Sea Notes

Pup Pup Hooray

Pup-date: What happened to pup 540? The young pup stayed on exhibit for 5 months, until she was old enough to be weaned from her surrogate. We then found her a permanent home at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, WA where she was welcomed into their Rocky Shores exhibit, and now answers to the name of Libby!

540: That’s the staggering number of animals that have entered the Aquarium’s live-stranding program since our Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) program started in 1984.

540: The number (and temporary name) of the newest pup to grace our sea otter exhibit. At just over two months of age, and weighing 11.4 pounds, she’s the youngest and smallest pup to meet the public in our two-story sea otter exhibit.

For reasons unknown, the little pup washed up on a Cayucos beach in California on April 28. Volunteers from the Marine Mammal Center in Morro Bay responded to a stranding call, along with a sea otter biologist from the California Department of Fish and Game. The pup was clearly in need of urgent care and the Aquarium was alerted that she would be transported to Monterey.

ICU

On arrival, the pup, a female, was assessed by SORAC staff, who looking at her size, weight and other indicators, concluded that she was about a day old. At just a little over two pounds (1kg) she was around half the weight of a typical newborn pup. Over the following weeks, pup 540 responded well to care in our intensive care unit and surprised our staff with her resilience.

Though still considered small for her age, she is otherwise healthy and passing all the developmental milestones right on schedule. The Aquarium determined it would be best to raise her for placement in a zoo or aquarium, rather than release her to the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed, and declared that 540 was a non-releasable animal. This afforded us the special opportunity to place her with Joy on our sea otter exhibit during public hours.

Meet the family

Our five resident female sea otters all play an active role in the SORAC program, as companions or surrogates to stranded animals. Joy, who herself stranded as a two-week old pup in 1998, has been our most successful surrogate to-date, and 540 will be her 15th young charge.

Joy also has experience of caring for a pup in our exhibit; in the summer of 2010, she mentored pup 502, before she transferred to her permanent home at Georgia Aquarium.

Joy and pup 540 met behind-the-scenes the morning of June 22. Our staff ensured that 540 was eating well and bonded with Joy before transferring her to exhibit on the evening of June 28. The pair will be closely monitored to ensure that all goes smoothly.

We can’t guarantee how long 540 will be on exhibit with Joy, so if you can’t come and visit in person, check them out on our Otter Cam. We’ll post updates on our Facebook page, so be sure to check that 540 is still on exhibit if you want to see her!

Enjoy a Virtual Aquarium Experience in the Bay Area

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is bringing a virtual Aquarium scuba experience to concertgoers, Giants fans and participants at other public events throughout the Bay Area during a “Share the Love” summer.

How does this virtual Aquarium on wheels work? You  connect to the truck’s wifi connection on your touch-enabled smart phone. Then you can login as a male or female diver and swim around the tank full of sharks, turtles, penguins, sardines and jellyfish, all displayed on the side of the truck. When you encounter one of the creatures, you and the creature react and you win a “badge.” At the end of the interaction, you can post an image of the badges you won on Facebook.

Full schedule appears below.

June 19, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Sacramento, Rivercats Game: Concourse

June 20, 7 a.m., Sacramento, Good Day Sacramento – On Air Feature

June 22, 12 p.m., Petaluma, Sonoma Marin Fair

June 24, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., San Francisco, Justin Herman Plaza

June 25, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., San Francisco, Giants Day: Willie Mays Plaza

June 26, All Day, San Francisco, Summerthing Concert: Golden Gate Park

July

July 1, TBD, San Rafael, Marin County Fair

July 2, All Day, Mountain View, Vans Warped Tour: Shoreline Amphitheater

July 3, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., San Francisco, Union Square Day

July 4, 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., Mountain View, SF Symphony 4th of July Firework Spectacular

July 7, All Day, San Jose, Music in the Park: San Jose

July 8, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., San Francisco, Corner of Battery & Sansome

July 9, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., San Francisco, Corner of Powell & Market

July 12, All Day, Monterey, Monterey Bay Aquarium (formerly July 10-12)

