Jetty A 5,000-gallon jetty exhibit nearly fills the back wall of the center. Barnacles, periwinkle, and other shelled animals encrust wooden pilings and moray eels inhabit rocks that spill across the bottom while finfish like sergeant majors, snook, tarpon and eels hover among the pilings. Artificial Reef Tarpon, crevalle jack, pompano, and spot swim in the 5,000-gallon artificial reef exhibit. Here visitors experience tripletail, jacks, snapper, scamp, and pompano swimming in the colorful habitats created by artificial reefs. On the grounds beside the Visitor Center are over 5 acres of coastal marshes - with both salt and freshwater ecosystems.
Visitors can access the area on an elevated boardwalk.
A recently completed nature checklist is available as you begin the walk, listing over 150 animal and plant species. An open-air pavilion surrounded by a butterfly and hummingbird garden provides an excellent place to sit and relax or eat lunch during a visit. Guided nature tours are available with a reservation. The hatchery building, in contrast to the Visitor Center, is a utilitarian facility, engineered for low maintenance, semi-intensive fish production. The high-tech life support systems are tailored for species such as red drum and spotted seatrout.