Monterey Bay Aquarium
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
Abundance of Animals
Explore a 28-foot high kelp forest filled with sardines, leopard sharks and wolf-eels. Watch rescued African spotted-neck otters wrestle. Try to spot a giant octopus, which changes colors to blend in with its surroundings. Check out the sandpipers dining on ghost shrimp along the rocky shore. Bat rays and potbellied seahorses glide through the water. The stunning one-million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit is home to the largest community of open-ocean animals to be found in any aquarium, including giant bluefin tuna, hammerhead sharks and sea turtles. Watch for wild blue whales in the bay.
Great White
The aquarium recently acquired a young white shark when it was caught accidentally by a commercial fishing operation. Their dedication to conservation extends to recycling, public transit, carpools, conservation-minded construction practices and sustainable food in the café.
Explore a Living Tide Pool
Observe sea slugs, anemones and crabs. The Outer Bay also features the largest permanent collection of jellyfish species in the United States. Egg-yolk jellies and sea nettles drift, and comb jellies pulse alongside blue, box, moon and flower hat jellies.
Saving the Oceans
The Aquarium conducts conservation research programs and maintains an Ocean Action Team, which works to create marine protected areas off the California coast. They also publish pocket guides about smart seafood choices and how to protect the future of ocean wildlife. The Aquarium has captive breeding programs for over 50 different species, and they were the first to breed jellyfish outside the wild. They share animals and techniques with colleagues in Japan and Central America.
They refuse to sell dried seahorses, shells or other sea life in the museum store. The aquarium is also using more "green" materials in new construction projects along with "green" cleaning and office products.
Shorebird and Seabird Rehabilitation
The Aquarium, in cooperation with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, protects snowy plovers, threatened shorebirds that nest on sandy beaches around Monterey Bay. Aquarium-affiliated aviculturists released three snowy plover in May 2003. The aviary staff also rehabilitates oiled seabirds.
Stepping up for Salmon
The aquarium in conjunction with the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project was asked by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to take part in a captive broodstock program for the southern coho salmon. During 1999, the aquarium obtained 300 young salmon and held them in rearing tanks. These fish were reared to about 14 inches and returned to NMFS, where they were placed into local rivers (except for two fish now on display in the Monterey Bay Habitats exhibit).
Seafood Watch
The Aquarium has led the way in guiding consumers to be better-informed when buying fish and shellfish. See: Ethical Sushi: New Guide from Monterey
__________________________________________________
Organization type: Public Aquaria
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
US
North America
Source of: