Seattle Aquarium Seattle Aquarium News

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Couple minor updates for Piers 59 & 60:
Some of the exhibits in the "Puget Sound Fish Gallery" (PSF) got some updates, most notably:
2 Snake Pricklebacks (Lumpenus sagitta) were added to the largest Eelgrass tank, this is a pretty cool species that I wasn't aware of before.
8 Bay Pipefish are now on exhibit in their tank. A huge increase from the just the 2 or 3 that have been on exhibit for about the past year. At least from when I was a volunteer, there were always no more than 5 on exhibit at the most so this is pretty nice to see.
The smaller of the two Basket Stars is now off exhibit so now there's just the one large one.

Also in some good news, the Sea Stars are now back on exhibit in the LOTE touch pools (they were off exhibit because of a pathogen in the water that can harm them started popping up i believe)
With this, also introduces a new species: The Striped Sunflower Star (Solaster stimpsoni) is now on exhibit with the rest of the Sea Stars (a few individuals of the species)

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Pier 59 news:

• What was previously known as the "Only in Hawaii" tank has now been transformed into a conservation highlight tank with the main focus being the Pinto Abalones "and other rocky reef species" in an email I got (I will have to go in and check what exactly those other species are. The entire space of what was previously the Pacific Coral Reef gallery is still being brain stormed on what to do with.
• The closer look table is being revamped with the new theme of "Overlooked Creatures of Elliot Bay" featuring animals with good camouflage or species that are never highlighted cause they're small. These include:
• Bay Pipefish / Mysis Shrimp / Green Sea Urchins / Lamp Shells (mollusk) / Peanut Worms / Veiled Chitons and Kelp Greenlings / Brittle Stars / a juvenile Puget Sound King Crab / Crescent Gunnels, Penpoint Gunnels, and California Sea Cucumbers. It will be nice to add some of these to the media gallery for the site since I don't think the Lamp Shells or Peanut Worms are on here yet.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Aquarium lays of 12 staff members due to budget cuts

Thought I should mention this since the article came out today and it's somewhat relevant to the Aquarium's future. Personally, it sucks to see since I did know some of these people who were laid off and they were really friendly and cool to work with. A lot of the team who were laid off were public outreach and visitor engagement so people who worked with the Summer camps, toddler experiences, etc. No one on the Animal Care side from what I know.
In the article is also says that the cost of the Ocean Pavilion ended up being around $175M to $180M in the end which is another $15M to $20M from what was supposed to be the final cost of $160M which isn't exactly positive to see. Hopefully it doesn't cause any delays to the Pier 60 renovations they were wanting to do within the next 10 years but it's not looking too good since that's another hefty amount that has to be covered. Hopefully things start to stabilize soon since the layoffs were pretty sudden and unexpected.

All of this also going on with a search for a new CEO, whoever takes that role has a big job already with the debt that needs to be paid and unhappy / uncertainty among the staff.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Aquarium lays of 12 staff members due to budget cuts

Thought I should mention this since the article came out today and it's somewhat relevant to the Aquarium's future. Personally, it sucks to see since I did know some of these people who were laid off and they were really friendly and cool to work with. A lot of the team who were laid off were public outreach and visitor engagement so people who worked with the Summer camps, toddler experiences, etc. No one on the Animal Care side from what I know.
In the article is also says that the cost of the Ocean Pavilion ended up being around $175M to $180M in the end which is another $15M to $20M from what was supposed to be the final cost of $160M which isn't exactly positive to see. Hopefully it doesn't cause any delays to the Pier 60 renovations they were wanting to do within the next 10 years but it's not looking too good since that's another hefty amount that has to be covered. Hopefully things start to stabilize soon since the layoffs were pretty sudden and unexpected.

All of this also going on with a search for a new CEO, whoever takes that role has a big job already with the debt that needs to be paid and unhappy / uncertainty among the staff.

