WILMINGTON, OHIO - October 1, 2009 - An ABX Air Boeing 767 was the temporary home for over 1,000 tropical and exotic fish as they made the trip from the Ocean Park Aquarium in Barbados to their new home at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, England. "Months of planning came together last week as a team of experts gathered in Barbados to stage the containers and set up for the move," said ABX Air Manager of Business Development Eric Plas. "A lot of people worked on this project to make this a successful venture." While not unprecedented in the industry, an operation on this scale is rare. "Moving an animal or a few of them is more common than moving the whole aquarium of fish," added Plas. "Our planning had to be well thought out and our execution precise for the safety of the fish and the crew." Starting back in the summer when the National Aquarium contacted ABX Air about the possible move, and working through today when some of the fish are still being acclimated to their new surroundings, James Wright from the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, England, has been involved every step of the way.

"We had been planning to retheme our Mediterranean display tank to an Atlantic Ocean Tank due to a problem in sourcing livestock, when through a pure coincidence Ocean Park, Barbados advertised for a new home for their livestock," said Wright. fish tank plants going yellow"As these animals fit perfectly with the stock list we had produced, a nominal fee was discussed and the project began in earnest."fish tank plants canada Many factors were involved in the safe transport of the fish. fish tank gravel bulkInitial details were covered through numerous emails and conference calls. marine fish tank shrimp

The weight and balance of the aircraft would be critical, as the load would be very close to the maximum payload for the B767-200SF. Care of the fish in-flight would be necessary so marine biologists would need to travel with them. marine fish tank chemistryA technical stop would need scheduled at an optimal location to accommodate the heavy aircraft, the midpoint of the flight and the fish. my fun fish tank lightAll of this was coordinated in the months leading up to the move. "Strategic Air Services in Miami, with owner Terry Went, were instrumental as we accumulated the supplies," said Plas. "We were able to stage supplies in their warehouse areas and then secure space on an ABX Air operated flight for Caribbean Air from Miami to Barbados when it was time to get started." The week before the fish took flight people on the ground began to accumulate the supplies needed.

"On Tuesday we met in Barbados with the Head Curator of the Ocean Park Aquarium, Mitch Hird, and started to stage the supplies we would need to transport the fish," said Senior Training Instructor/Professional Load Master (PLM) Jerry Heilgeist. "As the week progressed we continued to prepare the equipment for the move and met with other team members including Jose Graca from Flying Sharks who would capture the fish in the aquarium and prepare them for transport, and Neil Hope, photographer for the aquarium." Early Saturday the final details came together and the fish left the aquarium for the airport. In tanks of saltwater trucked in for the trip, the fish were secured in the aircraft. Special oxygen tanks to aerate the water were loaded and deployed. The build-up and loading took over five hours, ensuring the safety of the fish and the aircraft for transit. ABX Air Captain Larry Cavazos and First Officer Danny Graves, accompanied on the flight by ABX Air PLM Mike Castellanos and National Aquarium Senior Biologists Wright and Paul Cox, departed Barbados and flew north to Gander, Newfoundland, where the flight landed after six hours for refueling and a crew change.

From there the flight headed east for another six hours with ABX Air Captain Adrian Ruddle and First Officer John Vestal and arrived in England at London Heathrow where the fish were cleared into the country. They then traveled on to Exeter airport in Devonshire before being loaded onto trucks for the final leg of the journey into Plymounth, England. Some specimens included in the move were a black tip reef shark, nurse sharks, eagle rays, tarpon, southern stingrays and more. In all, more than 1,000 fish made the trip. In addition to the crew and professional load master on board, the ABX Air team working on the project included: Vice President of Business Development Scott Glasser, Plas, Charter Customer Support Specialist Catherine Rettich, Manager of International Regulatory Compliance Stacia Garen, Manager of Flight Scheduling Gayle Paetzel, Flight Dispatcher Alain Terzakis, Senior Training Instructor/PLM George Stacey and Heilgeist. "As of today, the fish are several places around the aquarium due to the numbers brought over," said Wright.

"Most are off display to the public whilst they settle after the transport although the numbers and sizes of the Southern Stingrays and Nurse Sharks meant that after an initial treatment they had to go straight into the main 2,500,000 liter exhibit. With our team of divers we built them a special 500,000-liter pen to keep them away from any unwanted attentions of our resident 120-kg Sand Tiger sharks. We dived with the Rays and Sharks to feed them underwater and assess their health and I am happy to say they seem to love their new home and appear to be none the worse for their transatlantic travel!" "It was an ambitious project but one we knew with the help and support of ABX Air, Flying Sharks, Mitch Hird and the staff at Ocean Park it was one we could accomplish," Wright added. ABX Air is FAR Part 121 air cargo services provider operating out of Wilmington, Ohio, and has the largest fleet of Boeing 767-200 cargo freighters in the world. It provides charter and package handling services to a diverse group of customers.