Ecosystems in Balance, From Local to Global, Knowledge into Action, Sustainability Inside and Out, Sustainable Seafood, To Conserve and Protect

Christina Wulff

The New England Aquarium provides a number of outreach programs and research for various aspects of the environment. Being one of the most popular and visited places in Boston, the aquarium has the ability to influence a vast audience. Its outlook and mission stems from innovation and strives to not only be an aquarium for entertainment, but for education and for taking action in order to focus on the dangers that the ocean faces (About Us: An Overview). Such conservations and research the aquarium partakes in and conducts include protection of endangered species and habitats, fisheries, bycatch, and aquaculture, and climate change. Under each of these categories is a multitude of individual programs that concentrates on a particular area that is in need (About Us: An Overview).

One of the aquarium’s mission is to protect endangered species and habitats. The New England Aquarium has extensively protected the North Atlantic Right Whale and has the longest running conservation program for this specie in the world (Right Whale Projects). It is one of the rarest whale species in the world, and is one of the most endangered, with less than 500 right whales living today (Climate change and effects on ocean animals). Scientists have concluded that human activity is the pure reason why right whales are nearly extinct. Some of the main causes for the endangerment of the right whales are commercial fishing, whaling, and human-induced global warming (Right Whale Projects).

The New England Aquarium has started many programs and conducted numerous research projects regarding right whales and their protection in the environment. The aquarium’s projects include reducing the risks of ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, monitoring whale individual and family histories, recovery through right whale genetics, as well as having multiple field stations and locations around the world for research and protection of the right whale species (Right Whale Projects). The New England Aquarium has initiated research for experimental fishing gear in order to protect right whales from entanglement. Right whales have continuously gotten tangled and trapped in ropes that fishermen use to set gillnets and lobster pots that can be potentially fatal to the whales. These ropes have caused about 70% of the right whale population to bear scars today from past entanglements (Experimental Fishing Gear Projects). The New England Aquarium is currently working on various developments of ropes for the fishing industry that would not harm the whales. The aquarium has produced several ropes, such as a sinking groundline for traps that would stay near the bottom of the ocean to avoid conflict with the whales, durable ropes that could be used as vertical lines in pot and gillnet fisheries, but would break if a whale pulled on it while entangled, and lastly, a vertical line rope that is more visible to whales and other animals (Experimental Fishing Gear Projects). The recovery of the right whales is possible, but difficult to achieve due to hindering factors of low reproduction, habitat loss, and environmental contaminants. Many of the projects and solutions the aquarium has provided seem positively beneficial to the right whale population; however, implementation continues to withhold these programs from increased success (Right Whale Research).

Ellie Bennett

The New England Aquarium opened its doors in Boston over 40 years ago and now attracts over 1.3 million visitors a year (About Us: An Overview). They are a “global leader in ocean exploration and marine conservation” while also changing the conventional meaning of the word aquarium (About Us: An Overview). Their creed emphasizes a combination of “education, entertainment, and action to address the most challenging problems facing the ocean” (About Us: An Overview). Through educational initiatives as well as conservation missions, the aquarium’s global impact is well known and respected. Along with being a major public resource, the aquarium has a surplus of hands on ventures focused on conservation and research. Their primary goal of making a “lasting global impact” is achieved through the development and implementation of “new solutions to protect the oceans and balance the human impacts on them” (Endangered Species and Habitats).

One example of their initiatives is an outreach program targeted at Marine Animal Rescue. With this program their specialized rescue team “responds to calls to provide medical treatment for whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea turtles.” (Endangered Species and Habitats). Most of this rescuing is geared towards stranded animals, which they define as “being out of the ocean” and “unable to survive without assistance” (Endangered Species and Habitats). This definition can be problematic for the semi-aquatic animals because they are only considered stranded when they “are on a beach and are also sick or injured”, creating very specific circumstances under which they should be helped (Endangered Species and Habitats). Regardless of these classifications the aquarium rescues the animals in need, rehabilitates them, and releases them back into the wild when they are healthy enough to survive on their own.

