Mississippi Aquarium awarded $4.5 million in Restore Act Funds

GULFPORT, Miss. – Governor Tate Reeves announced during a press conference in Biloxi on Thursday, Mississippi Aquarium will be the recipient of $4.5 Million in RESTORE Act Funds.

Mississippi Aquarium is one of a handful of Gulf Coast projects being awarded from the RESTORE Act Spill Impact Component Funding.

“Our team is honored to receive this award from Governor Reeves and the RESTORE Act,” said Kurt Allen, president, and CEO for Mississippi Aquarium. “We will announce specifics about where this money will be invested very soon, but rest assured it will be a significant new attraction that will draw visitors to the Gulf Coast.”

Since opening in 2020, the Mississippi Aquarium has been the leading tourist attraction on the Gulf Coast highlighting family friendly fun. Each year hundreds of thousands of families visit the Aquarium for entertaining and interactive experiences, making it an extremely important contributor to the local and state’s economy. Since the Aquarium’s opening, there has been significant development on the Gulf Coast that enhances the quality of life for our communities.

RESTORE Act Funds are those earmarked to be used by the five Gulf Coast states to restore and protect the environment and economy in the Gulf Coast region. Framework for the allocation of funds stipulates that those funds must be used for ecological restoration, economic development, and tourism promotion.