Georgia Aquarium was one of the first zoological facilities to be Humane Certified and has reached nearly 10 years of certification

American Humane Society, the United States’ first national humane organization and the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare practices, announced today that Georgia Aquarium has earned recertification through the American Humane Certified Zoos and Aquariums program.

American Humane Society is the United States’ first national humane organization and the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare practices. Georgia Aquarium has continuously maintained its certification since first becoming Humane Certified™ in 2016.

“We are proud to continue recognizing Georgia Aquarium as a Humane Certified facility,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane Society. “Zoos, aquariums, and conservation parks around the world play an important role in the animal welfare movement, and this recertification further signifies Georgia Aquarium as a leader in aquatic care and conservation.”

Rigorous Certification Standards:

To be recognized as Humane Certified, Georgia Aquarium passed a rigorous independent assessment that reviewed the wellbeing of animals in their care and demonstrated overall excellence in their animal care and welfare practices. The unique process is guided by the latest science and best practices and is informed by respected veterinarians and experts in the fields of animal welfare, animal science, zoology, and ethics who have decades of experience in protecting animals.

The independent validation process—which goes above and beyond to help protect animals—provides visitors with confidence that the institution is meeting a high benchmark of care. The process includes submission of a pre-audit application, followed by an onsite audit that assesses animal welfare. Factors considered during the audit include, but are not limited to, housing, nutrition, water, lighting, shade, sound, activity levels, and the training of staff who are interacting with the animals. The benchmarks are species specific.

“Receiving our recertification as Humane Certified by American Humane Society is a testament to our commitment to the care and wellbeing of all our animals,” said Travis Burke, President and CEO of Georgia Aquarium. “It also recognizes the hard work and dedication that goes into training, veterinary care, nutrition, habitat support, and overall animal care to ensure these standards are constantly upheld.”
The American Humane Certified™ program is the first certification effort solely dedicated to helping verify the welfare and humane treatment of animals living in zoos, aquariums and conservation centers across the globe. The program enforces rigorous, science-based, and comprehensive criteria for animal welfare that are reviewed by an independent Scientific Advisory Committee comprised of world-renowned leaders in the fields of animal science, animal behavior and animal ethics. The audit helps to verify good practices at deserving zoos and aquariums and offers increased assurance to visitors that the institution they are visiting is worthy of their support.

Partnership will empower low vision visitors to explore the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere using their own eyesight.

Georgia Aquarium is launching an accessibility partnership with Baltimore-based ReBokeh Vision Technologies to offer free access to ReBokeh’s empowerment-driven assistive technology software for people with low vision. The partnership provides all Aquarium guests and staff with free, automatic, and unlimited access to ReBokeh, a mobile-app based assistive tech software which helps people with low vision to adjust the appearance of the world around them in order to fit their specific needs. The partnership makes Georgia Aquarium the first aquarium in the US to offer ReBokeh’s sole-source technology.

Home to more than five hundred species and thousands of animals, Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, having hosted more than 42 million guests since opening its doors in 2005. This partnership will expand the Aquarium’s offerings even further, empowering the 90% of low vision individuals who retain functional vision to experience the wide range of animals and exhibits using their own vision, rather than defaulting to tactile or audio descriptions. This empowerment-driven approach creates a more accessible and enjoyable experience for visitors, since many low vision individuals struggle to capture information through sight-replacing options, like audio or tactile only options. It also provides visitors of any visual ability the option to customize their viewing experience in unique and creative ways.

“Our key mission is to unlock the ocean for all; that includes providing features and opportunities like ReBokeh’s technology for guests so they can experience our larger-than-life animals and the wonder they invoke. This partnership with ReBokeh is integral to our continued commitment to accessibility for all,” said Sam Herman, Director of Guest Programs at Georgia Aquarium. 

ReBokeh’s technology works by allowing users to leverage the live camera feed from their mobile devices with overlayed, customized filters that adjust aspects like contrast, color hue, zoom, and lighting to meet the needs of low vision users. ReBokeh AI, a new feature, also offers the opportunity for lengthened interactions with ReBokeh’s custom-built AI tool. Users can ask ReBokeh AI personalized questions about what’s around them and what they’re seeing. ReBokeh AI also works in multiple languages and will default to whichever language is selected in the user’s general mobile device settings, allowing ReBokeh AI to work as a translation tool for signage, information, and visual surroundings.

By leveraging ReBokeh at the Aquarium, visitors can improve their experience in terms of enjoyment and  accessibility; low vision individuals can use the software to see the animals in each exhibit more clearly, or to read navigational signs, information plaques, cafe menus, and much more

“A day at the Aquarium is an opportunity to see the magic of our oceans and the incredible variety of wildlife that call the sea home,” said Rebecca Rosenberg, the low vision founder of ReBokeh. “Being able to see and interact with each exhibit using your own eyesight can be an incredibly powerful experience for people with low vision. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Georgia Aquarium to make them the first aquarium on the planet to create these new and immersive experiences for the low vision community.”

ReBokeh is extending this partnership opportunity to other museums, zoos, and public spaces in an effort to make low vision accessibility the rule rather than the exception. Organizations who are interested in partnering with ReBokeh can contact the team at partnerships@rebokeh.com.

In a remarkable milestone for marine science, a new, third species of manta ray – Mobula yarae – has been discovered, and officially recognized by science, and Georgia Aquarium played a key role in the discovery.

For more than a decade, scientists suspected that a mysterious group of manta rays swimming in the Atlantic Ocean didn’t quite match the two known species. Now, thanks to a collaborative global research effort and data gathered from animals cared for at Georgia Aquarium, Mobula yarae has been officially recognized as its own species.

“This discovery is a powerful reminder of how much we still have to learn about the ocean,” said Dr. Cameron Perry, a co-author of the paper and Research Scientist at Georgia Aquarium. “Sometimes, what seems like a small detail can lead to big revelations. These kinds of breakthroughs are only possible when we’re curious enough to look more closely.”

Two manta rays at Georgia Aquarium, Tallulah and Blue, were part of that closer look. Morphological data and imagery from these animals helped define the physical characteristics of Mobula yarae, and Aquarium scientists also contributed to broader genetic and anatomical analyses that confirmed the species’ distinct identity.

The newly described species gets its name from Yara, a mythical water spirit in Brazilian folklore known as the “mother of the waters.” It’s a fitting tribute since Mobula yarae have been observed throughout the Atlantic Ocean, from Brazil to the southeastern United States, favoring both coastal and open-ocean environments.

Like other members of the mobulidae family, Mobula yarae faces growing threats from entanglement, bycatch, pollution, and habitat degradation. As one of the world’s largest public aquariums, and home to several individual animals now identified as this species, Georgia Aquarium is uniquely positioned to contribute to its protection through research, education, and conservation.

“The individual animals living at the Aquarium are ambassadors for their wild counterparts,” said Dr. Lisa Hoopes, a co-author of the paper and Senior Director of Research and Conservation at Georgia Aquarium. “This is a vivid example of how aquarium-based research can support science that drives global understanding and conservation of vulnerable species.”

The study was published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes and contributes to a growing body of evidence that ocean biodiversity is far from fully documented. In a rapidly changing world, each discovery brings new urgency and new hope for understanding and protecting marine life, one species at a time.