Seattle Aquarium: A loss for beach exploration (paywalled)
Unfortunately, the news hasn't gotten much better since the last article came out. The most impactful is that the Chief Conservation Officer, Dr. Erin Meyer (you've probably seen her in various media) has left the aquarium for "new adventures". Which really sucks because she was super cool and helpful in a lot of the Shark conservation work.
The good news is that the Aquarium is still involved in said shark conservation work, including remaining a founding partner of "ReShark" which is good. I'm curious to hear if the species plans are now changing since she talked about possibly basing the future Shark stocking off of whichever Elasmobranch species is chosen next for "ReShark", but since she's not here anymore I'm not sure what the plans are for that now.
It will most likely be left up to the new Chief Conservation Officer, who won't be chosen until the new CEO comes in to act later this year so they get a say on the matter.

I'm a little worried about the AZA accreditation (even though it was just renewed last year I believe) with all the staff changes and budget cuts going on right now since that is something they look at. I believe in the end everything will probably be alright, but it's looking like the Aquarium (at least internally) will be in a rough patch for a good portion of this year.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Pier 59 news: Welcome Tatoosh, the new Giant Pacific Octopus! He's a 20 pound male who is from Neah Bay here in Washington. He was found missing 2 arms (guessing that could be a reason he was scouted) but they're growing back. sqiqələč (the previous GPO) is now behind the scenes and getting prepared for release back into the wild.

Ocean Pavilion News: Two tanks in 'At Home in the Ocean' are empty and will be for a while, this is due to a "malfunction" in the design so they're getting replaced soon. Which means the Purple Weedy Scorpionfishes, Yellow Leaf Scorpionfishes, and Coral Banded Shrimps that occupied that tank are now BTS.

Two more Gold Head Sleeper Gobies (Valenciennea strigata) have been added to the Seagrass Tank in AHITO (making a total of 3)

Two more Clown Triggerfish are being introduced to 'The Reef' soon (I believe making a total of 3 or 4, one of the Clown Triggers just passed away recently from some internal deformities it had previously)

(old news) Some Stocky Hawkfish (Cirrhitus pinnulatus) were added to 'The Reef', but due to their size I'm not sure if anyone will ever see them. Now it's become my personal goal to try and get a photo of them lol

Four Longnose Butterflyfish (Forcipiger longirostris) who used to live in the old PCR gallery have been moved from their BTS area to AHITO. Two in the Honeycomb Moray tank, and two in the Garden Eel tank.

And finally some good news from the front office: The Beach Naturalist Program isn't being canned or going away long term. It'll be back sometime this Summer as they are looking to overhaul the program and see what improvements can be made from the old iteration. It was a very well loved program by locals so that's good to hear it'll be back in some way.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Seattle Aquarium welcomes Peggy Sloan as new President and CEO

Surprisingly fast, the Aquarium has found a new CEO and President in Peggy Sloan. She has a super extensive resume which I'm super excited about, specifically she's coming from Shedd Aquarium:

• Shedd Aquarium Chief Animal Conservation Officer 2018 - now
• Previously the director of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
• Previously a Board Chair for the AZA
• Previously a Chair of the WAZA

Bringing in someone who had such a high leadership position from arguably a Top 3 Aquarium in the Country is very exciting, especially after all the renovations and additions Shedd has been making during her time there. It's also nice to get someone who's been in the Aquarium scene for a long time, since sometimes you get someone who was a Zoo director and then that transition doesn't work out sometimes.
She's expected to take the chair this Spring. I know there's a good amount of things that need to be fixed but this is in my opinion is a positive turning point and I have confidence she'll do well.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Barney the Harbor Seal passes away at 39

Well, this wasn't the news I was expecting today. Barney the Harbor Seal has unfortunately passed away at age 39. He was humanely euthanized this morning after suffering from age related health issues that have been stacking up in recent years, and really affecting him the last few weeks.
At 39, he was one of the oldest Habor Seals in human care (I'm confident in saying at least the second oldest in the US, behind Skinny at the Oregon Coast Aquarium who is 49)

He was also the first Harbor Seal to be born at the Aquarium and has spent his entire life here. The Aquarium won't be the same without Barney.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

