LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) — At Birch Aquarium, a walk through the Living Seas Gallery brings visitors face-to-face with one of the ocean's most important ecosystems; corals
But what visitors don't see is the years of work that go into keeping those corals alive.
And for the last 35 years, Fernando Nosratpour, an Associate Curator at the aquarium, has been helping do exactly that.
His childhood fascination with aquariums turned into a career in marine biology, and eventually leading him to his curator role.
Over the decades, he's helped care for marine life, grow corals, and educate visitors about the importance of protecting ocean ecosystems.
But before retiring, there was one project he wanted to see through.
Last year, Birch Aquarium opened two new coral habitats. The exhibit showcases the beauty of the reefs, but also the challenges they face — Rising ocean temperatures, pollution and disease are threatening reefs around the world.
Fernando helped design the habitat and says he wanted to watch it succeed before stepping away.
Coral reefs support roughly a quarter of all marine species, despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor. Fernando says helping people experience them up close is one of the best ways to inspire conservation: “Unless we get to see it and see what it looks like, I don't think people can appreciate why it's important and why we need to save them.”
After watching the exhibit grow and flourish for a full year, he decided the time was finally right. His last day as one of Birch Aquarium's Curators was Thursday.
But before leaving, he took one more walk through the habitat he helped create, which he calls his "second home."
And while his career at Birch Aquarium is coming to an end, he hopes the corals he spent decades caring for continue telling their story. “I hope that they remember that I love corals, I love working with the animals, and it's been a joy to work here.”
