Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
Well-Known Member
The MaST Center in Des Moines, Washington is the marine science center for Highline College, which is just right up the street. It's a free admission aquarium, only open on Saturdays for the most part, and it really is only made up of 1 building (which is 1 large room with 18 total tanks). Despite its size, it is a really neat place to check out as a quick stop if you're in the area (I wouldn't plan a whole trip around it, obviously; most likely, you'll get through the whole thing within 30 minutes). It's just 1 of 2 marine science labs in the state that is physically on the water (the other being Friday Harbor Labs operated by the University of Washington, but it's not open to the public).
The best thing about the MaST Center is that they basically exhibit anything they collect out in the Puget Sound. They do a lot of catch and release for the most part, which leads to some really interesting species you might see here that aren't exhibited at either Seattle Aquarium or Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Examples such as Pacific Hagfish, many species of Invertebrates, Snailfishes, etc. Which is also funny since the MaST Center also helps donate animals to both Seattle and PDZA, such as recently they donated their largest Wolf Eel to PDZA and it now resides in one of the exhibits in the "Pacific Seas Aquarium".
Another fun fact is it's location; Des Moines is known as the "Sixgill Shark Capitol of the World". It's thought to be the largest nursery for juvenile Sixgill Sharks, and in the Summer, just 50 to 100 yards out from the beach where the MaST Center is, divers often encounter Sixgill Shark juveniles in much shallower waters than where the adults occur (something I hope to do one day soon).
This place is only 15 minutes away from me, though I haven't been in a few years since I've been with the Seattle Aquarium, which makes up most of my Saturdays. So hopefully I'll be able to get some more new photos for the gallery since this place exhibits so many species that haven't been added to the gallery yet (I just got 5 or 6 new ones today). They're constantly rotating species so there's always something new.
Since the place isn't split up between galleries, and a lot of the species are unsigned, I won't do my usual color coding or gallery split-up. Instead, I'll just list them off as "Tank 1, Tank 2, etc).
Tank 1
The best thing about the MaST Center is that they basically exhibit anything they collect out in the Puget Sound. They do a lot of catch and release for the most part, which leads to some really interesting species you might see here that aren't exhibited at either Seattle Aquarium or Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Examples such as Pacific Hagfish, many species of Invertebrates, Snailfishes, etc. Which is also funny since the MaST Center also helps donate animals to both Seattle and PDZA, such as recently they donated their largest Wolf Eel to PDZA and it now resides in one of the exhibits in the "Pacific Seas Aquarium".
Another fun fact is it's location; Des Moines is known as the "Sixgill Shark Capitol of the World". It's thought to be the largest nursery for juvenile Sixgill Sharks, and in the Summer, just 50 to 100 yards out from the beach where the MaST Center is, divers often encounter Sixgill Shark juveniles in much shallower waters than where the adults occur (something I hope to do one day soon).
This place is only 15 minutes away from me, though I haven't been in a few years since I've been with the Seattle Aquarium, which makes up most of my Saturdays. So hopefully I'll be able to get some more new photos for the gallery since this place exhibits so many species that haven't been added to the gallery yet (I just got 5 or 6 new ones today). They're constantly rotating species so there's always something new.
Since the place isn't split up between galleries, and a lot of the species are unsigned, I won't do my usual color coding or gallery split-up. Instead, I'll just list them off as "Tank 1, Tank 2, etc).
