In a rare show of unity between the US and Cuba, representatives of Tampa Bay’s Florida Aquarium travelled across the water to look into forming a partnership with the island nation’s National Aquarium in Havana.

If an agreement is reached, it would be the first time such a deal was struck between a US and Cuban aquarium since the former imposed a travel and trade ban in 1960 – one year after Fidel Castro came to power.

Currently, the Cuban embargo is enforced by six statutes: the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Cuba Assets Control Regulations of 1963, the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the Helms–Burton Act of 1996, and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. The acts restrict US citizens from doing business in or with Cuba, and places mandated restrictions on giving public or private assistance to any successor government in Havana, unless and until certain claims against the Cuban government are met.

Under the preliminary talks, the Florida Aquarium would be allowed access to the Gardens of the Queen – a reef in the southern waters of Cuba off the provinces of Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila – and in return, the Florida Aquarium would keep the National Aquarium of Cuba up-to-date in its research on restoring coral reefs.