Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
With the 1-year anniversary of the Ocean Pavilion just around the corner, it's time to look towards the future and what plans are next for the Seattle Aquarium.
With a new president / CEO in Peggy Sloan, who officially has full power this month (she was splitting time with Bob Davidson, the old CEO / president since May so she gets the hang of things before Bob officially retires), and the full $160M raised from the "One Ocean, One Future" campaign for the Ocean Pavilion, meaning there's either little to no debt leftover from the project now thankfully, the future is very interesting.
Peggy hails from Shedd Aquarium, which many consider to be a Top 3 Aquarium in the US, where she helped plan the $500M series of renovations they're going through right now. She's also served as a board member on the AZA, and a chair member for the Aquarium's committee on the WAZA. So in other words, I think she's more than fit for the job and can come up with some very awesome ideas for the Aquarium's future. The timing is also very interesting, as Seattle is holding (I believe it's 4 or 6) some FIFA World Cup Games next year for the 2026 championship. I would expect some drastic changes to happen between now and when those games are held for the expected huge wave of tourists.
It's also no secret that the Ocean Pavilion, for $160M spent, is arguably underwhelming. And as a former high school volunteer who helped with the opening ceremony, I definitely agree. But I'll talk about that at the end since the main focus of this is on Pier 59 and Pier 60.
Before I get into my speculation / personal dream design, here are the facts that are laid out by the aquarium itself:
The piers are definitely the weakest part of the aquarium, a lot of the exhibits are outdated, and there's also just not a ton of exhibits in general. But it's clear that the new leadership is set on making the Aquarium "one of the best in the nation," in their words, which is deserving for a city like Seattle.
My speculative design will try and follow what we already know about the future renovations, and also my hopes. I'll try and go exhibit by exhibit and go into detail about what I think should be changed.
Starting off with Pier 59 |
Window on Washington Waters
Now onto Pier 60:
Shorebird Aviary
The Ocean Pavilion: It's so hard to come up with ideas since it's only (about to turn) a year old, and there's still species that haven't moved over yet. But I would like to see more species throughout the building in general, especially the Sharks and Rays. Since beforehand, there was an interview with the old life sciences president talking about how there would be 25 / 26 total Sharks and Rays, and so far there are only 12 with not much word on when the next species are coming. I do remember a lot of them are quite rare and coming from outside the US, so I get why it's taking a while, I would just like to see more diversity for a 500,000 gallon tank when there are other aquariums (Point Defiance Zoo just an hour away that I like to use as an example) with much smaller shark tanks, that have a greater diversity. We'll see in another year or two what eventually happens, I have faith the wait will be worth it.
And that wraps it up for my speculative / dream plan design. Again, I have faith the new leadership has some great ideas in store, it's just about how they execute it. Hopefully we may get some concept art at least for the Pier 59 changes soon at the very least.
With a new president / CEO in Peggy Sloan, who officially has full power this month (she was splitting time with Bob Davidson, the old CEO / president since May so she gets the hang of things before Bob officially retires), and the full $160M raised from the "One Ocean, One Future" campaign for the Ocean Pavilion, meaning there's either little to no debt leftover from the project now thankfully, the future is very interesting.
Peggy hails from Shedd Aquarium, which many consider to be a Top 3 Aquarium in the US, where she helped plan the $500M series of renovations they're going through right now. She's also served as a board member on the AZA, and a chair member for the Aquarium's committee on the WAZA. So in other words, I think she's more than fit for the job and can come up with some very awesome ideas for the Aquarium's future. The timing is also very interesting, as Seattle is holding (I believe it's 4 or 6) some FIFA World Cup Games next year for the 2026 championship. I would expect some drastic changes to happen between now and when those games are held for the expected huge wave of tourists.
It's also no secret that the Ocean Pavilion, for $160M spent, is arguably underwhelming. And as a former high school volunteer who helped with the opening ceremony, I definitely agree. But I'll talk about that at the end since the main focus of this is on Pier 59 and Pier 60.
Before I get into my speculation / personal dream design, here are the facts that are laid out by the aquarium itself:
- The West / Backend of Pier 59 is getting a renovation, which includes tearing down the back wall and installing a giant window that looks out onto the water. (I could've sworn I saw some concept art for this a while ago, which included them moving the touch pools back here too).
- The entirety of Pier 60 will be expanded and renovated to make the spaces more adequate for mammals, birds, and other species.
