Public Names New Sea Center Texas Eel "Slick," Calls Grouper "Cooper"

Media Contact: Connie Stolte, Sea Center Texas, (979) 292-0100 icle__media__contact">Media Contact: Connie Stolte, Sea Center Texas, (979) 292-0100 ext 23, connie.stolte@tpwd.texas.gov

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LAKE JACKSON, Texas — The fish-loving public has spoken: "Slick" shall henceforth be the new name of a six-foot green moray eel at Sea Center Texas, while "Cooper" was the name voted in for the center’s 50-pound Queensland grouper, both of which reside in the facility’s 50,000-gallon Gulf aquarium exhibit.

Sea Center Texas announced the results of its recent grouper and eel naming contest at an event held Saturday, May 16. Participants who submitted the top five name suggestions along with the public were invited to attend the name announcement celebration held Saturday morning.

During the month of March, visitors to the facility and its web site were invited to submit suggestions for the eel and grouper. More than 1,200 name suggestions were received and a group of volunteers and staff selected the top five name suggestions for each fish.

The top five names selected for the eel were Slick, Neil, Lucille, Eelvis, and Morrie. The top five names selected for the grouper were Gilligan, Cooper, Sydney, Gordon II and Queenie.

The top five names were placed on a ballot and visitors to the aquarium and the facility web site were able to vote on their favorite name for each fish. Some 650 votes for each fish were received and tallied to determine the winning names.

The winning name for the eel was Slick which beat the second place name of Eelvis by a mere 13 votes. The name of Slick was submitted by the following 15 individuals: Isabell Murrell, Lupe Sersantez, Elijah Thomas, Nathan Wilbanks, Calib Clarke, Jayden Ward, Keegan Engelking, Nicole Bilgen, Val Willingham, Liz Davis, Katelyn Peters, Scarlett Huvar, Shelton D., Sarah Ory, and Mason Wise.

The winning name for the grouper was Cooper which received 270 of the 642 votes. Gilligan and Gordon II came in a close second and third place with just over a 100 votes each. The name Cooper was suggested by Emily Lorraine, Laura Michael, Dorothy Dean, Anna Prillaman, Frances Stiles, Emily Sitton and Victoria Cummings.

The finalists who attended the announcement event were presented with certificates of appreciation and a picture of the eel or grouper. Then those who submitted the winning names were recognized and received a gift certificate to the Sea Center Texas gift shop.

Sea Center Texas is a marine aquarium, fish hatchery and education center operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 pm., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.  The center is closed on Mondays.  Free admission.  Visit tpwd.texas.gov/seacenter or call 979-292-0100 for more information.

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