Honduras inaugurates Central America's first coral aquarium
The first marine aquarium in Central America, which displays coral species from the Mesoamerican Reef, some of them in danger of extinction, has opened its doors to the public in the coastal city of Tela, northern Honduras.
The space is designed for educational and scientific purposes, intended to show locals and tourists part of what is under the shallow waters of Tela. It runs out of the Honduras Shores Plantation tourist complex and was built and will be supported with private funds.
The exhibits in the space showcase mangrove ecosystems and various marine species, including corals, small crustaceans, mollusks and fish that inhabit Tela Bay, which is part of the Mesoamerican Reef system (MAR), the largest coral reef in the Atlantic Ocean.
Manager Antal Börcsök says educational institutions that wish to visit the aquarium starting next year will be able to plan their arrivals with the staff of the Tela Marine Research Center. They will open every day of the week from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with free admission.
La Tribuna, with support from Internews' Earth Journalism Network, visited the new Tela marine aquarium and produced the following photo essay.
A Spanish-language version of this story originally appeared in La Tribuna on 13 Dec. 2019.
Banner image: Visitors to the marine aquarium, which was built for scientific and educational purposes. Honduran scientists were the first visitors, said manager Antal Börcsök / Credit: Josué Quintana
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