To go into more detail, one of the aquarium’s longest standing projects is the rescuing of young sea turtles—Kemp Ridleys—from the Cape Cod Bay Beaches. Running every November for over 15 years, volunteers comb miles of beaches with the hopes of rescuing these inhibited creatures (How the Aquarium Helps Stranded Sea Turtles). In 2014 a record breaking 733 sea turtles were treated in the aquarium, accurately nicknamed the “Sea Turtle Hospital”, for ailments such as “extreme hypothermia, severe dehydration, pneumonia and often shell or bone fractures” (How the Aquarium Helps Stranded Sea Turtles). Overall, The New England Aquarium is a forerunner in diverse exhibits, a staple in oceanic education, and a dedicated and respected conservation and restoration institution.

Rebecca McElvain

The New England Aquarium opened 45 years ago, in 1969. Their goal is to redefine what it means to be an aquarium by educating the public on the problems our oceans face through entertainment and action. Ultimately, they want to better the conditions of our oceans in order to save the animals and ecosystems within them. The Aquarium partakes in multiple outreach and research programs that cover fisheries, bycatch, aquaculture, and climate change. Within these programs, the Aquarium focuses on educating its visitors about how they can participate and change aspects of their daily routines to help eliminate their impact on oceans. They also partake in the rehabilitation of many endangered species, but one in particular is Hector’s Dolphins.

These dolphins are the smallest in the world and can only be found in the waters near New Zealand. They are beautiful animals that are playful and social, but are heavily affected and threatened by human activities, specifically net fishing. They get caught in these nets and as a result, end up drowning. There are only 8,000 left in the wild and are also in trouble of boat strikes, altered habitats, and pollution. The Aquarium uses their research to educate policymakers on the dolphins in order to help them create policies to protect the animals and educate the public.

The Aquarium has also conducts research to determine how the Hector’s dolphins interact with boaters and humans, and how they use their habitat and interact with fishing gear. The Aquarium keeps track population numbers and health assessments to monitor the direction of the species. Their goal is to avoid extinction of the animal by eliminating threats they faces on a daily basis. They have also designed alarms to warn the dolphins about fishing nets. They continue to conduct research and educate the public on the animal, and many others, that are endangered.

Alexa Dlouhy

The New England Aquarium (NEA), located in Boston, is aimed at educating and entertaining the public, which they do by offering classes, programs, and lectures and of course by displaying their dynamic exhibits. Another important goal of the aquarium is to address the difficult issues facing the ocean. The aquarium conducts important research in climate change, conservation, fisheries, and aquacultures. The aquarium aims at making a lasting global impact by contributing research that affects policies that could limit the human effects on oceans.

One of the aquarium’s projects was an expedition to examine the effects of the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami on coral reefs in Thailand and Indonesia. Previously to the disaster, the coral reefs were essential in the livelihood of millions of people of the region who relied on fish as a primary source of food (“Thailand’s Coral Reefs). The region also relied heavily on the reefs due to the region’s international tourism economy (“Thailand’s Coral Reefs”). The study, led by Dr. Greg Stone of the NEA, took place in 30 sites in the Andaman Sea, off the Western coast of Thailand (Allen and Stone 2005).

