Wet n’ Wild at Monterey Bay

I think at one point or another every kid has wanted to become a marine biologist. All throughout elementary and middle school, I used to dream of working with whales, dolphins, and sharks, where I’d spend my days out on the ocean – a dream I thought had sailed away as I developed new interests. Although we didn’t see any whales or dolphins on Monday, I once again had a little taste of that desire.

Before heading to Yosemite National Park, the tour took a short detour to Monterey, California to visit the internationally-acclaimed Monterey Bay Aquarium for a private tour of the facility and its award-winning exhibits.

As we arrived at the aquarium’s entrance, we were greeted by Ed and Rod – our morning’s extremely friendly and knowledgeable tour guides – who split us up into two groups and led us through some of the displays, including the Kelp Forest, Sandy Shore & Aviary, Outer Bay, Splash Zone, and Wild About Otters(you gotta love that charismatic megafauna!).

Marine life is abundant both inside and outside of the walls of this “aquarium along the bay shore.” Inside, more than 550 different species of marine plants and animals, including sea turtles, sharks, rays, birds, jellyfish, giant kelp, and more, are on exhibit. Outside, cormorants and harbor seals make daily appearances. We were told that whales and dolphins are also occasionally seen from the outside of the aquarium. Even more impressive, however, was learning that just several days before our visit, a blue whale (the largest living mammal on Earth) was spotted just outside of the bay – a truly rare sighting.

In addition to natural history, our guides talked to us about the aquarium’s history, as well as, some of their current collaborative conservation and marine education efforts.

Since its opening in 1984, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s mission has been to “inspire the conservation of oceans” through educating the public. This is a big job, considering they receive an average of 1.8 million visitors annually. However, they are making a huge effort to outreach to even those who are not able to physically visit the Bay.

On their website, you can find a lot of great information about each of the aquarium’s exhibits. You can also check out several web cams for an “inside look” into the life behind the 3 to 15-inch thick glass.

What you’re probably most familiar with, however, is the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, an outreach tool designed to teach the public about making more sustainable seafood choices.

In addition to their interactive, digital “Real Cost Café” (that lets you chose a seafood dish from a screen and then provides detail to tell you if you made a good choice and why) and the little wallet-sized brochures they produce (and have available in the aquarium), you can also find an online version – specific to your region – West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, Central US, Southwest, and even Hawaii! The guides break down popular seafood choices into three categories – (1) avoid, (2) good alternatives and (3) best choices. The online resource even provides links to each species for an individual profile on what makes the choice good or bad.

For more information on their Seafood Watch program, click here.

Our visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, although short, was a great opportunity for the crew to tour a facility that is making great strides in marine research and public education. And although I don’t expect that I’ll be spending my days diving with dolphins or locked up in a shark cage anytime soon, my visit to the aquarium has reenergized my youthful interests in marine conservation and education.

By: Bret Muter