I'm excited to announce that sometime this week, one of the Blacktip Reef Sharks is finally moving over to the Ocean Pavilion!
Volunteers are now allowed to tell guests since the animal care area viewing window is now blocked off as the Life Sciences team will be moving over one Blacktip to the holding pool.
The reason is Kuda the Zebra Shark has been excelling in his target training, and they want to add a familiar distraction (they shared a holding pool together at the offsite facility) to see how he holds up. So the Blacktip will be going into the holding pool first, before being moved to the Reef. This is 1 of 2 Females we have, after the first is introduced to the Reef, the second should follow within a few weeks. It's finally happening! (@Sye46 just a little longer now )
They didn't say whether both Kuda and the Blacktip will be moving over together to the Reef, hopefully since it sounds like Kuda is reaching the final steps of his training.
The holding pool is still viewable from the sides, so you'll be able to see it swim around.

Other OP news:

• All of the Blue Hippo Tang juveniles were removed from the Clownfish & Anemone Tank since they're too large for it now
• A gold head Sleeper goby was moved to that
• More Bristle-tail Filefish were added to the "Coral Canyon" in the Archipelago
• A Cushion Star was added to the Honeycomb Moray tank

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

I'm excited to announce that sometime this week, one of the Blacktip Reef Sharks is finally moving over to the Ocean Pavilion!
Volunteers are now allowed to tell guests since the animal care area viewing window is now blocked off as the Life Sciences team will be moving over one Blacktip to the holding pool.
The reason is Kuda the Zebra Shark has been excelling in his target training, and they want to add a familiar distraction (they shared a holding pool together at the offsite facility) to see how he holds up. So the Blacktip will be going into the holding pool first, before being moved to the Reef. This is 1 of 2 Females we have, after the first is introduced to the Reef, the second should follow within a few weeks. It's finally happening! (@Sye46 just a little longer now )
They didn't say whether both Kuda and the Blacktip will be moving over together to the Reef, hopefully since it sounds like Kuda is reaching the final steps of his training.
The holding pool is still viewable from the sides, so you'll be able to see it swim around.

Other OP news:

• All of the Blue Hippo Tang juveniles were removed from the Clownfish & Anemone Tank since they're too large for it now
• A gold head Sleeper goby was moved to that
• More Bristle-tail Filefish were added to the "Coral Canyon" in the Archipelago
• A Cushion Star was added to the Honeycomb Moray tank

Forgot to attach the picture of the boarded window. I did see our Curator of Tropical Fish and Inverts + around 5 other aquarists having a meeting inside the space for a while, so it could be as soon as Thursday (is what I've heard).
Also to my knowledge, the Blacktips are the last Elasmobranchs that are currently in collection. The other species will be imported from other Aquariums when it's their time. Based on what's already programmed into the signage tablets, the Javanese Cownose Rays are most likely next up.
I also have a feeling the Blacktips have taken so long because of their size, since they were captive bred, they could've just needed time to put on size before being at a comfortable length & weight to move over. I'm extremely excited were so close though

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Pier 60: More exciting news! I got word that 2 Big Skates (Beringraja binoculata) have been introduced to the "Underwater Dome"! Skates haven't been kept at the Aquarium in years so this was unexpected, but of course extremely exciting to hear!
These two come from the Seaside Aquarium in Oregon (which.. i don't think is a very good place, their Harbor Seal exhibit is the biggest crime). But, I'm glad they have a home here now. They should be here permanently as the Dome is 400,000 Gallons and should be big enough to accommodate their adult size. I haven't seen them yet but here's a picture a friend sent me.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Pier 60: More exciting news! I got word that 2 Big Skates (Beringraja binoculata) have been introduced to the "Underwater Dome"! Skates haven't been kept at the Aquarium in years so this was unexpected, but of course extremely exciting to hear!
These two come from the Seaside Aquarium in Oregon (which.. i don't think is a very good place, their Harbor Seal exhibit is the biggest crime). But, I'm glad they have a home here now. They should be here permanently as the Dome is 400,000 Gallons and should be big enough to accommodate their adult size. I haven't seen them yet but here's a picture a friend sent me.
View attachment 782386

In addition, a Northern Spearnose Poacher (Agonopsis vulsa) is on exhibit in the "Puget Sound Fish" gallery. Another group of animals that haven't been kept at the aquarium in years, this was a real shocked to see. Just 1 individual for now, but hopefully we may see more soon.
So exciting to see the Aquarium acquiring rare, local species again

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

I'm excited to announce that sometime this week, one of the Blacktip Reef Sharks is finally moving over to the Ocean Pavilion!

