Sea Notes

Art and the Open Sea

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s newly renovated Open Sea exhibit is best known for amazing animals, including giant green sea turtles, ocean sunfish, speedy tunas, puffins and more.

But it also has an artistic streak. That’s because in the Open Sea’s final gallery, Ocean Travelers, visitors are introduced to artists and activists Chris Jordan, Alyssa Irizarry, Alison McDonald, Bryant Austin – who have devoted their work to conserving the world’s oceans. Each live animal exhibit in Ocean Travelers is paired with an art installation to raise awareness about the threats facing those animals. Visitors learn what they can do to ensure safe passage for the unique fishes, sharks, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals that live in the open ocean. Nearby, short video clips of the artists explain the motivation and passion behind their work.

Shark Teeth

Photographer Chris Jordan’s piece, Shark Teeth, represents the thousands of sharks killed each year for their fins. Viewed from afar, you see a yin-yang image of two species of sharks encircling a mercury symbol. Move closer and you see the image comprises thousands of fossilized shark teeth.

Sea Turtle Murals

In 1996 a group of artists set out to create a series of sea turtle murals along the 1,000 mile-long Baja Peninsula. Most of the artists were self-taught and in collaboration with the conservation group, El Grupo Tortuguero, agreed to create beautiful sea turtle murals if given paints, brushes and food. Alyssa Irizarry, a Tufts University student, was curious if the murals could help turn the tide in local communities away from consuming sea turtles to protecting them. Her findings showed the murals did indeed help change attitudes and behaviors about endangered sea turtles. Her admonition: “Keep on painting!”

Message in a Bottle

Australian Alison McDonald created Message in a Bottle, a dozen sculptures that examine the relationship humans have with plastic. McDonald’s installation features meticulous cutwork using recycled plastic to create delicate algae. The piece invites viewers to re-shape their thinking about plastic and its often disastrous effect in the open sea and on land.

Giant Whale Photo

Bryant Austin of Santa Cruz, California, creates life-size photographs of whales. In the Open Sea, you’ll be eye-to-eye with a black-and-white composite photograph of the face of an endangered humpback whale calf. Austin captured the photograph on a Hasselblad portrait camera while free-diving in the Kingdom of Tonga. After composing a series of photographs, he digitally stitches them together and produces a profound, life-size representation. Through his creations, Austin and the group Marine Mammal Conservation through the Arts hope to inspire change within countries that continue to hunt or harm whales.

Each artist featured in the Ocean Travelers gallery uses different materials to create their pieces, but the common thread is an awareness of environmental issues affecting the oceans and a clear message of how visitors can help conserve the oceans and ensure safe passage for transoceanic animals.

-Angela Hains

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!”

All Aboard the ARCC

The Animal Research and Care Center, commonly known as the ARCC, is located in nearby Marina. While the building isn't open to the public, it's playing a critical role in housing some of the majestic open-ocean animals that you'll see starting in July. That's when we open our Open Sea galleries—the replacement for the Outer Bay—which will be home to mola molas, sharks, sea turtles, pelagic rays and many other of your favorite species.

The ARCC may be understated on the outside, but it's bustling  with activity inside. Hammerhead sharks carve graceful turns in the biggest, 60 x 40-foot oval tank, along with bluefin tuna and pelagic rays. In the next, 40-foot tank, two enormous green sea turtles swim lazily about in anticipation of the next head of lettuce that will come their way, along with barracuda. The tank also includes yellowfin tuna and bonito. The final tank, measuring 30 feet, includes smaller hammerheads and a sandbar shark.

This Water is Carefully Watched
Along one wall of the ARCC, there's a food preparation room that would rival any restaurant kitchen, with industrial refrigerators and gleaming, stainless steel countertops. Next door, a complete animal health lab is nearing completion.

Enormous filters, underground storage basins and miles of plumbing help ensure that the water is kept at a perfect salinity, pH, temperature and cleanliness for the sensitive animals that live there, according to Scott Greenwald, associate curator of animal holding.

There are enough computers, wiring and technical wizardry to rival the Starship Enterprise. "We have a main computer that logs data 24 hours per day on what the systems are doing and how well they're performing," says Scott. And everything about the building is done in as "green" a manner as possible, from water use to energy needs. All told, it takes half a dozen staff to keep the facility operating and the animals fed and cared for.

One by One and Two by Two
As the Open Sea exhibit nears completion, animals continuously arrive at the ARCC, as well as at the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC) next to the Aquarium, and behind the scenes at the Aquarium itself. Most of these species are collected by the Aquarium's husbandry staff. The TRCC is home to the five-foot mola mola that was on exhibit back in 2009, along with dolphinfish and additional tuna.

All these animals will be featured in the new, upgraded million-gallon exhibit, along with one of the largest Pacific sardine collections we've ever had. And, of course, if all goes well, we'll have a white shark on exhibit this fall for the first time since November, 2009.

