Monterey Bay Aquarium » Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium
25-05-2008

Monterey Bay Aquarium

One of the world’s great aquariums, this highly regarded establishment is found in the tiny California coastal city of Monterey. The average attendance is 1.8 million (in a town of 35,000) and this is done without the benefit of typical, crowd-pleasing attractions. There are no killer whales, dolphins, seals or sea lions, and the only mammal species on display are the three different species of otter. However, the aquarium has many brilliant exhibits, a terrific children’s section, and wide, clean hallways to prevent overcrowding. It is often compared to John G. Shedd and Georgia Aquarium in a good-natured dispute over which of the three is North America’s greatest aquarium. Monterey Bay has won 4 AZA exhibit awards, and is a must-see for anyone remotely interested in aquatic life. The location is convenient for studying the coast of California for signs of sea otters, seals, sea lions and migrating grey whales, as they and other marine life can occasionally be seen swimming off in the ocean directly outside of the aquarium.

Exhibits:

Kelp Forest

A 28 ft. (10 meter) high tank that is a living, breathing forest packed with numerous species of fish. This two-storey tank is one of the tallest aquarium exhibits in the world, and is a marvel of modern technology. A wave machine gently rocks this “forest� back and forth, and allows it to grow 4 inches a day. Divers go in and hand feed the many denizens of this habitat, including wolf eels, leopard sharks and schools of other fish. Slightly over 2,000 gallons of sea water are pumped through the tank per minute, there are over 100 species of seaweed, and the structure contains 1.5 million litres of water.

Outer Bay

The stunning one-million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit is home to the largest community of open-ocean animals to be found in any aquarium. Blue fin tuna, hammerhead sharks, green sea turtles, stingrays, and the largest jellyfish collection in the United States all reside in this enormous tank. The largest species that was ever in the tank was an 880 pound ocean sunfish, and there have now been 3 great white sharks kept at various times in the aquarium’s largest exhibit. The main viewing window is 56 feet long and 17 feet tall, and set in a darkened theatre to heighten the viewing capabilities.

Otters

Sea otters, African spotted-necked otters, and Asian small-clawed otters are all on show for the public in a series of different exhibits.

Splash Zone

A fantastic children’s section that contains over 45 interactive exhibits for kids of all ages, and has been called one of the best areas for youngsters in North America. There are also plenty of animals here, including African black-footed penguins, swell sharks, cuttlefish, zebra moray eels, crabs, octopus, sea horses, etc.

Sandy Shore & Aviary

A coastal wetland that celebrates life in Elkhorn Slough (pronounced "slew"), one of the largest coastal wetlands in the state, located in the heart of Monterey Bay's coast. There are many kinds of birds, including foraging sandpipers, snowy plovers, long-billed curlews and black-necked stilts. This section of the aquarium isn’t very big but is quite well done.

Other Creatures of the Deep

Monterey Bay Aquarium is packed with an enormous variety of species that have not been mentioned in the above exhibits. Giant pacific octopus, lingcod, a number of eel species, crabs, lobsters, archerfish, snakes, turtles, frogs, jellyfish, sharks, and a bewildering array of other fish species. Even without cetaceans or pinnipeds it remains one of the best aquariums on the planet.

25-05-2008

Nice write up Snowy, I would really like to see a 880 lb Sun fish & the great whites, cool

25-05-2008

I have put Monterey Bay Aquarium on my list of zoos and aquariums that I'd like to see

25-05-2008

I have heard much about the Monterey Aquarium over the last few years, are they holding Great white sharks at this time?

25-05-2008

Mark, I don't think they are...

I saw a baby sunfish at the aquarium, and it was amazing, but I'm sure the 800lb specimen would be fantastic!!

25-05-2008

Jono, I have a book with a photo of a Sunfish which weighs 3,500 pounds/1587kgs

My old copy of the GBR says the biggest Sunfish weighed was one recorded was taken off Sydney in 1910 it weighed 4,928 pounds/2235kgs

26-05-2008

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Conservation and Research - White Shark Research Project

Here is a link to the aquaruim's research of great white sharks, and if you scroll down there is information on the exhibiting of the 3 great whites in the past. February 2008 was when the third shark was released back into the wild.

28-08-2008

Monterey Bay Aquarium: White Shark

A 4th great white shark has gone on exhibit, and I was just there 2 weeks ago!! Aaaarrrggghhhhh.....

28-08-2008

You also just missed the manta ray at the georgia aquarium...and an elephant calf in Portland too!

28-08-2008

I don't really care about the elephant calf because I saw a youngster in Pittsburgh and have seen a handful at various zoos in the past. The manta ray and great white shark are definitely highlights that I'm saddened to have missed, and it will be interesting what other aquatic animals the Georgia Aquarium unveils as they have now promised to introduce a crowd-pleaser every 3-4 months. Bold move.

28-08-2008

Wow, would you know if this is just another small shark or something bigger

29-08-2008

On the website it says it's another young shark.

29-08-2008

It's still a great white shark...those whale sharks at the georgia aquarium are also young.

29-08-2008

from Discovery News: Born Animal: See a Great White Shark Up Close Before It's Too Late
it doesn't say if those other four sharks actually survived or not. I was under the impression that the previous three great whites Monterey Bay had had were "rescued" (for want of a better word) after being accidentally netted, and were kept at the aquarium for a while before being released, but this one has obviously been caught specifically for display. Not sure how I feel about that with an endangered species like this.

29-08-2008

all 3 previous sharks were released with a tag to track them for a few months. this tag also collected data on depth, speed, etc. thus giving valuable info to TOP (Tagging Oceanic Pelagics) an institution researching wild sharks and funded by MBA.

all sharks were caught in the same way. by a fisherman. then moved to an open ocean net pen where they can learn to swim in a limited space and are trained to take dead prey. when all goes well, they are moved to the aquarium (which is 4 times smaller than the net pen) there they stay until they a) cause trouble (like the first one who killed some tankmates) or b) get to large and are replaced in the wild.

MBA uses this technique with other shark species like sevengills, blues and oceanic whitetips. so the way I see it, it's not really a problem. the sharks have a chance to grow in a risk free environment and are returned later on.