Did you know that we sometimes collect beautiful specimens for...
Did you know that we sometimes collect beautiful specimens for exhibit right near the Aquarium? A flower-like feather duster worm was recently added to the barnacle exhibit, from the nearby Coast Guard Pier!
Practicing What We Preach: Recycling at Our Annual Cooking for...
Practicing What We Preach: Recycling at Our Annual Cooking for Solutions Event
The Cooking for Solutions Gala is a remarkable event that takes place each May. In one evening dozens of restaurants and wineries set up stations throughout the Aquarium and over 2,800 epicureans stroll throughout the galleries sampling outstanding wines, seafood and other fine fare. While all this activity goes on inside the building, others are behind the scenes carrying out a seemingly impossible mission—to eliminate virtually all refuse from this event.
The whole idea of Cooking for Solutions is to highlight sustainable agriculture and sustainable seafood—helping us all learn how to make good food choices that contribute to healthy land and healthy oceans. Yet it might seem a little incongruous that thousands of disposable plates, cups and utensils are used in a celebration of sustainability. Not so with Cooking for Solutions. Each guest is given a wine glass and wooden tray (reusable/recyclable) to hold their food and wine samples. Compostable plates are used for some food samples. Disposable cups are made from vegetable-based materials instead of plastic, and are also compostable. Even spoons, forks and napkins are manufactured from compostable material.
Behind the scenes a dedicated crew of sorters is standing by in the Aquarium's corporation yard. As trash receptacles are emptied inside the building the bags are brought outside for the sorting crew to examine. They quickly separate out any items that may not be compostable and send the rest on to a special bin that has been brought in for the event. Wine bottles are all recycled. The final result: from hundreds of pounds of refuse, only a few pounds actually wind up in the landfill. All the rest goes to compost or recycling.
In a world where many resources are increasingly scarce, the old saying, "Waste not want not" takes on a new meaning. If we learn to reduce our waste stream, and make smart use of resources and reuse/recycle where possible, we may avoid wanting for those resources in the future. The Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, and our support of sustainable agriculture, are all about the wise use of our land and sea resources so we will never want for food. That's the solution we're cooking up and it's a great recipe for a future we can all savor.
View photos of our Gala event.
Learn more about Seafood Watch.
—Jim Covel, Senior Manager of Guest Experience Training & Interpretation
Celebrate World Oceans Day and the important work of the...
Celebrate World Oceans Day and the important work of the Aquarium. From now through Sept. 1, PeopleTowels will donate $1 from the sale of select towels to our Seafood Watch program. Shop now and help save our oceans!
Learn more about our World Oceans Day celebration June 8-9.
What's the best way to chronicle a visit to the Aquarium? We...
What's the best way to chronicle a visit to the Aquarium? We just love these computer drawings from 10-year-old visitor Anushka Karkera of Fremont, CA!
An Old Friend Returns: "Big Fin" the Humpback Whale
Senior Guest Experience Trainer Steven Johnston has been following a certain humpback whale—nicknamed Big Fin—for more than a decade. But after no sightings for two years, he feared the worst. Then, in mid-May, Big Fin returned to Monterey Bay! We'll let Steve pick up Big Fin's story….
I first was introduced to this whale in 2004 by the captains of Sanctuary Cruises out of Moss Landing. They had nicknamed her "Big Fin" due to the unusual shape of her dorsal fin. The captains told me they had first seen her in 2001, and each year since. Each odd-numbered year she had a calf. One of the best things about Big Fin is that she almost always hung out two to three miles outside Moss Landing, so she was often the first whale we saw on the way out or the last whale we saw on the way in.
In 2008, one of our volunteers sent me a photo of a whale tail that he had taken. I e-mailed him back and said, "I know that whale!" He had sent me a photo of Big Fin without ever knowing her story!
In 2010 I was doing a presentation about humpbacks, and invited Kate, one of the captains of Blue Ocean Whale Watch, also out of Moss Landing, as my guest. As Kate looked at my photos, she yelled, "I know that whale—I have her photo in my boat for passengers!"
In 2011 I went out with Blue Ocean in June. At that point Kate had not seen Big Fin yet that year, but we were hopeful. About a mile out she spotted a blow another couple of miles out. As we got closer, Kate yelled to me that she was sure it was Big Fin. Sure enough! We could also see that the baleen in the front of her mouth is white and shriveled, perhaps due to gum disease, or possibly damage to her jaw from fishing gear. It clearly isn't very functional. She tips her head back and uses baleen that is farther back in her mouth to filter out her food, so the damage may not be in her whole mouth.
In 2012 no one that I know saw big Fin, and we were afraid that our friend might indeed have died of old age. However, on May 14 of this year, Kate said they had seen Big Fin that morning, and picked her out in the distance by her feeding method! It's really good to know that our old friend is still around. No calf in sight, so she may indeed be old, but she's still here!
Learn more about the humpback whale.
One Special Night
The Monterey Bay Aquarium recently hosted a special evening event for the opening of our new restaurant, Cindy's Waterfront, and in attendance with his parents was 19-month-old Hoppus Flores, a local child who has an immunity disorder that prevents him from interacting with large crowds. We'll let his father, Bryan Flores, tell this amazing story. We were so glad to be able to give him this experience!