Sea Turtles Lose a Friend

The best commercial fishermen are true conservationists. They know that their livelihoods depend on healthy oceans, and they take personally their responsibility for protecting the living resources of the sea -- by not destroying habitats, or taking too many fish, or killing animals that people won't eat.

Sinkey Boone, a shrimp fisherman from Darien, Georgia, was a true conservationist and one of the best friends of sea turtles worldwide. Sinkey died in early September at the age of 73.

Sinkey made his living catching shrimp. He was also an inventor, the creator of the turtle excluder device (TED), which allows fishermen to catch the shrimp they want without killing the sea turtles that live in the same waters.

Before he created the TED, thousands of sea turtles were dying in shrimp nets each year. Today, those numbers are dramatically lower. The TED is standard equipment on U.S. shrimp boats, and employed by fishermen worldwide to protect sea turtles. It's making a big difference for the survival of endangered sea turtles.

We highlighted Sinkey's creativity in our "Fishing for Solutions" special exhibit in 1997 -- the exhibit that sparked creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.

The sustainable seafood movement has come a long way since Sinkey put his first "Georgia Jumper" TED on a shrimp net and we handed out the first Seafood Watch pocket guides. His passion, creativity and commitment are a reminder that creative, committed fishermen and the conservation community have common cause when it comes to saving the oceans.

You can learn more about Sinkey Boone, and let his family know how much he's missed, on his online memorial page.

The Wide World of Jellyfish

It's been quite a week for jellyfish fans. These spineless, brainless beauties have been all over the news, all over the world.

Locally, long-distance swimmer Bruckner Chase made it across Monterey Bay last week to raise awareness of the oceans and to kick off the first BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Monterey. But he had to put on a full wetsuit to make it through a literal sea of Pacific sea nettles -- and was roaring with pain from the stings as he finished the last mile of the 28-mile swim.

These same sea nettles, which Bill Douros of the national marine sanctuary program estimates could number half a billion in the bay, are a potent lure for jellyvores like leatherback sea turtles. Leatherbacks swim all the way from Indonesia and back each year to feast on our all-you-can-eat buffet of California jellies.

Around the world, people are keeping their eyes on jellyfish through "citizen science" programs that encourage ordinary folks to report their observations of jellies and other marine life. TIME Magazine highlighted a Mediterranean site, and mentioned our local Jellywatch.org, which is logging global sightings all the time. (The aquarium is a partner.)

If you want to experience your jellies at a safe distance, you can read about them, or watch jellyfish videos online. And a San Francisco entrepreneur will fix you up with your own jellyfish aquarium for home or office, complete with some beautiful moon jellies -- relatively mild stingers compared with their kinfolk.

Alex Andon, like so many others, drew his inspiration from the award-winning exhibits here at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (And he had motivation: He'd been laid off from his biotech job.)

Alex raises jellies in his apartment; our staff has a full jelly lab for the many species we now exhibit, and hope to develop for exhibit in the future.

The Majestic Plastic Bag: A Mockumentary

The video is priceless, though there's nothing funny about plastic pollution in the oceans.

But what a great way to tell the story, with humor and drama. Kudos to Heal the Bay, and to "unnatural history" narrator Jeremy Irons, for producing it.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we're fortunate to have Makana, a Laysan albatross, as our ambassador through whom we tackle the issue of plastic debris in the oceans. It threatens sea turtles, albatross and other ocean wildlife. As plastic breaks down in the ocean, it may well pose a threat to our own health.

Want to do something about it? Learn more, and then speak out. There's plenty of opportunity, in California and in your community, to take action. Our state legislature needs to hear from you, as a voice of support for AB 1998 -- legislation to ban the use of disposable plastic shopping bags throughout the state. Similar campaigns are underway around the country. (China's already taken action.)

Working together, we can drive this form of "wildlife" to extinction.

Friday's Film: Turtle Tales Video

The magical moment when five young sea turtles go on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Enjoy! If you want details, check here for the background story about these cute little guys.

Turtle Tales

The Monterey Bay Aquarium recently acquired 10 juvenile green sea turtles, which are now happily settled in our special exhibition, Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea.

The turtles were part of a “clutch” of 82 born at SeaWorld San Diego in October 2009. Sea turtles bury eggs under the cover of darkness, and aquarists at Sea World were astonished to find the hatchlings when they arrived at work one morning. “They didn’t know they had a nest,” says Monterey Bay Aquarium Senior Aquarist Veronica Franklin. “They came in and found tracks across an artificial beach in the exhibit, leading into the water.”

The event was welcome news. Sea turtles face many challenges in the wild, and 40 from the clutch will join the wild population when they’re released and tracked under the auspices of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Others will serve as ambassadors, on exhibit at SeaWorld, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other institutions. 