- The Piers will be meant for species that are native to Washington's waters and the surrounding areas. Strictly coldwater / temperate species, since the Ocean Pavilion houses all the tropical species.
The piers are definitely the weakest part of the aquarium, a lot of the exhibits are outdated, and there's also just not a ton of exhibits in general. But it's clear that the new leadership is set on making the Aquarium "one of the best in the nation," in their words, which is deserving for a city like Seattle.
My speculative design will try and follow what we already know about the future renovations, and also my hopes. I'll try and go exhibit by exhibit and go into detail about what I think should be changed.
Starting off with Pier 59 |
Window on Washington Waters
- Honestly, this exhibit needs no changes. It's one that has proven to stand the test of time, and one of the few exhibits that is as good as it is. They could add a few more species since for the majority, it's just Rockfish and Salmon; however, structurally, it's still good.
- Another exhibit that I think is fine as it is. I think they could add another species of fish in here since it's just the Striped Surfperch in here; however, other than that, it's still a great exhibit.
- This is a stand-alone tank that's just home to some Shiner Perches and various seaweed. IMO, I think if it were redone and a lid was added, it would make a great exhibit for a Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens). There have been Red Octopuses on exhibit time to time at the Closer Look table, but they usually outgrow their tanks pretty fast and get stressed out, so they always get removed. This would allow a permanent exhibit for the Red Octopus, which a lot of people only know of the Giant Pacific Octopus, but don't know about its smaller cousin that is also local here. The tank is large enough for one to live comfortably, but also small enough so people can come and observe it up close. It would be the only thing living in there, besides some various seaweed and probably some Plumose Anemones, but it doesn't need to be flashy and I think this is a species that doesn't get enough love.
- Another pair of exhibits that don't need any changes IMO, however, if the plan is to tear them down and move them over to the backend of the pier, right by the giant window, then I would only tear down the "Inland Seas" touchpool, and keep the "Outer Coast". I'd do this since Outer Coast would fit the area's theme of animals that are inshore and that lots of people see regularly whenever they're tidepooling or dock fouling. Inland Seas has a lot of animals that are found a little further out at sea, which would fit the vibe of seeing the sound from out the window. Which would leave an empty space where Inland Seas currently is.
- I would instead put a large, stand-alone tank in this area. Personally, I would upgrade that dock piling tank and add it here. I would still keep the Shiner Perches, but would add Tidepool Sculpins (Oligocottus maculosus), Northern Feather Dusters (Eudistylia vancouveri), Giant Plumose Anemones (Metridium farcimen), California Mussels (Mytilus californianus), Gumboot Chitons (Cryptochiton stelleri), Dock Shrimps (Pandulus sp.), various algae, and a few other species. (This is inspired by the Vancouver Aquarium and Point Defiance Zoo)
- Even though it doesn't exactly need an upgrade, I would personally upgrade the size of the tank since there's a good amount of open space since the second cylindrical tank was torn down a couple of years ago. This area also gets congested with a lot of people very frequently since it's right by the wall. I would keep the iconic cylindrical shape, just expand it and make it larger.
- Another exhibit that doesn't need any changes IMO, arguably the most photographed spot on the Piers.
- This one is challenging since its whole purpose is that it's designed for people to get up close and see the animals, while also having rotating themes. However, this change is inspired by what I saw at the Birch Aquarium since I think they did a good job at it and it could be easily achievable.
- Instead of having this as an open space, I'd build a wall where the table is instead. So it'd enclose all the tanks so all you see if the front viewing area. All the tanks are still at eye level, with various shaped openings (such as one viewing could be a circle, the next one a square, etc), so it still has that luring factor that makes you want to get up close to the tank. This would make it easier for animals / themes to be switched out, and eliminate the biggest issue which is people (specifically, young children) that try and open the top of the tanks / interfere with the running water since the whole filtration is exposed in it's current layout, so covering it all up would make that not an issue anymore.
- What used to be the old tropical gallery of the aquarium has been shut down for almost a year at this point, thanks to the Ocean Pavilion, and the fact that most of the tanks and plumbing were actively degrading. Which means this space is a clear slate. I would divide this area up into 3 sections, some of which I really hope come to fruition because they'd fit right in.
