Monterey Bay Aquarium
| Monterey Bay Aquarium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| place | 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940 |
| opening | 1984 |
| Animal species | approx. 550 species |
| Individuals | approx. 35,000 animals |
| organization | |
| Sponsorship | Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation |
| Member of | WAZA |
| www.montereybayaquarium.org | |
The Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) in Monterey , California is one of the largest public show aquariums in the world. The exhibition, which opened in 1984, was built with a $ 55 million donation from David Packard on the site of a former fish factory on Cannery Row . A $ 57 million extension was completed in 1996. It is known for the acrylic window that allows a view into the largest aquarium. For a long time it was the largest window in the world with a length of 17 meters and a height of 5 meters.
exhibition
35,000 marine animals from 550 species live here : from nudibranchs to starfish and jellyfish to sharks and penguins .
The aquarium has around 200 basins, the largest of which, "the Outer Bay", holds around 4 million liters of water. The Outer Bay area also has an extensive collection of jellyfish. Other focal points are a large seaweed forest basin, sea otters , an extensive exhibition of other otters (“mad about otters”) and a tidal zone in which the penguins are also shown. Otters can be observed in the wild from the terrace.
science
The Monterey Bay Aquarium made headlines around the world for its pioneering project, the first successful long-term shelter for a young great white shark in an aquarium. This female great white shark was caught off the coast of California in August 2004 and transferred to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on September 14, 2004. After a 198-day stay in the aquarium, the shark was released back into the wild in March 2005. Its migration through the ocean was recorded by a tracking device over a period of 30 days. In total, the aquarium has so far housed six great white sharks, the last so far in 2011, all of which were equipped with tracking devices and released again.
In addition, the aquarium also runs a program to protect sea otters (Sea Otter Research and Conservation), participates in the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC) for the protection of bluefin tuna and in the "Tagging of Pacific Predators" (TOPP) project , in which marine animals are equipped with tracking devices. The coastal strip in front of Monterey is now an important marine reserve.
The aquarium is in close contact with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), also founded by David Packard.
building
The aquarium is partly located in the halls of a former sardine preservation factory. Fishing has been the region's main source of income since around 1850. The first real fish factory was built in Monterey in 1895, and Knut Hovden built the largest and most modern cannery on Cannery Row , which was the economic center of an entire region, on the site of today's exhibition in 1916 . When the sardine fishermen's yields fell noticeably in the 1950s due to overfishing and finally did not materialize, all the factories had to close. The street became a tourist center with many hotels and restaurants.
The large steam boilers that were used to preserve the sardines still stand in the entrance hall today. Their history forms a stark contrast to the understanding of the vulnerability of the sea that is conveyed here today.
various
- The aquarium scenes were filmed here for the film Star Trek IV: Back to the Present . In the film, however, the aquarium is located in Sausalito near San Francisco and is shown as a facility specializing in whales ( Cetacean Institute ), which among other things houses two humpback whales .
entrance
The exhibition from the direction of the Pacific
The main building of the aquarium
Great white shark in the Outer Bay
large sunfish
Barbed heads swim around the seaweed forest.
Orange sea feathers
A Sanderling standing on one foot
Web links
Coordinates: 36 ° 37 ′ 5.7 ″ N , 121 ° 54 ′ 5.3 ″ W.
- West Coast USA Tour of the Bay Aquarium with 34 photos (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Monterey Bay Aquarium Quick Facts 2009 - Overview for the press (PDF; 16 kB)
- ↑ Overview of the exhibitions on the Monterey Bay Aquarium website
- ↑ Information from the Monterey Bay Aquarium on research on great white sharks ( Memento of the original from August 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Overview of research programs ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ FAQ of the MBARI ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
