Conservation: The Only Reason to Have Zoos and Aquariums

Interesting thoughts from Jane Goodall in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The only reasons zoos should be open is to conserve the environment, Dr Goodall said.

"I think if they're going to continue to exist they must," Dr Goodall said.

"I don't think it's ethical to have animals from other countries and not be involved in some way in conservation ..."

Goodall's review of a Captive Beauty, a photo book capturing the reality of unnatural Zoo environments presents the dilemma of zoos:

“It is both beautiful and profoundly disturbing,” Jane Goodall writes in her forward to the book. “He has captured, in this series of portraits, the very essence of the problem of zoos.”
...

The book is not meant to be an indictment of all zoos; rather it is "a plea for greater understanding of the animal beings within them," writes Dr. Goodall. These photographs put a face to the zoo debate — at once stunning and disturbing.

This jumps out at me because the central mission of my job is to find ways to highlight the conservation programs that make up the core of the Aquarium. For the last several weeks, I've posted articles on the Right Whale Research Program. In addition, the Aquarium is involved in many other projects, including helping form the world's largest marine protected area in the Phoenix Islands. The Aquarium's mission also includes bycatch research and promoting ocean conservation with seafood consumers.

When I first came to the Aquarium, I was struck with the emotional connection that seems likely to inspire visitors to support conservation policy. I am reminded of that connection every day when I walk through the main building or go on a whale watch.

However, the more time I spend here the more I discover how the Aquarium's leadership, researchers and educators are focused on using every tool at their disposal to protect wildlife.

Reading her thoughts on zoos, I like to think that Dr. Goodall would approve of the work being done here, at the New England Aquarium.

Right Whale Journalism: Looking for Hope

This recent blog post from CNN is a great example of how the media tries to understand and present endangered species. The media narrative for these extremely vulnerable species seems to fall into two different categories:

1.) Species is recovering and on the way to total success.
2.) Species on the brink of extinction and nearly hopeless.

CNN's earlier coverage of the ship strike regulation leaned toward #2, while this recent post leans toward #1. Members of the New England Aquarium Right Whale Research Program are quoted in both articles, and the researchers consistently give realistic and direct appraisals of the state of North Atlantic right whales. However, those assessments are translated through two extreme lenses of hope and dispair. If a right whale is born, the species is on the road to recovery. If a right whale is found dead, the species is facing imminent collapse.

I definitely sympathize with the desire to present movement and progress to fuel interest in a nuanced and particularly difficult subject. However, I do hear from the researchers often, who are never consumed by either extreme, and continue their conservation work in a perpetual state of cautious optimism.

A great book to read to get the comprehensive story and achieve some perspective is The Urban Whale, a compilation of right whale history, research and conservation thinking.

P.S. Here's a cool video along these lines. It depicts the buoy tracking system for right whales.

Honoring President Anote Tong of Kiribati

This week, the Aquarium was honored to host President Anote Tong of the island nation of Kiribati (pronounced Keer - a - bos).

President Tong was on his way through the country on a visit that included engagements at the United Nations and meetings with foreign leaders. The Boston leg of the trip included a speaking engagement at Harvard, a visit to the New England Aquarium and an awards ceremony at which President Tong was presented the Aquarium's David B. Stone Award for his exceptional conservation efforts in the creation of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.

The California-sized Phoenix Islands Protected Area was the result of cooperation between President Tong, Conservation International, the Coral Reef Initiative and the New England Aquarium.

Women in Science!

Penguin biologist Caitlin Hume with a rockhopper penguin. She'll be studying rockhoppers in Chile this fall.

There aren't enough women in science, but there are many extremely skilled women scientists working at the New England Aquarium. And they can't wait to share their scientific experiences with young women in the Boston area with the Aquarium's Women in Science Program.

The Aquarium's program is one of many efforts to involve women in the sciences, including programs from the National Science Foundation and WomeninScience.org. The Aquarium's biologists have a rich history of taking part in this effort and leading by example!

