Sea World vet to help run UF program in aquatic animal health

September 24, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Walsh, D.V.M., a former head veterinarian at Sea World of Florida, has joined the administrative staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, where he now serves as associate director of UF’s Aquatic Animal Health program.

He will work directly under program director Ruth Francis-Floyd, D.V.M., a longtime fisheries and aquaculture specialist.

Although programs in aquaculture and fisheries existed for years across different colleges and departments at UF, an $810,000 state grant funded in 2000 — shared between the college and the Whitney Marine Laboratory — has greatly expanded the university’s teaching, clinical and research expertise in the area of marine mammal medicine.

Walsh’s 21 years in that discipline have been marked by innovation and improvement in the care of manatees, seals and sea lions, penguins, dolphins, whales, sea turtles and sharks as well as beached whales and dolphins.

“I joined this program because of its past strengths, its current level of expertise and the obvious future commitment it will make to Florida’s valuable wild aquatic animal species, the fish industry, the Oceanaria, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service,” Walsh said. “These are unique and productive partnerships and the general public has no idea of the many accomplishments on their behalf.”

Walsh also has contributed to the internationalization of Florida’s aquatic animal medicine program by providing training and other assistance to organizations in Taiwan, Canada, Holland, Argentina and South America. New associations with Clearwater Marine Science Center and Georgia Aquarium will offer clinical residents even more hands-on exposure to state-of-the-art marine animal medicine.