Mystic Aquarium teams up with Save The Bay on select Westerly Seal Tours

PROVIDENCE, RI – On October 18 and 24 and November 15, Mystic Aquarium will join Save The Bay on three special seal tours featuring Mystic Aquarium’s Dr. Allison Tuttle. Save The Bay marine science educators will share fascinating information about the region’s natural history and the seals that live along the coastal waters, while Tuttle, Vice President of Biological Programs at Mystic Aquarium, will talk about Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program, which comes to the aid of stranded marine mammals and sea turtles along 1,000 miles of coastline in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Fisher’s Island, and New York.

Mystic Aquarium is a founding member of the Greater Atlantic Region Stranding Network along with other organizations from Virginia to Maine and is permitted by NOAA Fisheries to respond to stranded marine mammals. The program consists of more than 250 trained first responder volunteers and maintains a rehabilitation clinic at the Mystic Aquarium particularly designed for managing different seal species during their rehabilitation. Tuttle will share what individuals can do should they find a stranded animal.

“I get to work my dream job at Mystic Aquarium. I embrace the novelty each day brings, from quarantining new fish to performing surgery on an injured animal, but my main medical interests lay in infectious disease and preventative medicine,” said Tuttle.

Save The Bay has been offering seal tours out of Newport for more than 15 years. With the addition of a second education vessel, the M/V Elizabeth Morris, the organization was able to add Westerly tours to its public programming three years ago. And, following a successful trial run last spring, Fall River tours will be offered in March and April.

The Save The Bay/Mystic Aquarium Seal Tours depart from Viking Marina, 19 Margin Street, Westerly, RI.  Tours are $22 for non-members and $17 for Save The Bay members, Mystic Aquarium members, seniors and children aged 3-12. Guests are encouraged to register online atwww.savebay.org/seals, as tours fill quickly.

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