Construction on the whale and dolphin hospital in Islamorada is underway following nearly two years of planning and permitting.
Late last month, the Protect Center received notice from the Village of Islamorada that plans had passed all necessary reviews and, less than one week later, work started on the 56,000-gallon above-ground saltwater intensive care unit.
Along with installing a security fence, the first step of the project is to prepare a solid concrete foundation for the 40-foot-diameter tank. Once filled, the tank will weigh well over 200 tons.
When the foundation is complete, work will start on installing the rehabilitation tank, which is already staged on site. The specialized tank, which will house sick, injured and orphaned marine mammals, was originally purchased in 2023. The original purchase price included a $30,000 fee to cover installation of the fiberglass pool which requires the seams of each of the eight pieces to be sealed. Unfortunately, during the delays between purchase and construction, the manufacturer dissolved the company and left the Protect Center’s project hanging.
Luckily, a chance relationship with a fellow tenant allowed the organization to find a backup contractor with the necessary skills to complete the installation. However, this has put the project $30,000 over budget.
Nancy Cooper, president of Marine Mammal Responder — the nonprofit organization which operates the Protect Center — says these setbacks are not distracting from the focus of finishing the facility before an animal needs it.
“Our entire organization is steadfast on completing this project. It is our primary focus,” Cooper said. “We have been overcoming challenge after challenge since 2017 while working on this facility and we’re so close to finally having the facility built. We will keep persevering as long as we need.”
The final part of construction will be a robust life support system – a filtration system designed to keep the water in the tank sanitary and in optimum condition to support recovery of sick animals. Once all elements are in place, the facility will be inspected for licensure by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which governs rehabilitation efforts nationwide for whales and dolphins. Officials say that if all continues as planned, they hope to call for this inspection in June.
Hunter Kinney, the organization’s director of development, has been involved in the development of the hospital since day one. He says he is happy to start showcasing the project to supporters, locals and visitors next month.
“Seeing this project become a reality is surreal — and I’m looking forward to sharing that same feeling with our visitors over the coming months and beyond,” he said. “As construction progresses, our creative team has turned their focus to developing a truly unique hospital tour experience which will launch after construction is finished.”
In the meantime, Kinney says, guests can look forward to a hard-hat tour which will launch on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, and be offered daily until the full tour experience is ready.
“The hard-hat tour will allow people to see first-hand what their support is doing for whales and dolphins,” Kinney said. “Our mission can sometimes be hard to grasp or relate to without something tangible to see, but this (construction) allows us to change that.”
Kinney hopes to see increased visits to the center with construction underway, increasing awareness for the project. He said this connection is important, as without this support, the lifesaving facility couldn’t exist.
“We are a very small team trying to do a literal ‘whale’ of a mission, so without our community standing behind the project it wouldn’t be happening,” he said.
The Protect Center leadership team is working on a final fundraising campaign to launch soon to help complete funding for the initial facilities.
The Protect Center is open daily to visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center features a gift shop and museum, both of which support the development of the hospital facilities. Those wishing to contribute may contact the facility at 305-453-4321, in person, or at www.connecttoprotect.org/hospital.