Thank you Monterey Bay Aquarium for a really great event the other night. When we received the invite I was so excited. I have been to a couple of other mixers at the Aquarium. When I called and asked if I could also bring my wife and 19-month-old son, Hoppus. I was told I could and I was very excited.
You see Hoppus has an immunity disorder called neutropenia, which means he is unable to fight off bacterial infections. We have been told he may outgrow it or he may have it for life. We have to keep him isolated. My wife has had to quit work to care for him at home, since he cannot be in day care or school. He cannot come in contact with other children or surfaces they touch like Aquarium glass! So we have to keep him in the stroller during our visits and use our bodies to block people. It is nerve-racking every moment of the day. We have had numerous visits to the ER in the middle of the night for emergency antibiotic injections when he is sick so that he won’t get a rampant bacterial infection and die.
The reason I am telling you this is so that you see how special our trip was to the Aquarium and how the Aquarium gave our son the chance of a lifetime to be the only child in the whole facility. We nearly cried a couple of times when he was running and pointing, making fish faces in the glass to the fish, smiling and laughing incessantly and touching creatures in the touch tank just like everything was fine and he did not have a serious disorder. It was very special for us as parents who are so stressed each time we go there for fear that he will touch something and get sick. We kept his hands out of his mouth and kept wiping him down with hand cleaner and everything turned out fine!
I just wanted you to know that you made a child very happy and his parents are very thankful for the experience.
Sincerely,
Bryan Flores
The Aquarium sometimes works with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to accommodate special-needs children.
Is it possible to "fly" underwater? Visitors tell us...
Is it possible to "fly" underwater? Visitors tell us that graceful pelagic rays are among their favorite animals at the Aquarium, and we just added two to our Open Sea exhibit!
Learn how we play "ring toss" with these amazing rays at feeding time.
Made your plans yet? Celebrate World Oceans Day at the Aquarium...
Made your plans yet? Celebrate World Oceans Day at the Aquarium June 8-9! And show us how you celebrate our oceans by posting an Instagram photo at #MBAworldoceansday!
Happy Memorial Day: We're otterly thankful for your...
Happy Memorial Day: We're otterly thankful for your service, and your support!
(Photo of Gidget by Hannah Ban-Weiss)
Have you seen them? Our giant Pacific octopus exhibit now...
Have you seen them? Our giant Pacific octopus exhibit now includes what may be the largest collection of deep-sea rockfish ever on exhibit, from right here in the bay. This includes chili pepper, halfbanded (shown), short belly and pygmy rockfish. It's a trick to safely exhibit these fish, which can be found at depths of 300 feet.
Learn more about how we do it.
Our summer hours start Saturday, just in time for the holiday...
Our summer hours start Saturday, just in time for the holiday weekend! We'll be open from 9:30 am to 6 pm (9 am for members). Enjoy your visit!
The giant Pacific octopus: male or female? That's a...
The giant Pacific octopus: male or female? That's a question we're often asked. If you're facing our exhibit currently, the one on the left is male, the one on the right is female. Right now, they're hard to tell apart. But on occasion, a female will lay thousands of eggs, which look like small clusters of grapes, on the exhibit glass. Then you'll know for sure!
California AB 521 goes before an important committee this week!...
California AB 521 goes before an important committee this week! Help us protect sea turtles, seabirds and sea otters by keeping plastic out of the ocean. If you live in California, won't you take a minute to help?
(©Theresa Clyde)
Did you know that routine plumbing maintenance at the Aquarium...
Did you know that routine plumbing maintenance at the Aquarium sometimes yields interesting specimens for exhibit, like these gooseneck barnacles?
Learn how we "pig" our pipes to keep them free of organisms.
More great weather—and great events—at Cooking for...
More great weather—and great events—at Cooking for Solutions. We hope you had a chance to enjoy the festivities!
What an evening for our Cooking for Solutions Gala! There are...
What an evening for our Cooking for Solutions Gala! There are more events to come, and you can learn more here.
What's it like to be a volunteer diver? This is as close...
What's it like to be a volunteer diver? This is as close as you can get without getting wet!
Learn more about volunteering at the Aquarium.
Did you know that today is Endangered Species Day, celebrating...
Did you know that today is Endangered Species Day, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the federal Endangered Species Act? We rescue, study and care for many endangered species at the Aquarium, in cooperation with government agencies. These include snowy plovers, sharks, sea otters, penguins, rockfish and albatross. How will you celebrate this special day?
Learn about all our research and conservation efforts.
Our puffin exhibit in the Open Sea wing was briefly closed for...
Our puffin exhibit in the Open Sea wing was briefly closed for repair work, but it's open again and the birds are oh-so-happy to be back. Can you tell? They're also sporting spring plumage!
Learn more about puffins at the Aquarium.
What's the best job ever? After watching this AMAZING...
What's the best job ever? After watching this AMAZING video, we think you'll agree: sea otter aquarist!
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