UPDATE: Coney Island’s New York Aquarium hard hit, animals may be evacuated

UPDATE: Friday, 8:00 PM November 2 from NY Aquarium staff (WCS):

From Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President of Zoos and Aquarium, Director of the Bronx Zoo:

We have restored power to three-quarters of the exhibits and holding quarters at the aquarium. Work progresses in restoring power to the last large exhibit building at WCS’s New York Aquarium, Explore the Shore. Progress to restore this power is slower than we anticipated due to the adverse conditions and extensive damage to electrical and mechanical equipment caused by contact with salt water. We remain optimistic that we can restore power to the life support systems of this exhibit in the next several hours.

Many of you have asked about the status of the collection. Our walruses, sea lions, seals, sea otters, sea turtles and sharks are all fine.  We did have some losses in the fish collection, most of which were confined to one exhibit tank that we could not access immediately after the storm hit.  The rest of our exhibit and holding tanks and the fish that are housed there are all doing well.

As the health and well-being of our collection is our most important concern, we will ask area aquariums who volunteered to help with any necessary fish relocation to stand by throughout the weekend in the event we are unsuccessful in our efforts to restore power to this one remaining area.  Our marine mammals will remain at the aquarium as we assess the full impact of the damages inflicted by Hurricane Sandy. The results of this study will provide the blueprint as we proceed and what if any species have to be temporarily relocated as we move forward with the restoration and re-opening of the New York Aquarium on Coney Island.

We have had many people ask how they can help. Supporters can go to nyaquarium.org to help us restore our facilities.

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Coney Island, one of New York City’s "Zone A" evacuation areas was hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.

At the New York Aquarium one of Coney Island’s major boardwalk tourst attractions, water from the flood surge got into the exhibits and animal habitats and staff worked around the clock to filter their aquatic environments.

Although heroic efforts to save the existing tanks were continuing, the Aquarium said that they were prepared to evacuate animals to other local facilities.

A statement issued by Jim Breheny, Executive Vice President of WCS Zoos and Aquarium and Director of the Bronx Zoo said:

"Using generator power, we are making progress restoring life support systems to our aquatic exhibits throughout the WCS New York Aquarium. We have restored power to two of our main exhibit buildings — Glover’s Reef and Conservation Hall. However, we still have areas that we have not been able to fully assess as to when we can get them back on line. We are facing a critical period when we will have to decide if we are going to move some of our animals. We are still working around the clock to accomplish what we need to do. We continue to pump water out of the areas which house crucial operating systems.

"As reported yesterday, if we cannot be reasonably certain that we can get systems operational within the time limits we have set, we are prepared to temporarily relocate some of our animals to other AZA aquariums in our region. This decision would likely be made in the next 24 hours.

"Mitik, the orphaned rescue walrus, weathered the storm without incident and seemed interested and amused by all the activity around him. Our adult walruses, sharks, penguins, sea turtles, and sea lions all did well in the storm. Our fish collection is also doing well as we have been able to maintain temporary life support on our tanks and exhibits since we lost power when the storm hit. This was made possible by the extraordinary effort put forth by the team of professionals we have at the New York Aquarium, led by its Director, Jon Dohlin. Our veterinarians have been working with the animal care staff to ensure the health and well-being of all our animals.

"Over the past several days, many zoos and aquariums, local officials, and individuals have offered encouragement and support. In this challenging time, we are grateful to all for reaching out. In the days to come, we will keep you posted on the status of our animals and the restoration of our operating systems. Once the situation for our animals has been stabilized and resolved, we will continue with the detailed assessment needed to determine when the aquarium will reopen. We look forward to working with our supporters and local officials."

Source: Wildlife Conservation Society