Keep the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher Funded

From the July 23, 2015, Wilmington (NC) Star-News by the Star'News Editorial Board.

{People know that the aquarium is a great place to visit.  Users of Trip Advisor recently ranked it as the nation's 16th best aquarium.  Star-News readers ranked it as the region's top family attraction in last year's Shore Picks rankings.

This spring they brought in colorful parrots from Australia called lorikeets which will be there until October.  Last year they had a butterfly exhibit.  In 2009, they bought Luna an albino alligator.

The centerpiece of the place is the 235,000-gallon Cape Fear Shoals exhibit, often called the "Shark Tank," but also including moray eels, grouper, stingrays and others species of aquatic life.

In addition, it is located near the popular Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry.

There is a North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory proposal to move management of the three N.C. aquariums, along with state parks and recreation areas from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to the Cultural Resources Department and this has aquarium as they believe they are not just in the business of pleasing visitors as they work to preserve wildlife.

State funding for the aquariums dropped from $10.5 million in 2007 to $7 million in 2014.  Ticket prices have been raised.

We went to it a few years ago and it is definitely worth the admission price.

--RoadDog