By comparing the number of mollusks, corals, and fish before and after the disaster, it was concluded that of the locations the team visited, severe or heavy damage was noted at 19.4% of sites, moderate damage at 35.5% of the sites, and zero or low impact was noted at 45.2% sites (Allen and Stone 2005). It is noted that the expedition crew arrived over four months after the tsunami hit, and missed the biggest evidence of the disaster. Immediately after the tsunami there would have been overturned coral heads and large pieces of coral rubble. Thailand has one of the best marine protected areas, and despite the damage of the disaster, status of reefs in the country has generally improved over the past decade (Allen and Stone 2005). Despite this fact, it could take centuries for the older coral reefs, whose coral heads were toppled, to fully recover from the tsunami (Allen and Stone 2005). Other reefs, even those severely damaged, could recover in the next twenty years (Allen and Stone 2005). The recovery time difference is largely based on water depth and geography of the reef (“Thailand’s Coral Reefs”). Reefs located in shallow bays and located close to developed areas were most at risk during the disaster and are generally more damaged (“Thailand’s Coral Reefs”). This is because in a bay, waves are magnified, becoming larger and more powerful. Reefs in proximity to developed areas were more likely to get damaged by large items, like cars, fridges, roof, etc.

A full recovery is expected of these reefs in Thailand. Larger threats to these reefs include over-fishing, climate change, and coastal development. This is just one example of how the New England Aquariums uses its resources to research essential oceanic areas.

Veronica Culhane

For more than 40 years the New England Aquarium is a worldwide leader in oceanographic exploration and conservation. Located in Boston it is one of the most visited locations in the city with over 1.3 million visitors as well as being one of the city’s major educational resources. With a focus on combining education and action all the while making it more accessible to the general population they aim to make a lasting impact to benefit the climate. The Aquarium strives to protect the environment has started many programs for conservation, ocean health, research, and marine animal rescue. The Marine Animal Rescue Team acts to provide medical treatment to whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea turtles.

In the past year, in line with their rescue team, the aquarium has opened an exhibit to give a hands-on experience with the process of diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating sea turtles after being rescued from Cape Cod beaches. The aquarium includes panels to illustrate how people are coming together to protect turtle habitats. The exhibit features videos which tell the stories of sea turtle rescue success. Biologists and volunteers work tirelessly every year to save endangered sea turtles stranded upon the beaches. The turtles are then rehabilitated and released back into the ocean.

One other major place turtles brought to the rehab center are from is the commercial fishing industry. One major cause of the endangerment of sea turtles is due to the large amount caught annually as bycatch in trawling nets of large scale fishing operations.

Though the fishing industry is very specific about what species it targets, other animals often become hooked or trapped either when attracted to the bait or target catch, or when simply unable to avoid capture or entanglement in fishing gear.

Though many in the industry argue that bycatch is an acceptable consequence to supplying the world with wild-caught seafood, when the scale of mortality threatens the very survival of species and the environments they are part of there is a serious problem. The global tonnage of bycatch from the past year exceeded 7.3 million tons, in some fisheries the percentage of bycatch even outweighs the amount of target catch. An example cited by the Aquarium site was “for every shrimp caught by nets dragged behind boats (or trawls) in the Gulf of Mexico, over four times its weight is made up of bycatch”(bycatch overview).

There are solutions to the threat that bycatch poses to endangered species. Proposed approaches include reducing fishing or directing it away from “hotspots of conflict between fishing operations and non-target animals” (“Bycatch and Fisheries”). Other methods include modifying fishing methods that keep the fishing industry active but that reduce bycatch to lower levels that pose less of a threat to the survival of non-target species including the sea turtle. The Challenge remaining is to figure out what the most practical solutions may be in collaboration with the fishing industry.

Bun Straton

After opening in 1969, The New England Aquarium is a leader in global marine conservation. It is a major resource to the public in educating the young and the old about persevering and protecting marine life. Each year, the New England Aquarium has over 1.3 million visitors. The aquarium helps to raise awareness on endangered species and habitats, the effect of climate change, and sustainable fishing. They have a rescue project to save marine animals and also educate people on by catch and aquaculture. The New England Aquarium has over 20,000 species of marine life for the public to see. The aquarium is doing their best to “make a lasting impact globally.”