Tank 1
- Big Skate (juvenile) (Beringraja binoculata) (will eventually be released or moved to another facility when it gets larger)
- Shiner Perches (Cymatogaster aggregata)
- Pile Perches (juveniles) (Rhacochilus vacca)
- Blackeye Goby (Rhinogobiops nicholsii)
- White Spotted Greenlings (juveniles) (Hexagrammos stelleri)
- Sanddabs (Citharichthys spp.) (Too hard to tell what species since they're juveniles, the aquarium says)
- Longhorn Decorator Crabs (Chorilia longipes)
- California Sea Cucumbers (Apostichopus californicus)
- Giant Plumose Anemones (Metridium farcimen)
- Plumose Anemones (Metridium senile)
- various algaes
- Starry Flounder (Platichthys stellatus)
- Lewis' Moon Snail (Neverita lewisii)
- Moonglow Anemones (Anthopleura artemisia) (Both green and red varieties)
- Columbia Sand Anemones (Urticina columbiana)
- Red Rock Crab (Cancer productus)
- Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) (Really wish we had these on exhibit at Seattle)
- Roughback Sculpins (Chitonotus pugetensis)
- Striped Surfperches (Embiotoca lateralis)
- Painted Greenling (Oxylebius pictus)
- Brown Rockfish (Sebastes auriculatus)
- Sturgeon Poacher (Podothecus accipenserinus)
- Hairy Helmet Crab (Telmessus cheiragonus)
- Sturgeon Poacher (juvenile) (Podothecus accipenserinus)
- Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
- Strawberry Anemones (Corynactis californica)
- Swimming Scallops (Chlmyas rubidia)
- Giant Scallops (Crassodoma gigantea)
- Acorn Barnacles (Balanus nubilus)
- Random, small hermit crabs I can't ID
- various algaes
- Greater Moon Jellies (Aurelia labiata)
- Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers (Eumicrotremus orbis)
- China Rockfish (Sebastes nebulosus)
- Pile Perches (Rhacochilus vacca)
- Wolf Eel (juveniles) (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)
- Ochre Stars (Pisaster ochraceus)
- Orange Tunicates (Phlum Chordata)
- Frosted Nudibranchs (likely hitchhikers that came in from the water) (Dirona albolineata)
- Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister)
- Pacific Rock Crab (Romaleon antennarium)
- Leather Sea Stars (Dermasterias imbricata)
- Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus)
- California Sea Cucumbers (Apostichopus californicus)
- Giant Scallops (Crassodoma gigantea)
- Tubesnouts (Aulorhynchus flavidus)
- Northern Clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus)
- Dock Shrimps (Pandalus danae)
- Graceful Decorator Crabs (Oregonia gracilis)
- Skeleton Shrimps (Caprella sp.)
- California Sea Cucumbers (Apostichopus californicus)
- Acorn Barnacles (Balanus nubilus)
- various algaes
- Buffalo Sculpin (Enophrys bison)
- High Cockscomb (Anoplarchus purpurescens)
- Purple Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)
- Green Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis)
- Giant Green Anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica)
- Aggregating Anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima)
- Vermilion Sea Stars (Mediaster aequalis)
- Northern Kelp Crab (Pugettia producta)
- Calcareous Tube Worms (Serpula vermicularis)
- Purple Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)
- Red Sea Urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus)
- Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus)
- California Mussles (Mytilus californianus)
- Gooseneck Barnacles (Pollicipes polymerus)
- Acorn Barnacles (Balanus nubilus)
- Giant Pacific Octopus (baby) (Enteroctopus dofleini) (about 3" in diameter they said, she'll eventually be moved to another facility and then released when older)
- California Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus californicus)
- Pacific Blood Sea Stars (Henricia leviuscula)
- Grey Brittlestars (Ophiura luetkenii)
- Mottled Sea Stars (Evasterias troschelii)
- various algaes
- Grunt Sculpins (Rhamphocottus richardsonii)
- Heart Crab (Phyllolithodes papillosus)
- Creeping Pedal Sea Cucumbers (Psolus chitonoides)
- Strawberry Anemones (Corynactis californica)
- various algaes
- Lion's Mane Nudibranchs (Melibe leonina)
- Penpoint Gunnels (Apodichthys flavidus)
- Saddleback Gunnels (Pholis ornata)
- Bay Pipefishes (Syngnathus leptorhynchus)
- Sailfin Sculpin (Nautichthys oculofasciatus)
- Mosshead Warbonnet (Chirolophis nugator)
- C-O Soles (Pleuronichthys coenosus)
- Giant Scallops (Crassodoma gigantea)
- Pacific Blood Sea Stars (Henricia leviuscula)
- California Mussles (Mytilus californianus)
- Gooseneck Barnacles (Pollicipes polymerus)
- Acorn Barnacles (Balanus nubilus)
- White Sea Cucumbers (Eupentacta quinquesemita)