- The Jellyfish Gallery: What I feel like the Aquarium has been lacking for ages, Puget Sound has some of the most diversity in Jellies and Ctenophores, and we have nothing to show it off besides the Moon Jellies. I would put in a few larger tanks for the larger species, most notably the Pacific Sea Nettles (Chrysaora fuscescens), Egg-yolk Jellies (Phacellophora camtschatica), and Pacific Lion's Mane Jellies (Cyanea ferruginea). Along with some medium-sized and smaller-sized tanks for the other variety of species we get here. The most common being Crystal Jellies (Aequorea victoria), Cross Jellies (Mitrocoma cellularia), and Pacific Sea Gooseberries (Pleurobrachia bachei). Other shoutouts include the Red Eye Medusas, Canadian Comb Jellies, Abyssal Comb Jellies, Beaded Comb Jellies, and Long Spur Jellies to name a few.
- The Schooling Fish Tank: in place of what used to be the giant fish-only tank, I would put a giant circular tank that you could walk around in this spot. So that it still allows the visitors to walk in a path like the old layout, but also gives you something to look at. Personally, I would opt for a giant school of Northern Anchovies (Engraulis mordax), since Point Defiance Zoo already keeps the Pacific Herring in their Schooling fish tank, and the Anchovies school together a lot better from my observations.
- The Conservation Gallery: This section would only have a few tanks that focus on two species that share a border message. In this section, I would want to exhibit the Pinto Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) and Sunflower Sea Stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides). The Aquarium has been a part of the Pinto Abalone restoration program since 2020, but this would be an opportunity to join the Sunflower Sea Star recovery program too. 2 Species who are keystone species in their environment, but both of which've had their numbers wiped out in recent years. This space would go heavy in on the importance of keystone species, how aquariums are helping out their population numbers, and explain the challenges they're facing. Multiple tanks would be used to show off the different life stages of both species. I'm genuinely surprised why we're not a part of the program right now, but this would be a great way of joining in on the help.
Now onto Pier 60:
Shorebird Aviary
- It's no secret that the Shorebird collection has dwindled in recent years due to some of the birds passing away from old age. Which leaves the collection down to just 2 Black Oyster Catchers, a Snowy Plover, and a Killdeer. Not only that, but I would like to see the exhibit changed as well.
- This is heavily inspired by Monterey Bay Aquarium's aviary, but if the sandy area and water area were elevated and expanded so they sit at the visitor's eye level, that would be amazing. Currently, you look down into their exhibit. I would still keep it open, so you don't get rid of the walkthrough aspect. That way, a small window could also be installed so you're able to look into the water area as well.
- Species-wise, I'm not very versed with our native species, but I would love if the Black Bellied Plover and Long-billed Curlew came back, while also adding a Black-necked Stilt at the very least. Some other birds could also be added, but I'm not very sure what would work out.
- Another exhibit that's definitely showing its age. Currently, there's a breeding group of Tufted Puffins, Common Murres, and a Rhinoceros Auklet in here.
- I wouldn't mind if they kept the "walk-in" aspect since the current exhibit surrounds the visitor, but if they expanded it a lot more and maybe lessened the number of windows, but made them larger so it looked a little cleaner, that'd be great.
- I would keep the current species line up, but also try and incorporate the Pigeon Guillemots again (they didn't feel comfortable around the visitors, which is why they were taken off exhibit).
- This area currently consists of 1 long tank for baby salmon and 1 circular tank for baby Surfperch.
- Instead, I would keep the window that looks out onto the sound, but install 2 tanks that mimic a river system. 1 for salmon eggs/baby salmon. The other tank, for juvenile salmon after they've passed their "Alvin" stage but still inhabit freshwater. Just some cleaner looking tanks that don't make them look like they're from a hatchery, and throw in some wood, sticks, gravel, and fake plants to make it look a little more natural since this area isn't very big.
- Another section that shows it's age, currently it's split into 3 ecological zones: Seagrass Beds, Deepwater, and Rocky Cliffs.
- First off, I would love if they took Birch Aquarium's "Living Seas", Aquarium of the Pacific's Southern California gallery, and Vancouver Aquarium's "Treasures of the BC Coast" Gallery as inspiration. The sleekness of these galleries and design is flawless for showing their native wildlife, and I would really like to see that translated here too.
- Eelgrass Beds: I would upgrade the long Seagrass Tank that is currently on exhibit. Upgrade it to somewhere between 20 to 30ft long, since that was the coolest tank to me from Aquarium of the Pacific's SoCal gallery. Move over the species which include Shiner Perch, Snakehead Pricklebacks, a few different species of Gunnels. Add Tubesnouts (Aulorhynchus flavidus), add Three-spine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), move over the Rock Soles (Lepidopsetta bilineata) from the current Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker tank into here, and move over the Bay Pipefishes (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) from their current tank into here as well. Also moving over the various Sea Cucumbers, Hermit Crabs, Plumose Anemones, and Seastars in the current version too.