Update: The current set of programs is completely booked already! The organizers are deciding whether to plan more sessions ...

The Diving Has Begun!

The updates from the Sea of Cortez blog started getting exciting today with the first dive at the El Bajo seamount! Check out the first dive post and see more images in the gallery.

Sea of Cortez Blog Hits the Bigtime!

One of the things we've been working on at the Aquarium is getting the voices of the conservation experts who work here out into the internetz. The preeminent Boston news site (boston.com) seems to have noticed our efforts. They have a prominent link to the new Sea of Cortez blog, which is one of the most star-studded blogs we've run.



And, imagine, the team hasn't even gotten to the good stuff yet: diving in the DEEPSEE.

Introducing Know Plastic!

Some people look at a plastic bag blowing at the wind and think it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen:



Sunnye is NOT one of those people. When she looks at anything plastic, she sees this:



You already know about Sunnye. She's an educator, a worm farmer and now she's an investigative blogger trying to live for a year without plastics.

Her posts are informative and riveting, and you must head over there and join the commenting community. The experiment has gotten off to a rocky start, but it's an extremely honest look at the role plastics play in our daily lives.

Somehow we have to work with both the American Beauty version of plastics with the turtle squeezing version.

NEAQ Blog Update!

I have been MIA on the New Blue for the last week because the growing army of other Aquarium blogs were monopolizing my allotted time in the blogosphere. But that's actually a really good thing. The trainers and biologists are much better ocean bloggers than I am.

Here's what they've been writing about.

The Giant Ocean Tank Blog's own master of SCUBA secrets, Chris, put up an extensive post about the complex fishes acclimation process. This is a must read for all coral reef aquarists.



The Newest addition to the blog family is Greg Stone's Sea of Cortez Blog. It's quickly turning into an all-star venture with NEAQ VP Greg, who is an experienced blog author, Alan Dynner, adventurer and Chair of the NEAQ Board of Overseers, Brian Skerry, a National Geographic Photographer and NEAQ Overseer, and Larry Madin, Head of Research at WHOI.


The right whale Bay of Fundy blog has been going strong, and it now includes an amazing video 0f 20 North Atlantic Right whales in a surface active group! Plus there's a great description of the team's research methods.


And over at the Marine Mammal Trainers Blog, there's a touching salute to Baranov, the massive male Northern fur seal who is now back at the mystic Aquarium after a summer stay at the NEAQ.

Collect Fish with the Aquarium!

The Aquarium is back in the Bahamas collecting fishes. These bi-annual trips aren't just the kind of thing you can read blogs about and enjoy when the animals arrive in the Giant Ocean Tank. They're also the kind of expedition you can hop in a wetsuit, fly down to Miami and join!

Just check out this trip video.

And this travel article from Diane Daniel of the Boston Globe.

The Ocean is in Our Blood

The Oceans are in our blood! If VP of Global Marine Programs Gregory Stone says it, I'll believe it.

The Turning Point for the Right Whale Speed Regulation?

Amy Knowlton is putting out the call for public comments on the revised right whale NMFS speed regulation. It's the 20 nm version I mentioned in a previous post, but Amy says she's glad it's reached final stages finally, because something is definitely better than nothing.


This one year old male, #3522, was struck by an unknown vessel off the southeastern U.S. coast in March 2006. We have not seen this animal since and are not sure it has survived after this severe injury.

Still, it can't hurt to give the NMFS your take on the rule, and mention the 30 nm preference ... The email address to send comments to is shipstrike [dot] eis [at] noaa [dot] gov.

Aquarium Jammin'

I just came across this toe-tapping Aquarium video on my new favorite site New England Mama! Great stuff. The company appears to be called "Fantastic," but it's hard to track them down on the web ... seeing as how many videos are described as fantastic.

In any event, if this doesn't make you want to put on some sweatpants and wander comfortably around the Aquarium, nothing will.