughly 400 having been attended to at the center since Christmas, one of the busiest cold-stunned seasons on record North Carolina has seen within the last 10 years.

D’addato is a state-registered veterinary technician, which means she can assist with administering medical treatments of both sea turtles and other aquatic animals within the facility. She also provides support with animal care tasks throughout the day as well. “Every day looks a little different … we could have an emergency walk in at any time,” she shared, adding, “the time of year always looks different; in the summers, we sometimes have no turtles, while right now [March] we have about 100 turtles.”

The aquarist is always prepared for patients to make their way in, explaining the process of what happens when a sea turtle is found by NEST (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) and brought to their care. “As soon as they come in the door, we have a basic intake sheet that is followed.” A brief physical exam, documenting abnormalities and epibiota coverage, is conducted first, followed by a pit tag (microchip) scan, heart rate and temperature check, bloodwork and number assignment.

While cold-stunned patients make up the large majority of the cases at the STAR Center, D’addato said she has seen sea turtles comes in with injuries from entanglements, boat strikes, shark bites and general chronic debilitation. No matter what the cause for concern is, the team will ensure every turtle gets the care it needs. “While they are here, we provide whatever medical needs that they have until they are healthy enough to get released again.”

Despite the fact that every day at the aquarium brings new excitement as well as new challenges to the table, the crew agrees that it takes a huge team effort to keep animal and guest enjoyment at an all-time high. Thomason voiced, “We have so many different departments, but we are all supporting each other and with us working together, we’re going to achieve our mission.”