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!”

Comments

[Mia Bella]

This is amazing and great way to protect our turtles and others. Great improvments for the future.

[FP]

I think it took a while for the tuna to get big enough to create problems.

[Ken Peterson]

Wendi, our white shark project team will be in the field in August, tagging juvenile great whites and -- we hope -- collecting one to bring back to Monterey. If it happens, and it's always an "if", we might have a young great white toward the end of August or early September.

[Wendi]

We are coming out at the end of the month. I can't wait to see the newly done exhibit! Are you planning to have another Great White in the future?

[Wendi]

We are coming out at the end of the month. I can't wait to see the newly done exhibit! Are you planning to have another Great White in the future?

[Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Yes, we do have an ocean sunfish!

[Julie L]

Thank you for the information on this exhibit and all of the hard work it took to make it brand new again! It is very facinating to learn all of the "behind the scenes" information on my #1 reason why I visit your BEAUTIFUL aquarium! I wish I lived closer, I'd volunteer at your aquarium!

[Julie L]

Are you going to include the Giant Sunfish in this exhibit? They are so beautiful!

[Kevin Smith]

Thank you for the info, Ken!

[WV]

Hey, I love your new blog. I'll be reading regularly as long as you keep it going.

[Ken Peterson]

Kevin, our husbandry staff used a variety of aquatic stretchers and slings to move the animals to temporary quarters in our Tuna Resarch and Conservation Center or new Animal Research and Care Center. (You can read more about the ARCC in an earlier blog entry.)

Both of thes centers have other long-term uses: to help in the study of tunas and other open-ocean fishes; and as holding pools for animals we plan to exhibit in the future.

Some of the larger tunas couldn't be moved safely (either for their safety or that of our staff) and under state wildlife regulations they couldn't be returned to the wild. In those cases, the case, the animals were humanely euthanized.

[Kevin Smith]

Great news, I am excited to see the new exhibit. How are you able to move the larger fish, like the Tuna, to perform this work?

[Marlene]

The Outer Bay exhibit is one of my favorites and I have never seen the turtles there! I am excited that they are coming back. More to love! Yay to improvements!