July 13, 10 a.m., Walnut Creek, KNBR Baseball Skills Clinic: Heather Farms

July 15, All Day, San Francisco, Hyatt Regency SF: Market and Drumm Street

July 16, All Day, San Francisco, Hyatt Regency SF: Market and Drumm Street

July 17, All Day, San Francisco, Hyatt Regency SF: Market and Drumm Street

July 18, 1-3 p.m., San Jose, Chaves Store with KISS FM

July 21, 10 a.m., Alameda, KNBR Baseball Skills Clinic

July 23, All Day, Santa Clara, KMVQ's Topless Car Giveaway: Great America

July 24, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., San Francisco, Giants Day: Willie Mays Plaza

July 27, 10 a.m., Redwood City, KNBR Baseball Skills Clinic

July 29, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m., Mountain View, Kid Rock/Sheryl Crow Concert: Shoreline Amphitheater

July 30, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., San Francisco, Farmers Market: Harry Bridges Plaza

July 31, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., San Jose, Mi Pueblo Food Center: Story & King

August

August 3, All Day, Mountain View, KFOX Kihncert: Shoreline Amphitheater

August 4, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., San Jose, KNBR Baseball Skills Clinic

August 5,  6 p.m. – 1 p.m., Mountain View, Toby Keith Concert: Shoreline Amphitheater

August 6, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Fremont, Fremont Festival of the Arts

August 7, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Fremont, Fremont Festival of the Arts

Tailored for Turtles

Since opening in 1996, our million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit has been home five white sharks, speedy 600-pound tunas, green sea turtles, and an ocean sunfish that grew so large it had to be lifted out with a helicopter and released into the bay. The 54-foot-long exhibit has also been a perennial visitor favorite.

So why tamper with a good thing?

The short answer: time has taken its toll. Since August 2010, we’ve been busy rebuilding, adding new filtration and pumps, and refurbishing the entire wing to make a better environment for our animals and a better experience for you. The new Open Sea wing opened July 2, which means you can see your old favorite animals—plus a few new species like puffins.

Troublesome Tiles

The walls or “eggshell” that forms the interior of the tank was originally covered with thousands of small, half-inch blue tiles grouted to fiberglass, to give the impression of an infinite ocean. But no one anticipated the enormous currents that would be generated by tunas reaching speeds of 18 mph. “It took a while for the tuna to get big enough to create problems,” says Marty Manson, project director. “I’m not sure anyone ever thought we would have 600-pound fish!”

Before long, the walls began to flex and the tiles started to come unglued—a few at first, and then many more.

But the real problem began when naturally inquisitive sea turtles began to ingest the tiles and had to be taken off exhibit for their own safety. (Those turtles “passed” the tiles and are thriving behind the scenes today, awaiting their return to the new, refurbished exhibit in July.)

Labor of Love

Work on the “life support systems,” housed in a labyrinth of passageways deep underground, actually started in 2009. New filters, pumps and other equipment were all added. The tank was then drained, and the windows were polished to improve the view.

Then, in fall 2010, structural work started in earnest. The “skin” was removed from the fiberglass ribs. New 10-foot eggshell sections were then installed using “swing stages:” worker platforms suspended by cables. A new blue gel coat was applied, and water was added.

But there was a problem. “The color just wasn’t right, and it showed underwater,” says Marty. “The only way to make it right was to grind the whole thing down and start over.” This time, for better access, workers used small floating rafts instead of swing stages. They started at the bottom, and simply added water to the enormous tank each week, floating and painting their way to the top until the project was complete.

Fortunately, this time, the color was exactly right!

Some Benefits You’ll Never See

One year and $20 million later, what are the main benefits of the massive renovation? The biggest, by far, is the return of our majestic green sea turtles, among other animals.

But for our husbandry staff, there’s much more.  “We put a lot of energy into things people won’t see,” says Manny Ezcurra, associate curator of elasmobranches, “things like life support systems, filtration and water treatment.” Water supplies to ancillary exhibits, like the jellies and sardine roundabout, will be on separate systems, enabling staff to fine tune the water temperature for each gallery.  The passageway to a holding tank has also been improved, easing animal medical exams and transport.

