Mote Aquarium is expected to reopen to the public this morning and resume normal operations. Dedicated staff remained on site during the storm, and additional staff arrived early yesterday to assess the Aquarium. All animals are safe, but additional time was needed for clean up.

Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration (IC2R3) remains closed. IC2R3 was completed earlier this year on Summerland Key and was designed to be Category-5 hurricane resistant. IC2R3 staff secured the campus last week and have been following evacuation orders along with safety recommendations provided by Monroe County's emergency management team. By Friday, Mote staff had moved many of the nursery-grown coral fragments into the facility’s wet lab for protection, securing a “gene bank” of multiple coral species and genetic varieties that matter for reef restoration efforts.