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Conservation and Research
The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, TNACI, is the aquarium's own research institute. The TNACI works to "preserve, protect, and sustain" the Southeastern region that the aquarium is located in.((projectfreshwater)) The institute first formed in 1996, four years after the opening of the aquarium, as the Southeast Aquatic Research Institute, which was a collaborative partnership of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.

Some projects undertaken by the Institute is the publication of Aquatic Fauna in Peril: The Southeastern Perspective, edited by George Benz, the first Director, and David Collins, the Curator of Forests at the Aquarium. This publication provided information on the region’s aquatic animal groups, along with “historical perspectives” and their “current conservation status.” Under the leadership of their second director, the aquarium restored over 150,000 imperiled mussels and snails to their native homes in the Mobile and Tennessee rivers. At the same time, the aquarium continued to collaborate with the Tennessee River Gorge and performed a study that improved monitoring of the Tennessee River Gorge turtle assemblage.

In 2006 under new direction, TNACI developed many research projects involving the fish of the Southeast, including population. In addition to research, TNACI is also involved in habitat assessments and restoration projects as well as monitoring efforts for imperiled species.

Originally located at a facility in Cohutta, Georgia but moved to Chattanooga in 2011.