Santa Claus Spotted Diving at Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters

MARATHON, Florida Keys — A scuba diving Santa Claus was spotted spreading good cheer in the Florida Keys when, instead of going down a chimney, he submerged Wednesday at Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters.

Visitors seemed thrilled to see Santa at the marine ecological attraction in Marathon in the Middle Keys, where people can snorkel and dive in the facility’s 200,000-gallon Coral Reef tank.

The jolly old elf added the stop on his busy holiday schedule to thank the aquarium’s fish and other marine creatures for serving as educational ambassadors about the rich diversity of sea life in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary that features the continental United States’ only coral barrier reef.

Captain Spencer Slate of Slate’s Scuba Adventures donned Kris Kringle garb and doled out yummy treats to the aquarium’s residents.

Recipients of Scuba Santa’s holiday generosity included curious cownose rays, a variety of reef fish and a Florida lobster.

Visitors to Aquarium Encounters can book underwater experiences in the tank to learn more about the Keys’ reef ecosystem. There are options for snorkelers as well as certified and non-certified divers using a hookah (pronounced HOO-kah) underwater breathing system.

While it is prohibited to feed fish in the open waters of the sanctuary, Aquarium Encounters’ guests have the option, as Santa did, to offer food to the attraction’s inhabitants.