And of course, the whole structure is stronger, preventing the kinds of problems that caused all this trouble in the first place.

“I don’t ever expect that tank to be empty again,” says Marty. “At least, not on my watch!”

Baby Penguins on Exhibit (Again)!

Our two male African blackfooted penguin chicks—the first ever born at the Aquarium—are back on exhibit in the Splash Zone. Pebble and Tola, born earlier this year, were moved behind the scenes until they learned how to swim and get comfortable with people. On May 17, Aquarium aviculture staff began putting the chicks on exhibit for brief periods.

At first the re-introductions lasted about two hours --then other penguins on exhibit would begin chasing and pecking at the youngsters (normal behavior between adults and chicks). Whenever this occurred, the chicks were taken behind the scenes again

“Every day it got better and better,” says Associate Curator of Aviculture Aimee Greenebaum. “So we would increase the time on exhibit. We tried to let them work it out themselves.”

 

Then, starting June 1, the chicks were able to remain out front full time. There are now 22 penguins on exhibit total!

Although Pebble and Tola are the same size as the adult penguins on exhibit, you can recognize them by  their  juvenile plumage. What does the future hold? As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, the Aquarium is allowed to breed additional penguins on exhibit. (Eventually some will be transferred to other institutions.)

“We’re really pleased,” says Aimee. “It’s been a lot of work and a learning experience, but it’s worth it. These chicks have distinct personalities, and they’re fun to work with!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Packard: It's Time to Save Sharks

Sharks -- and ocean ecosystems -- are winning big victories these days. It's not a minute too soon.

The United States has banned shark finning in U.S. waters. It's a wasteful practice that involves catching sharks just for their fins, with the animals themselves tossed overboard -- dead or dying -- so the fishing boats have room to pack in more fins.

The fins are primarily used to make shark fin soup -- a luxury item in Chinese cuisine that's sometimes on the menu for festive and ceremonial occasions. While conscious chefs are creating delicious shark-free alternatives , shark fin soup is growing in popularity, costing the lives of tens of millions of sharks each year.

The number is not sustainable: Not for sharks, which reproduce slowly. And not for the oceans, which rely on these top predators to maintain the natural balance that keeps ecosystems healthy.

In recent years, organizations like WildAid have been working to raise consumer awareness in Asia about the plight of shark populations, to reduce and someday eliminate the demand and market for shark fins. Without a market for the fins, they'll stay on sharks -- where they belong.

In 2010, Hawaii became the first state to outlaw the trade in shark fins. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have banned the fin trade as well. Earlier this year, the state of Washington joined them. In Oregon, legislation to ban the shark fin trade now awaits the governor's signature.

Now the California State Assembly, on a vote of 65-8, has passed a bill to outlaw the possession and sale of shark fins in the state. The legislation, co-authored by Chinese-American Assemblymember Paul Fong and his colleague Jared Huffman, now heads to the State Senate, where final action is expected this summer. UPDATE: The senate Natural Resources and Water committee will vote on the bill June 28. Committee members need to hear from constituents that they support the bill.)

This is a big step, as California represents one of the largest markets for shark fins outside Asia.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a lead sponsor of the bill, along with a broad coalition of environmental and Asian Pacific American groups -- as well as notable chefs like Charles Phan and Martin Yan, and prominent figures such as NBA star Yao Ming, a native of China.

The vote reflected the sentiments of most Californians who, according to an aquarium-commissioned poll of registered voters, overwhelmingly support the ban.

The movement is gaining ground not just in the United States but in China as well. Recently, a prominent Chinese businessman and legislator proposed a ban on selling shark fins in China. According to the Agence France Presse report, such a measure would be highly controversial and take many years to enact. The fact that it's even being discussed is a quantum leap forward. It's likely that he was inspired by the debate taking place in the United States.

We've demonized sharks for far too long. Sharks and our oceans are paying too high a price. Now the tide is turning, and when it does, sharks won't be the only winners. All of us will benefit from a world where ocean ecosystems teem with the myriad species that provide humankind with food and livelihoods, and from the joy of sharing our world with mysterious and beautiful animals like sharks.