The facility essentially serves as a sea mammal hospital. With a small staff of about 40 employees and a team of more than 800 volunteers assisting in its operations, the center conducts research, treats animals, and has become a key purveyor of biologic information and marine education.
Because the facility manages the health of sea animals, it requires an advanced filtration system that keeps water sources separate and well cleaned.
Instead of pumping in natural sea water, which is alive with all kinds of organisms, some of which could be damaging to the health of the center's patients, the Marine Mammal Center makes their own salt water solution. This large tank on the left is filled with rock salt, which makes a medically optimal salt water solution of about 30 parts per thousand, versus the naturally occurring 32 PPT of ocean water.