NEWPORT — John Tighe, the general manager who has guided the Newport Aquarium from its beginning, has resigned, reportedly to pursue new job possibilities, it was disclosed Monday.

        Mr. Tighe, 49, was hired in summer 1998 to take the helm of the aquarium, then under construction.

        It opened in May 1999 and attracted 1.2 million customers its first full year.

        “We're sad to see John leave,” David Wechsler, executive vice president of Steiner and Associates and interim aquarium general manager, said Monday.

        Steiner was the developer of the aquarium and the recently opened Newport on the Levee.

        Mr. Tighe is the second top-level aquarium official to leave in just over three months.

        Juan Sabalones, the director of husbandry who assembled the aquarium's aquatic staff and stock, resigned in August.

        “I can assure you one (resignation) has nothing to do with the other,” Mr. Wechsler said.

        “The two men left for entirely different reasons. And both of them had done a great job for us.”

        Mr. Tighe, who lives in Newport with his wife, Dyann, could not be reached for comment Monday.

        Mr. Wechsler said Mrs. Tighe will continue to manage the aquarium's gift shop.

        “We were thrilled with everything he's done for the aquarium,” Mr. Wechsler said of Mr. Tighe.

        “He's responsible for how the aquarium has come along. He really has it clicking.”

        Mr. Wechsler said that despite the economic downturn since Sept. 11, the aquarium has performed better than anticipated.

        “We had a very good month in November, very strong,” he said. “Sept. 11 and the economic problems related to the attacks has had little or no effect on the aquarium.

        “In fact, it probably strengthened our position because more people are staying home and visiting attractions in their own backyard.”

        Mr. Wechsler declined to provide specific attendance figures for the year, but said the aquarium's numbers “are probably down 7 to 8 percent from our projections for the year.

        “That has a lot to do with the economic problems in Cincinnati in the spring and summer. We think things are going very well at this point.”

        Genine Drozd, aquarium director of public relations, said the aquarium has had a particularly good year in terms of animal births, especially in the South African tank, which has produced baby sharks and rays.

        Mr. Tighe, a native of San Diego, began his career there at age 17, working at the original Sea World.

        Over 16 years, he advanced to operations director at the same time Sea World was growing to include parks in Ohio, Florida and Texas.

        He came to Newport from The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, Calif., a 450-acre complex that includes the LegoLand Theme Park. He was chief operations officer of the complex.

        His resume also includes positions as general manager of the 120-acre water theme park Raging Waters, east of Los Angeles, which he helped design and build; and as director of the New York Zoological Society, where he helped oversee the Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium and the Central Park Zoo.

        Mr. Tighe also has been president and chief executive officer of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, which included an IMAX theater, a convention center and a water park.

        He and his wife met at Moody Gardens when both were working there.

        Mr. Wechsler said aquarium officials have begun a search for a new general manager.

        “Anyone at John's level is hard to replace,” he said. “We'll take our time and find someone of high caliber.”

        Mr. Sabalones, considered one of the top shark experts in the country, was replaced as director of husbandry by the facilities' curator, Pam Lyons.

        Mr. Sabalones, who also lives in Newport, said recently he was considering several offers locally and nationally in the aquarium and zoo fields.

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