The juvenile sea turtles are roughly six inches long and weigh about two pounds. Their sexes are as yet unknown. They’re replacing two larger green sea turtles that we’ve moved behind the scenes. Those two, along with another pair of larger green sea turtles that are also housed behind the scenes, are awaiting the renovation of the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit. Look for them when the exhibit re-opens in the summer of 2011.

Floating and Dreaming

What will visitors see on exhibit? While larger turtles are capable of “hauling out” and resting on rocks, these active juveniles prefer to stay in the water. “In the first years of their lives, they’re pelagic [open-ocean] animals,” says Veronica. “They eat and sleep in the water.”

One endearing trait that visitors may see: young turtles sleeping in the water with their front flippers folded up and over their heads.

Because small turtles can be “nippy,” Veronica plans to monitor them closely and see how they interact, especially for the first few weeks.  “Sea turtles are usually separated in the open ocean,” she says. While a small number of turtles are on exhibit now, depending on how things go, Veronica may be adding more in the future. (The remaining turtles are currently behind the scenes.)

The turtles will be fed floating pellets twice a day, which are nutritionally designed for growing aquatic animals. Later in life, the turtles will eat more protein in the form of fish, prawns and clams. By age five they’ll be eating romaine lettuce and bell pepper, which are nutritionally like the sea grasses they eat in the wild.

Eventually, Veronica may be able to “target-train” the turtles. This involves using a long plastic pole with a colored float on the end and placing it in the water. Each turtle learns to associate a specific color with food.

The “Lost Years”

Green sea turtles are a bit of an enigma. They travel far and wide, riding currents across the open ocean. Females return to the same beach each year, using magnetic clues as a map back home. They live to be a remarkable 80 years old. The Aquarium’s new turtles, at less than a year old, are “at the stage most biologists refer to as the ‘lost years,’ ” says Veronica. “Very little is known about where they go in the wild and what they are doing.”

With help from the Aquarium’s newest additions, we may just learn a little more.

Can Pink Flamingos Save the Planet?

Can gangly pink flamingos and a burping cow help turn the tide for ocean wildlife threatened by global climate change?

That’s the hope –- and inspiration –- behind the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s new special exhibition, Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea.

With disarming humor, a hopeful tone and compelling animals, the aquarium is trying to jump-start a conversation about a contentious topic whose impacts affect not only ocean animals but people. It's getting attention (quite a bit of it, actually). And it's starting to work.

The starting point, as always, is the animals: Wading birds like flamingos, spoonbills and ibis, whose wetland habitats will be affected by rising seas. A vibrant living coral reef, endangered as carbon pollution alters ocean chemistry in ways that make it more difficult for corals and other animals to grow skeletons. There are jellies that can’t tolerate rising ocean temperatures, and sea turtles whose newborns will all be girls, because their sex is determined by the temperature of the beach-sand nests where their eggs incubate. And Magellanic penguins that must swim farther offshore seeking fish that can no longer find their own food in familiar coastal waters.

Next add the humor. A cheery young woman talks with visitors from inside a washing machine (cold-water washes save energy -– and money), a frying pan (one vegetarian meal a week for each American would amount to taking 20 million cars off the road) and a refrigerator (high-carbon pineapple from Hawaii, or low-carbon apple from the orchard next door?).

There are opportunities to "Elf Yourself" into a video displaying simple low-carbon conservation actions, from riding a bike more often to keeping car tires inflated for better mileage.

There are places for people to share their feelings and stories: How their faith calls them to stewardship of the planet, what they can do in their community, even an opportunity to ask their senators to support legislation that addresses global climate change.

And there are examples of what others are doing: College students who voted to pay a yearly fee to green their campus, then pick the project on which to spend the money. Cities from Bogota, Colombia to Ann Arbor, Michigan that are cutting their carbon pollution in simple ways. A Catholic church in Carmel, California where parishioners can pick up local, organic produce after Mass.

It’s all about starting the conversation around a difficult topic. It seems to be working. Visitors are talking -- and not just about the animals.

Sea Turtles ♥ Royal Thai Navy

This story makes me want to stand up and salute:

The Royal Thai Navy is a major force for sea turtle conservation in Thailand. For more than half a century, the navy has limited its training exercises around sea turtle nesting beaches at Sattahip on its Khram Island base. And for nearly two decades, it has supported a sea turtle conservation center (open for visits!) that annually releases 20,000 baby green and hawksbill turtles to the wild. It's getting well deserved attention for its work, too.

You can do your part for sea turtles by making turtle- and ocean-friendly seafood choices using our Seafood Watch pocket guides. And if a trip to Thailand's not in your plans, you can see juvenile sea turtles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when we open our next special exhibition, "Hot Pink Flamingos," on March 29.