Quick Fixes Enough To Open Miami Seaquarium

Monday, September 15, 2003
MIAMI, FLORIDA - The big question today was whether the 48-year-old Miami Seaquarium would be forced to close its doors.

At 9:30 a.m. the answer became apparent. Miami-Dade County building officials said several safety violations were satisfactorily repaired over the weekend and the park could open its doors to the public.

Miami-Dade County building inspectors were and still are concerned about 30 structural violations found at the aquarium last week.

The violations came to light after Russ Rector, president of the Dolphin Freedom Foundation, had two colleagues shoot undercover video (pictured) at the park. The tape shows corroded guardrails on the bridge over a shark moat, exposed electrical wiring, and crumbling concrete and guardrails on stairways and viewing decks.

County officials warned that a complete shutdown would happen Monday if the electrical problems were not immediately addressed.

"They made the public areas that we are concerned with safe, meaning they disconnected all exposed wiring and did some repairs," county building director Charles Danger said. "I know they are on top of it. I think it was a wake-up call to get the place up to a level of safety that we agree with."

Danger said over the weekend that the anchors on some guardrails, in particular at the reef tank, were so corroded they would not hold up if anyone leaned against them.

The Seaquarium must file a repair schedule by the end of the week, Danger said. Areas still deemed unsafe have remained closed, he said.

Seaquarium officials have acknowledged the park needed repairs, but said visitors were not in danger.