When the Maine State Aquarium closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, an inspection revealed severe damage in the 30-plus year old building. Maine Department of Marine Resources officials discovered problems with the walls, floor and electrical system caused mostly by saltwater corrosion. Despite being closed for nearly three years, renovation progress has been slowed due to continued supply chain and labor shortage problems haunting the entire nation. 

But there is good news. Education Division Director Dottie Yunger reports the aquarium’s floor has been replaced and other renovations continue. DMR officials remain hopeful the $1.07 million renovation project will be done by an anticipated June 2024 reopening. So far, the department reports spending $450,000. DMR Communications Director Jeff Nichols said the renovations will include new flooring, electrical work and lighting. Life support systems include pumps and filters necessary to support animals in holding tanks and displays. The approved facility and life support systems budget is $225,000. Two new display tanks, including two 1,300-gallon tanks, holding tanks and touch tanks cost $365,000. The budget for new exhibits, programming and signage is $480,000. Planned exhibits include a rearticulated minke whale skeleton and touch screen displays of DMR research.

The department held an open house from June 28 to July 1 previewing its anticipated return next summer. But when visitors attended the open house, several  popular attractions were missing. In a July 13 Boothbay Register letter to the editor, one visitor lamented not seeing the wall mural, rock wall and a 20-foot touch tank previously filled with a huge variety of sea creatures. 

In an interview with the Boothbay Register, Yunger explained those attractions would not return. She described these longstanding public favorites as damaged beyond repair. “The floor needed to come up and walls needed to come down,” she said. “The mural had nails drilled into the wall. We did what we could to salvage it, but all we could do is photograph it and have prints made.”

Installing a new floor required removing the 11,000-pound rock wall. Department officials decided against including a new rock wall due to concerns about the new floor’s structural ability to handle such a heavy load. DMR has posted future plans on social media and provides regular updates on future exhibits. The department is also replacing its previous touch tank with a more modern model. “There are new animal husbandry standards, and the new one is better suited for animal care,” Yunger said. 

Aquarium plans for the remainder of 2023 include one-day educational events. Presentations will highlight DMR lobster research on Friday, July 28. Another presentation is slated for Thursday, Aug. 17 on emerging research into white shark presence in the Gulf of Maine.