More Aquariums, More Awareness

Today I had the privilege to visit the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto with a great friend of mine. Upon my first visit at this magnificent aquarium in which hosts a union of a diversity of maritime species, I have learned many new things with regards to the biologies as well as the ecosystems of these creatures, some are interesting, while some are quite shocking. Beyond that, the visit had also provided me more insight on the current well being of the maritime worlds.

The one fact which left me the deepest impression was that there are increasingly more shark fatalities each year for sharks died from swallowing man-made wastes dumped into the oceans. Because the way sharks swallow food into their digestive systems without much of a chewing process, it leaves them vulnerable to swallow things that they cannot digest, and those usually can cost their lives. It has been shown that the typical laundry list of man-made wastes found in dead sharks’ stomachs include things like garbage, industrial-processed materials, contaminated substances, etc. What’s worse is that since sharks are one of the major species at the top of the food chain, the shrinking of their population consequently impacts the rest of the entire ecosystems with many negative effects.

Speaking of the maritime ecosystem and the food chains involved, our extravagant hunting of top level species such as sharks, dolphins, and tuna have brought significant imbalance to the entire maritime ecosystem, and that have implications to the biodiversity and density of other species in the ecosystem. In addition, ecosystem imbalance also significantly affects the maritime environment as well, with examples such as the formation of coral reefs and the growth of sea grass and algae that form the habitats of many other species. A good read of Predators as Prey — Why Healthy Oceans Need Sharks provides better explanations and example, and will help to substantiate my point.

The scariest thing to note is that there aren’t enough scientifically structured rules to regulate hunting in the fishing industry. Many regions and countries in the world that have large portions of their economies entirely based on fishing lack the proper regulations and laws to support sustainable hunting. That is to say, little efforts are made to ensure that our hunting efforts are respecting the natural cycles of the maritime ecosystems, and what’s worse is that many lack the insight to realize the impending extinctions of many species.

One reason I really liked the aquarium I visited today is because it wasn’t just an extravagant exhibition of maritime creatures with many species no ordinary people have ever seen before. It’s also a place that fosters education and awareness on the current situation of the maritime ecosystem to the general public. Paradoxically, while showing people the delicate and exquisite forms and appearances that mother nature has granted to many of those creatures, it was also trying to illustrate the cruelty that we humans have imposed on the citizens of the sea worlds and our disrespect to many of their species as well.

Besides this aquarium in particular, I have also visited many others that are similar in scale in major cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Beijing. Every one of those aquariums put on a show of paradox with the beauty of the maritime worlds and the impending devastations and doom that they are facing. I think over time more people will become aware of the situation, but we probably need more aquariums to bring the issue as a center attention to the table in many societies.

Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea inspires me to explore into the unknowns and appreciate the majestic worlds that lie thousands of meters below the surface, where wonders of nature really put on a show near the Earth’s crust, before we ruin the other world on our planet which we have not fully visited yet.