Monterey Bay Aquarium announces reopening date

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, a world-renowned fixture on Monterey’s Cannery Row waterfront for 35 years and a major Northern California tourist draw, will reopen to the public on Monday July 13 after being closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Four days earlier, on July 9, members will be allowed into facility, known for its rollicking sea otters, mysterious sharks, hypnotic jellyfish and thousands of other animals.

“We’ve missed welcoming our visitors to the aquarium and have been looking forward to this day,” said Julie Packard, the aquarium’s executive director. “Social media and our online experiences have allowed us to stay connected with people virtually, but there is no substitute for connecting with favorite exhibits and animals in real life.”

As with other aquariums and zoos around the United States that have begun to reopen, there are a host of new safety rules.

Every visitor age three and older will be required to wear a mask to enter. So will employees and volunteers. For visitors who forget, masks will be for sale. No standing in line at the ticket window will be allowed. Tickets can only be purchased, starting July 1, online at the aquarium’s website. Aquarium members can reserve their own timed-entry visits in advance, using the member section of the website. Tickets will be sold on a timed-entry basis, in blocks of 30 minutes to keep visitor numbers to about 25% of normal, at least at first, with a limit of 250 people per hour.

“We’re going to start slow and evaluate as we go,” said David Rosenberg, the aquarium’s vice president for guest experience.

Most of the familiar exhibits will be open. But visitors will be asked to travel in two large, one-way loops to keep up social distancing. The gift shop will be open. The auditorium closed. Restaurants will have limited food service. Hand sanitizer will be plentiful. Touch pools will have animals in them and docents explaining the highlights, as in the past, but for now, they will be look-but-don’t-touch pools.

“It’s still going to be the same amazing experience that people expect at the aquarium, but we are going to make sure it is a safe and healthy experience,” Rosenberg said.

Starting June 12, California Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed aquariums, zoos, museums and botanical gardens to reopen, as long as they followed a variety of health and safety rules, as part of California’s gradual reopening of restaurants, stores, hotels, and other businesses.

The coronavirus pandemic has it zoos, aquariums and museums particularly hard. The facilities, which often draw the majority of their revenue from ticket sales, have found themselves in dire financial condition, laying off staff, launching emergency fundraising efforts and making other cutbacks to stay solvent. And the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which opened in 1984 after a $55 million gift from tech pioneer David Packard and his wife Lucile, has been no different. Despite historically drawing about 2 million visitors a year — more than the combined home attendance of the San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors’ — and having a stronger donor and membership base than many similar organizations, the aquarium has been forced to make cuts while closed.

Facing $45 million in losses this year, the aquarium announced in April that it would lay off 93 employees and furlough an additional 128 — a 38% reduction in its workforce of about 560 people, to conserve enough money to continue to properly care for the animals and maintain its facilities.

“These were painful but necessary decisions to maintain the health of the aquarium,” Julie Packard said at the time.

Across California and the United States, some zoos and aquariums are beginning to unlock their doors. But not all of them.

On Saturday, the San Diego Zoo reopened at 50% of normal visitation, with face coverings required for visitors and employees, and shuttle buses idle. But the San Francisco Zoo, Oakland Zoo and Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose remain closed.

In Southern California, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach reopened June 14. Advance timed reservations are required. Masks are required for guests, and temperatures are taken at the door. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 F or above is not be allowed to enter. The theater and touch pools are closed.

Other landmark U.S. aquariums remain closed, including Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the New England Aquarium in Boston and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, along with Aquarium of the Bay and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

But the Florida Aquarium in Tampa reopened May 15, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta opened June 15, and the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut opened Friday. The rules are similar to Monterey’s plans. In fact, Monterey has been studying other aquariums closely.

“There are some aquariums that have been operating for over a month,” Rosenberg said. “We’ve been in close contact with our colleague in Asia and Europe and other places. I’ve been on the phone a lot. We’re all learning from each other.”

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has kept up its live webcams during the closure, drawing millions of viewers. The animals? Same as always.

“All of the animal exhibits have been fully maintained,” Rosenberg said. “They are doing very well. For them, there really wasn’t much of an impact whether we were open or closed.”