CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – The newest exhibit at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston allows visitors to touch two sea creatures they might not want to encounter in the ocean: sharks and stingrays.
Shark Shallows opens Saturday and is the largest exhibit added to the aquarium on Charleston Harbor since it opened 15 years ago.
The exhibit consists of a 20,000-gallon outdoor saltwater tank where visitors can reach down and touch sharks and stingrays swimming by.
Aquarium officials say the bonnethead sharks and the species of stingrays in the exhibit are not aggressive and the venomous barbs on the stingrays have been clipped.
The exhibit allows people to touch creatures they might think frightening. It’s also designed to educate visitors about sharks that are subject to overfishing worldwide.
