Tucked into a small freezer in the aquarium's second-story laboratory sit several vials of liquid the color of gold.
Imported from Australia and costing thousands of dollars a dose, the sea snake antivenom would be more valuable than gold to anyone unlucky enough to have a personal encounter with a yellow-lipped or Erabu sea krait.
The stuff costs about $1 a unit, "and it can take between 4,000 and 10,000 units to treat a bite," aquarium curator Hap Fatzinger said as he held a vial between his thumb and fingers. "The statistics for people who are bitten aren't good. Potential effects are up to a total body shutdown."
When the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher decided to splash up its selection of exhibits by breaking out of its "local waters" theme and displaying some of nature's most colorful and dangerous marine critters, particularly sea snakes, it knew it was taking on a big task.
Dealing with an antidote that's experimental because it hasn't been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the U.S. Department of Agriculture was just one of the hurdles.
Another challenge was finding someone willing to go swimming in the Pacific Ocean and collect the highly venomous snakes.
But on Saturday, the aquarium will open the roughly $300,000 exhibit, its first new display since the expanded facility reopened in 2002.
Along with 22 sea snakes, the "Exotic Aquatics" exhibit will include exquisite lionfish, ink-spewing cuttlefish and colorful Pacific reef fish.
All of the animals have to be handled with care, especially the lionfish, a colorful predator that has become an uninvited resident of the waters off the North Carolina coast.
But the stars of the exhibit are the sea snakes. The aquarium will become only the second facility in the country to display the highly venomous relatives of the cobra.
Learning from the experience of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., the sea snakes' round display tank won't include many nooks and crannies where the snakes can hang out away from visitors' prying eyes.
But the aquarium will take no chances when it comes time to handle the animals.
The snakes are kept under lock and key, and the tanks can be opened only with at least two trained personnel present.
The holding and exhibit areas are equipped with snakebite kits and big red "snake alarm" buttons.
However, Fatzinger said sea snakes usually aren't aggressive and have small fangs. They'd have to chomp on you to deliver a really dangerous bite.
"But the risk is always there," he said.
To move one of the animals, staff would use a hook to snare its head before grabbing its tail with a hand.
Along with staff training, the aquarium has developed a plan with the New Hanover Regional Medical Center to respond in an accident.
In case of a bite, workers would first ensure the snake is secured. They then would immobilize the victim, snugly wrapping any bitten arms or legs before transportation to a hospital.
Fatzinger said a decision on whether to administer anti-venom would be made after examination at New Hanover Regional.
"A lot of bites from venomous snakes are dry bites," he noted. "They want to save their venom for prey."
Several facilities around the country use an antidote derived from tiger snake venom to cover bites from a range of poisonous snakes. But Fatzinger said the aquarium wanted the real stuff even if it meant splurging for the sea snake anti-venom.
The decision has left Fort Fisher with the only stock of sea snake antidote in the country.
"We think it was worth the investment," Fatzinger said.
Link to Story
Linear Mode