- Also give the Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers their own tank again as well. Maybe add some Tubesnouts in here as well for more activity.
- Add a tank for just Silver Spotted Sculpins (Blepsias cirrhosis), since they're a super cool species that needs to be seen up close to be appreciated.
- Add a tank for Lion's Mane Nudibranchs (Melibe leonina), since they're super cool and a lot of people don't know they're in Washington (they're normally on seagrass beds or sometimes on algae growing on the docks, I've been lucky enough to see them in the wild like that).
- Deepwater: I would keep the "Filter Feeders" Tank, though upgrade it so it'd be taller and more representative of an underwater cliff. Keep the Basket Stars, Creeping Pedal Sea Cucumbers, and Pink Scallops that are currently in there. Add Feather Stars (Florometra serratissima), which I have no idea why we don't have these already. Add Squat Lobsters (Munida quadrispina), since even though they're not filter feeders, they would fit the "creepy/spooky" vibe.
- Add another tank for Sea Pens, this tank would have more length to it so it could accommodate a good amount of Sea Pens. Move over the Orange Sea Pens from their current tank into here. Add Slender Sea Pens (Stylatula elongata), Add Tube Anemones (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus), Add Sand Dollars (Dendraster excentricus). Move over the Northern Spearnose Poacher from it's current tank, into this one so it has more space to roam. Add a Pygmy Poacher (Odontopyxis trispinosa, which is the smaller cousin of the Northern Spearnose Poacher.
- Add a smaller tank for Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii)
- Add a larger tank and move over the Red Banded Rockfish into this tank. Which would allow the opportunity to hopefully bring back a Giant Wrymouth somehow since we used to have one just 2 years ago. Also add Pacific Tomcod (Microgadus proximus), add Northern Ronquil (Ronquilus jordani), along with some of the Giant Plumose Anemones and Sea Stars (inspired by one of Vancouver Aquarium's deepwater tanks)
- Rocky Cliffs: I would expand the Strawberry Anemone tank so it's got some more length to it, but I would keep the Grunt Sculpins and Mosshead Warbonnet in here.
- Add a larger tank to house a variety of coldwater corals native to the area. Such as the Red Seafans (Swiftia spauldingi), Sea Strawberries (Gersemia rubiformis), Orange Soft Corals (Alcyonium sp), and Orange Cup Corals (Balanophyllia elegans). I would add some Blackeye Gobies (Rhinogobiops nicholsii) and Sailfin Sculpins (Nautichthys oculofasciatus) in here.
- Add another tank for Puget Sound Rockfish (Sebastes emphaeus) and Painted Greenlings (Oxylebius pictus).
- Add a small tank for Tidepool Snailfish (Liparis florae) and Northern Clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus)
- Add a larger tank that can house an adult-sized Puget Sound King Crab (Lopholithodes mandtii), I would also add some Roughback Sculpins (Chitonotus pugetensis) that are already on exhibit, and Longfin Sculpins (Jordania zonope), also already on exhibit. I would also move some of the anemones into here.
- Another exhibit that shows it's age with how much concrete was used to build it. Personally, I hope they use a few large panels to create the dome viewing, instead of having a bunch of smaller windows again. There aren't a ton of large underwater dome exhibits I can take inspiration off of, Indie's Dolphin Dome would be amazing to replicate but this exhibit has a colder temperature and needs a seperate entrance and exit. I don't mind if you can see where the panles were connected to each other, as long as there's way less concrete visible, and the viewing areas are much larger.
- The current species list is for the most part, as good as it gets for our area. Unfortuanetly, geographically wise, we do get a little unlucky as a lot of the Elasmobranchs in our area aren't suited for aquariums (Leopard Sharks and Bat Rays as an example don't go further north than Oregon so we don't have them here). Realitically speaking, I'd love to add a few more North Pacific Spiny Dogfish, add another Big Skate or 2, and bring back the Spotted Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) (not sure why we don't have them)
- However, if I'm getting really hopeful / speculative, just last year, Broadnose Sevengill Sharks and Soupfin / Tope Sharks were found to be inhabiting the inland Puget Sound, which has never been documented before. I think it's still a mystery on whether they're actually living here, or just visitng. But at 400,000 Gallons, the dome is large enough to exhibit both species. The only issue is the Soupfin Sharks are critically endangered, and the Sevengill Sharks could be temporary visitors (I've heard this is what Monterey Bay and Oregon Coast do, they keep them for a while then tag and release and repeat, but I'm not 100% sure). Being another Aquarium to exhibit either of those species would be incredibly amazing. But that's just me being really hypothetical. Another cool species to see would be the Longnose Skate (Caliraja rhina) (I believe Oregon Coast Aquarium used to have them), but they're much rarer to see alive than the Big Skates since most of them time, they get pulled up on fishing lines / washed ashore. Would be neat though.
