Life

Something fishy's going on downtown

Colin Mesa helps his dad Greg Mesa position a lemon shark at Team ECCO aquarium downtown.

By Bill Moss, Published: July 1, 2012

Along with everything else happening on Main Street on Independence Day add the Shark of July.

Or "Sharks of Summer," as the new exhibit by Team ECCO's downtown aquarium, is known.
While they're not real sharks, they're as close to real as ECCO director B.J. Ramer could get for the aquarium space. She doesn't have room for the big sharks of Hollywood fame, only a couple of pups in a smaller aquarium.
Natalie Ronstadt poses with the Great White shark.The "Sharks of Summer," three models that will be exhibited on the floor and overhead, will be ready on Wednesday for young children and families and anyone that wants to learn about the predators of the deep.
"We've never had sharks on Main Street before," she said, presumably discounting the Florida swells that peddled real estate here in the Roaring '20s. "We try to do things that are different and fun."
After getting a donation from "a family in town that supports Team ECCO," Ramer found a couple in Georgia that makes models for museum exhibits. She ordered a 12-foot Great White and an 8-foot lemon shark. Someone found a 9-foot hammerhead shark on Craigslist. The two sharks from Georgia arrived on board a tractor-trailer in a 15x4 crate. Ramer and her Team ECCO crew unpacked the big fish on Main Street to make sure they survived the trip intact.
The exhibit opens on the Fourth of July, which, Ramer happily notes, is the 35th anniversary of the movie "Jaws." To mix drama with the exhibit, the museum has repurposed the jail from Hendersonville High School's senior play to create a photo op for folks who want to get their picture made with a Great White shark.

Team ECCO's Center for Ocean Awareness is at 511 N. Main St. Summer hours are 1-5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.