Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue to DC

  • 2023 Economic Impact

    Texas State Aquarium hosted 566,000 visitors in 2023, with 56% of those guests traveling from out of town. This attendance resulted in an overall economic impact of $195 million in the Corpus Christi area, supporting 1,337 local jobs and $54 million workers' salaries. Additionally, partnering with 123 regional vendors for the year, the Texas State Aquarium generated enough revenue to produce $7,238,804 in sales tax.

    Over the last ten years, the Aquarium has produced a half billion dollars in economic impact to the Coastal Bend.

  • Wildlife Response Operations Center

    The Wildlife Response Operations Center (WROC) at the Texas State Aquarium is a formalized framework for coordinating and overseeing emergency response along the Texas Gulf Coast. The first in the country, its primary function is to lead disaster and wildlife response planning, training, testing, and operations. Being a cooperative of State and Federal resource agencies, WROC partners include Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texas General Land Office, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, National Park Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, Port Corpus Christi, and the Texas State Aquarium.

  • Texas State Aquarium

    • Located in Corpus Christi, Texas
    • Established in 1990 and designated the official Aquarium of Texas
    • Operating its Wildlife Rescue Program since 1995
    •  Largest Aquarium in Texas
    • Ranked as the 4th largest Aquarium in North America
    • Home to over 4,000 animals
    • A 501(c)(3) non-profit helping rescue, rehabilitate, and conserve Texas Wildlife

  • STEM Center for Workforce Development

    The Aquarium is dedicated to workforce development, which has strengthened partnerships and, in 2023, reached 30,487 students spanning from primary education to graduate level.

    • Offers a range of experiences from underwater research to sea turtle surgeries
    • Local students gain hands-on STEM experience through the Aquarium's various educational programs
    • Launched in 2022, "Wildlife Rescue on the Road" provides hands-on learning opportunities to students around the state of Texas

  • Center for Wildlife Rescue at the Texas State Aquarium

    Supported by numerous donors, the Port Corpus Christi Center for Wildlife Rescue opened its doors in March of 2023. The Center showcases vital science and technology needed for the rehabilitation of a wide range of Texas wildlife. The Center is a 26,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility offering comprehensive care, from emergency surgeries to routine checkups.

    • Largest wildlife rescue center in the state
    • Home to Texas' only wildlife CT scan machine
    • Emergency deployable field stabilization system that can house thousands of animals at any location.

  • Wildlife Rescue Efforts

    The Aquarium's Wildlife Rescue Program, the only one in Texas licensed to care for injured marine mammals, sea turtles, shorebirds, and raptors provides treatment and rehabilitation for injured or ill wildlife, resulting in the release of 4,450 animals.