Headed Upstream: Hundreds Of Fish From Washington National Aquarium Could Soon Be Coming To Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Headed to new waters. Sea life in Washington D.C. may soon be headed to Charm City.
Jessica Kartalija explains--the closing of the Washington National Aquarium could mean more fish at the Inner Harbor.
For years, things have been rather fishy in the basement of the Commerce Department building in our nation's capital--since 1932 to be exact.
But come September, hundreds of animals will be looking for a new home.
"We want to make sure that any animals that we bring from the facility in Washington have a good home and that would be here at the Baltimore facility," said John Racanelli, CEO, National Aquarium in Baltimore.
Fifteen-hundred aquatic creatures--like fish, frogs and salamanders--will be moved to Baltimore and other cities.
But aquarium-goers would like to see more fish in Charm City.
"I think that's awesome. Why not? We want more fish, right? The more fish the better!" said Dan Card, visiting the Aquarium from New York.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore is home to almost 700 different species. That's more than 16,000 animals, so what's a few more, right?
"To close the aquarium is sad but to bring it here and have it all in one big one is awesome," said Danielle Szesnat.
"Maybe it will bring more people if there are a few things they don't have here," said Amy Cargiulo from Howard County.
More than a million people visit Baltimore's aquarium every year. It's so popular that the Travel Channel ranked it one of the best.
"I saw like a shark fish, a big red fish, all the fish are amazing," a young visitor said.
At this point, the Aquarium in Baltimore is unclear as to how many fish they could be getting, but they could see them as soon as this fall.
The aquarium's board is looking into ways to maintain a presence in Washington.