One of their many research projects include the American Lobster Research Program. The objectives for this program is to supply “a year-round supply of lobster embryos, larvae, and juveniles for collaborative research efforts.” So that high schools, colleges, and other marine conservation organizations can continue to research lobster biology, behavior, and health. From research, this program has discovered that depending on what the lobster eats, will determine the color of the lobster shell. The lobster color shell is dependent on a carotenoid pigment called astaxanthin which is normally red. But because it binds to different proteins in the shell, it turns blue or yellow. Although if the lobster does not eat this pigment it will become white. One of the main threats to the American (Maine) Lobster is shell disease. This disease leaves eats away at the lobster’s shell leaving unattractive lesions. The lesions make the lobster more susceptible to other disease and a higher risk of infection. Also the lesions make it more difficult to sell the lobster because the shell looks gross, molten and eaten away. This in turn affects the Maine Lobster fishery.

Not much is known about this disease yet but research has shown that lobsters that eat a diet solely based on herring have a higher chance of acquiring shell disease. Those lobsters that have a mixed diet of assorted sea grub have a less likely chance of getting the shell disease. This is somewhat ironic because fishermen use only herring in their lobster traps. So for those young lobsters that mature by eating the herring in each trap, then swimming out of them when they get pulled up, are more susceptible because their diet is primarily herring.

Another issue facing the Maine lobster is ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is the decrease of the pH in the ocean which is the same thing as the ocean’s acidity rising. This affects the lobsters because the lobster’s shells are made of calcium which deteriorates in acid. This is starting to take is toll especially to young, developing lobsters as researchers have found shell deformations.

Struan Coleman

The New England Aquarium is an impressive and state of the art research facility as well as a major tourist attraction. The Aquarium opened in 1969 and is one of the most influential educational facilities in the world. Home to over a thousand aquatic organisms on display for viewing, the Aquarium sees over 1.3 million visitors per year. (http://www.neaq.org/about_us/index.php (Links to an external site.))  Hands on activities, interactive media exhibits, a four story “Giant Ocean Tank, and an interactive Sea Turtle exhibit are just a few of the many attractions that draw visitors. Behind the scenes the Aquarium is also known for its extensive endangered species work. The facilities’, “conservation projects span the world—from the Phoenix Islands of the South Pacific to the Amazon Rainforest and Canada’s Bay of Fundy.” They successfully lobby for major changes in shipping routes to protect right whales, undertake the task of raising and ultimately releasing anywhere from 25 to 150 sea turtles each year, and work to promote and protect sustainable fisheries in the Amazon. The Aquarium is also home to a thriving educational outreach program that seeks to instill a sense of ownership and responsibility in the local community when it comes to the ocean. They provide resources for students, teachers, parents and other researchers. An in depth video series “Blue Impact” outlines the effects of climate change, while interactive games and activities provide children with a fun and engaging way to learn about the ocean. The Aquarium also provides a network of summer camps and field trip opportunities so that schools and programs can take advantage of the many resources the aquarium has to offer

One of the more interesting programs at the Aquarium is the “The Akiko Shiraki Dynner Fund for Ocean Exploration and Conservation.” The fund is designed to provide the necessary capital for researchers to conduct the crucial expeditions and projects that provide so much important data for conservation and exploration projects. Since launching in 2005, the fund has made possible projects in The Sea of Cortez, The Phoenix Islands, and Raja Ampat. Contributors to the fund consist of private benefactors and their donations make it possible to not only fund these crucial projects, but also provide direct protection to marine ecosystems deemed to be in danger. Expeditions will often collaborate with other research institutions such as The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and National Geographic. The cooperation among research facilities provides scientists with a diversity of methods and viewpoints that aids in answering the toughest questions concerning marine ecosystems. Although it might seem difficult for many contributors to see the positive benefits of their donations, the aquarium’s many exhibits and programs provide a basic understanding of why it is important to protect the ocean. Funds such as The Akiko Shiraki Dynner Fund for Ocean Exploration and Conservation are necessary for the success of these programs.

More Posts

Ecosystems in Balance, From Local to Global, Knowledge into Action, Sustainability Inside and Out, Sustainable Seafood, To Conserve and Protect