- I'm seperating the Sea Otters from the Harbor Seals and Northern Fur Seals since their habitat is the "better" of the 3. I think depth wise, the exhibit is fine.
- I'd ideally like to see their space expanded a bit so they've got more surface swimming room, and also making the underwater portion more naturalistic. Adding fake rock structures and fake kelp (since the kelp here is seasonal). There doesn't have to be any fish to make it nicer (though I could see some rockfish), I mainly would just like to be more naturalistic.
- Absolutley the two biggest offenders in terms of how outdated the exhibits are. And I say this with love, might be the some of the worst of their kind for modern AZA standards / facilities.
- The Northern Fur Seals, I would love if they got some more land space, but also just a lot, lot more swimming space in general. Personally, I'd like to see their exhibit have a bit more depth, but overall, just make it as wide as you can so they have much more swimming more.
- The Harbor Seals, I'd also like if they got a little more space, but basically the same thing as the Fur Seals, just expand their swimming room by as much as you can. I'd also love to see the underwater viewing be expanded a little more, since the glare (it's an outdoor enclosure) makes it hard to see them most times.
- Not much more to say about these two exhibits, just greatly expand the swimming area and add some more land space. Along with making the underwater areas a little more naturalistic.
- Arugably, I think one of the biggest fumbles exhibit wise. This exhibit is currently used as a growout for juvenile Salmon. However, it takes up quite a lot of space. If the "Salmon" area is renovated to look more like a freshwater river for the various stages of Salmon, then this area could have much more potential. To be fair, I'm not very knowledgable on our local freshwater species (which is why I think an exhibit displaying and educating about our local species would be greatly helpful for the public)
- Add a tank for Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) or Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi), two of the most common freshwater species in the state behind the Rainbow Trout (we already have Steelhead / Rainbow Trout at the Aquarium)
- Add a tank for Redside Shiners (Richardsonius balteatus), Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus), and Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)
- Add a tank for the Olympic Mudminnow (Novumbra hubbsi) if possible, since they're actually one of the few Endemic freshwater species in the state, so being able to educate and potentially breed them would be incredible work for the Aquarium.
- Also add a tank that shows off invasive species. I think most of these are techically gamefish that are introduced into the man made lakes for sport, but I still think it'd be useful to educate about. Species like Smallmouth Bass, Pumpkin Seed Sunfish, Bluegill Sunfish, and Brown Bullhead Catfish are some examples.
- Not much to say about this tank, I don't think it needs that many changes. Though from the concept art, it looks like it probably won't exisit anymore so there might be plans of getting rid of it completley (it's just a medium sized tank with species found throughout the aquarium already. It's only cool feature is that it's viewable from outside the aquarium.
- Honestly, I don't think it needs many changes besides some more swimming room. The exhibit is very natualistic with the waterfall, rocks, and wood. The land area isn't that bad either. Just give them some more swimming space, and I think it'll work fine.
The Ocean Pavilion: It's so hard to come up with ideas since it's only (about to turn) a year old, and there's still species that haven't moved over yet. But I would like to see more species throughout the building in general, especially the Sharks and Rays. Since beforehand, there was an interview with the old life sciences president talking about how there would be 25 / 26 total Sharks and Rays, and so far there are only 12 with not much word on when the next species are coming. I do remember a lot of them are quite rare and coming from outside the US, so I get why it's taking a while, I would just like to see more diversity for a 500,000 gallon tank when there are other aquariums (Point Defiance Zoo just an hour away that I like to use as an example) with much smaller shark tanks, that have a greater diversity. We'll see in another year or two what eventually happens, I have faith the wait will be worth it.
And that wraps it up for my speculative / dream plan design. Again, I have faith the new leadership has some great ideas in store, it's just about how they execute it. Hopefully we may get some concept art at least for the Pier 59 changes soon at the very least.