'Operation Noah's Ark' is a plan to save the animals of the Gulf of Mexico

PANACEA, Fla. - If the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should kill off entire segments of sea life, Jack Rudloe wants to collect two of every living thing in the Gulf of Mexico, in order to repopulate it. He calls the project Operation Noah's Ark.

Since 1965, Jack Rudloe has run the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, and wonders about the possibility of an oil company shutting down his life’s work. "I don’t have time to be frightened," he said. "There is so much to do."

While most aquariums feature large charismatic marine mammals and sharks, the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab focuses on the fascinating world of the small.

Workers there collect all manner of Gulf life to support marine research and education at universities and provide younger students with "hands-on" experience with the odd and interesting animals of the Gulf of Mexico. It is home for a myriad of Gulf creatures – visitors cand touch a shark swimming by, or get splashed by a wriggling grouper.

The lab survives by pumping in fresh saltwater from the nearby Gulf. Now that water source is threatened by the looming oil slick.  Contamination would kill these animals, and render the entire operation useless.

Rudloe is bringing in new tanks and installing a maze of plumbing to store fresh saltwater for the lab. He wants to create a self-contained reservoir that would allow the facility to operate indefinitely without having to pump in water from the bay.

The plumbing system would allow the lab to make its own water and thanks to donated equipment from Martin Marine, possibly even remove oil from water.

Rudloe is doing all of this to ensure all Gulf creatures will survive the oil spill. Operation Noah’s Ark will keep the animals free from tainted waters. Once the Gulf of Mexico is clean and safe, he plans to repopulate it with the sea life he collects.

"It probably makes as much sense mathematically as the original Noah’s Ark did, which is two of everything repopulating the earth," said Rudloe.

You can find out more about the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab and Operation Noah's Ark at www.GulfSpecimen.org.