I haven't had a chance to stop by in a while, but I got word that she is in the onsite holding pool! I will have to get a picture of her since this area is viewable to the public, but for now:

• She is a young female (I believe the other one is also female)
• She was moved over on the 10th, and will spend about 2 to 4 weeks in the holding pool before being moved over to "The Reef".
• Which means roughly between May 1st and May 15th is when she should be introduced to the main exhibit.
• I don't believe there is a timeline for when the second blacktip will be going in, but hopefully, if the current female does well for a while, they'll move the second one in straight away.
• I'm also hoping this means Kuda the Zebra Shark will be moved in at the same time, since this should be the last of his training practices he needs to pass before going back into the main exhibit.

Pretty exciting, we're almost here finally! Hopefully some of the other larger fish are moved in soon too, specifically the trio of Napoleon Wrasses I keep mentioning.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Ocean Pavilion News: The day has finally arrived! This morning, the female Blacktip was moved over into "The Reef" and officially on exhibit! Such a long time coming
The Aquarium hasn't updated any website info to prevent people from crowding too much while she still settles in. So far she's adjusting well, but the abundance of fish are "a bit much for her at the moment but she's doing okay" (for reference, she's never seen any fish besides the other female blacktip or the Zebra Shark).

As long as she does well these next few weeks, the other female Blacktip should hopefully be introduced soon as well. So exciting to finally have some open water swimming Sharks! I only got 2 good photos of her since she's still exploring the space but man, I've waited so long for this

In other news, the two tanks that were previously drained due to leaking issues have been resolved. Currently one has sand and is being setup again, while the other is still being tested for leaks but all signs are good. So hopefully soon we should see some new animals in those tanks

 

[wild boar]

Ocean Pavilion News: The day has finally arrived! This morning, the female Blacktip was moved over into "The Reef" and officially on exhibit! Such a long time coming
The Aquarium hasn't updated any website info to prevent people from crowding too much while she still settles in. So far she's adjusting well, but the abundance of fish are "a bit much for her at the moment but she's doing okay" (for reference, she's never seen any fish besides the other female blacktip or the Zebra Shark).

As long as she does well these next few weeks, the other female Blacktip should hopefully be introduced soon as well. So exciting to finally have some open water swimming Sharks! I only got 2 good photos of her since she's still exploring the space but man, I've waited so long for this

In other news, the two tanks that were previously drained due to leaking issues have been resolved. Currently one has sand and is being setup again, while the other is still being tested for leaks but all signs are good. So hopefully soon we should see some new animals in those tanks
View attachment 791362

Blacktip reef sharks, right?

 

[Local_Shark]

Blacktip reef sharks, right?

Yeah that’s a blacktip reef haha. We are free to speculate if they may get something larger and more pelagic, and I sure hope they do. But these are very cool for now, NWFK!

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Blacktip reef sharks, right?

Correct, I should've clarified. I mean hopefully in the future we might get an actual Blacktip Shark. Grant Abel who was the Life Sciences President (the guy who had a majority of the connections to Japan and Hong Kong) actually departed a while ago to start his own conservation group which is a little unfortunate but I'd imagine those connections to the Aquariums in Asia are still strong enough that the plans haven't changed. I'm not sure when those Javanese Cownose Rays are getting here (they already have a species profile programmed into the digital tablets), but that's the last of the Elasmobranchs I'm aware of. Which is exciting since so far, it looks like the Aquarium has been going in the direction of acquiring rarer species in smaller numbers compared to common species in larger numbers in terms of the Elasmobranchs, which is probably due to staying as close to the Indo-Pacific theme as much as possible. I would still love some common species like the Grey Reef Sharks, but I'm excited to see what we import next. Considering that there's a space (the "Shark Shelf") that's made for benthic species to rest, I can imagine maybe some more Stingrays or benthic dwelling sharks on the list, but a majority are probably open water swimmers given how much space there is.

