In 1996 the aquarium founded a research and conservation arm, now known as the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI).
Its mission is the protection of aquatic species and habitats in the southeastern United States.
The TNACI was founded as the Southeastern Aquatic Research Institute (SARI), and was initially a joint venture between the Tennessee Aquarium, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.
In 2002 it became the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute (TNARI), and in 2011 was renamed as the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute to emphasize its conservation mission.
Between 1999 and 2011 the institute was housed at a site in Cohutta, Georgia.
Since then, its workspace has been divided between its propagation facility in Cohutta, and other activities based at the aquarium in Chattanooga and its animal care facility.
In October 2015 the TNACI announced that it will be building a new home, a facility which Institute director Anna George described as a "freshwater field station" for research and education, on the campus of Baylor School on the north shore of the Tennessee River.
The $4.5 million project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016.

The TNACI is focused on the restoration of freshwater ecosystems, including the study of water quality and the propagation and reintroduction of native aquatic species to southeastern waterways, and works in partnership with other conservation groups and agencies in Georgia and Tennessee.
 Since 2000, the TNACI has participated in the Tennessee River Lake Sturgeon Working Group, a program to restore the lake sturgeon to the Tennessee River Basin.
 In order to reestablish a self-sustaining population of sturgeon, which were declared extinct in the Tennessee River in 1961, the TNACI collects eggs from populations in the Great Lakes, hatches them in Georgia, and raises them at the Tennessee Aquarium until they are large enough to be released into the river.
 More than 180,000 sturgeon have been released as of October 2015, and sightings have been reported along the length of the Tennessee River between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kentucky Lake.
 Some fish have been implanted with tracking devices, providing an additional means of monitoring the population; the trackers include acoustical devices detectable by receivers, including a mobile receiver aboard the River Gorge Explorer.
 The program is projected to continue until the oldest released fish have reached breeding age, an estimated 20 years in all.

The TNACI participates in the Barrens Topminnow Working Group, which works with property owners in the Barrens Plateau region of central Tennessee to restore 15 historic populations of this fish with the goal of preventing it from becoming an endangered species.
In 2013 the TNACI began a program to reintroduce and monitor captive-raised southern Appalachian brook trout, which have suffered from the effects of climate change and competition from introduced species, in suitable rivers and streams.
Other reintroduction efforts have included the restoration of eighteen species of native southeastern snails and mussels, including the Alabama moccasinshell mussel and the interrupted rocksnail, and the Conasauga logperch.
The institute also participates in habitat restoration projects, including the restoration of the privately owned Colvard Spring near Dalton, Georgia which provides habitat for the endangered coldwater darter.

Other TNACI projects include conservation genetics research on fish species, including the blue shiner, flame chub, laurel dace, and Conasauga logperch, and the development of the Freshwater Information Network (FIN), a database of current and historic locality information for 62 southeastern fish species in peril.
 In April 2016 the institute, working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Southeast Missouri State University, began an assessment of the alligator snapping turtle population in Tennessee.
In 1996 the aquarium founded a research and conservation arm, now known as the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI). Its mission is the protection of aquatic species and habitats in the southeastern United States. The TNACI was founded as the Southeastern Aquatic Research Institute (SARI), and was initially a joint venture between the Tennessee Aquarium, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. In 2002 it became the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute (TNARI), and in 2011 was renamed as the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute to emphasize its conservation mission. Between 1999 and 2011 the institute was housed at a site in Cohutta, Georgia. Since then, its workspace has been divided between its propagation facility in Cohutta, and other activities based at the aquarium in Chattanooga and its animal care facility. In October 2015 the TNACI announced that it will be building a new home, a facility which Institute director Anna George described as a "freshwater field station" for research and education, on the campus of Baylor School on the north shore of the Tennessee River. The $4.5 million project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016.
The TNACI is focused on the restoration of freshwater ecosystems, including the study of water quality and the propagation and reintroduction of native aquatic species to southeastern waterways, and works in partnership with other conservation groups and agencies in Georgia and Tennessee.  Since 2000, the TNACI has participated in the Tennessee River Lake Sturgeon Working Group, a program to restore the lake sturgeon to the Tennessee River Basin.  In order to reestablish a self-sustaining population of sturgeon, which were declared extinct in the Tennessee River in 1961, the TNACI collects eggs from populations in the Great Lakes, hatches them in Georgia, and raises them at the Tennessee Aquarium until they are large enough to be released into the river.  More than 180,000 sturgeon have been released as of October 2015, and sightings have been reported along the length of the Tennessee River between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kentucky Lake.  Some fish have been implanted with tracking devices, providing an additional means of monitoring the population; the trackers include acoustical devices detectable by receivers, including a mobile receiver aboard the River Gorge Explorer.  The program is projected to continue until the oldest released fish have reached breeding age, an estimated 20 years in all.
The TNACI participates in the Barrens Topminnow Working Group, which works with property owners in the Barrens Plateau region of central Tennessee to restore 15 historic populations of this fish with the goal of preventing it from becoming an endangered species. In 2013 the TNACI began a program to reintroduce and monitor captive-raised southern Appalachian brook trout, which have suffered from the effects of climate change and competition from introduced species, in suitable rivers and streams. Other reintroduction efforts have included the restoration of eighteen species of native southeastern snails and mussels, including the Alabama moccasinshell mussel and the interrupted rocksnail, and the Conasauga logperch. The institute also participates in habitat restoration projects, including the restoration of the privately owned Colvard Spring near Dalton, Georgia which provides habitat for the endangered coldwater darter.
Other TNACI projects include conservation genetics research on fish species, including the blue shiner, flame chub, laurel dace, and Conasauga logperch, and the development of the Freshwater Information Network (FIN), a database of current and historic locality information for 62 southeastern fish species in peril.  In April 2016 the institute, working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Southeast Missouri State University, began an assessment of the alligator snapping turtle population in Tennessee.
Tennessee Aquarium