To give some perspective, the Seattle Times article had mentioned 25 to 26 total Elasmobranchs, and so far we only have 11 in collection:

• 2 Zebra Sharks
• 2 Blacktip Reef Sharks
• 3 Spotted Eagle Rays
• 1 Bowmouth Guitarfish
• 1 Leopard Whipray
• 2 Khul's Maskrays

I'd imagine the plan for a pair of Epaulette Sharks might still be happening, but since our initial female passed away a while ago, I'm not 100% sure anymore. And I'm not sure how many of the Cownose Rays were getting either. But my hope is that since there's already a set list of species, it's taking a long time to bring a majority of them over because they're on the rarer side for US Aquariums. Hopefully we'll since within a couple months, fingers crossed

Also in other news, the new president Peggy Sloan took over a few days ago, I'm curious and excited to see how what changes are coming in the meantime. If she can use her Shedd connections to get us a White-spotted Wedgefish (Rhynchobatus australiae) somehow, I'd be so stoked lol

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Ocean Pavilion News:

• The two tanks that were leaking have now been fixed, repaired, and are functioning exhibits again. The larger one houses the Yellow Leaf Scorpionfish and Coral Banded Shrimp again, but the smaller one is now home to a bunch of Flower Pot / Goniopora coral colonies. Not sure if there are any Fish or Invertebrates planned for here too but the Corals themselves are very nice
• The Blacktip Reef Shark has become much more active and swims around the entire tank now (previously she only stayed towards the left half), though i did observe how the Tangs are bothering her (which is a concern amongst the aquarists), the large Eye-Stripe Tangs and Ring-tail Tangs kind of box her out of the feeding tongs and push her away from it. Hopefully that issue will fix itself once she grows a bit more, but I don't think it should impact the addition of the second blacktip reef shark.

Pier 60 News:

• Unfortunately I was told the smaller of the 2 Big Skates did pass away a bit ago. A necropsy was done and it was determined she already arrived in rough shape and unfortunately it was too much for her (considering where they came from, not surprising unfortunately). This leaves 1 Big Skate in the Dome for now.
• 

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Ocean Pavilion News:

• Arc-eye Hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) was added to the Flower Pot Coral tank in AHITO, (this is the same individual from the old Pacific Coral Reef gallery).
• A group of Zebra Dartfish (Ptereleotris zebra) was added to the Seagrass Tank in AHITO
• An Engineer Goby (Pholidichthys leucotaenia) was added to the Leaf Scorpionfish Tank in AHITO (this is the same individual from the old Pacific Coral Reef gallery).

But my hope is that since there's already a set list of species, it's taking a long time to bring a majority of them over because they're on the rarer side for US Aquariums. Hopefully we'll since within a couple months, fingers crossed

I did talk to someone the other day, and I'm not sure how much I can say, but in terms of new species, it's going to be quite a while. Individuals though, however, my hunch was right, and there are plans for a few more Blacktip Reef Sharks, just not in the immediate future. Also, they didn't say where they're coming from either. But with PDZA just 45 minutes away, I wouldn't be surprised if they're coming from them like I've been thinking

And with that, I just made an updated species list that should be up to date as of today, which you can view here (updated list at the bottom of the page)

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

A group of Zebra Dartfish (Ptereleotris zebra) was added to the Seagrass Tank in AHITO

Slight correction, it's only a pair and they're in the Flower Pot Coral tank, not the Seagrass Tank.

Also, the second largest holding pool in the on-site facility is now being setup finally, so it looks like we might have a big wave of new species coming over soon so I'll be on the lookout for that (really hoping for the Archerfish)

Speaking of Seagrass Tank, a lot more species have finally had their profiles uploaded to the tablet signage, so some updating is due:

• The current "Razorfish" in the Seagrass Tank are actually Grooved Razorfish (Centriscus scutatus). They've been in there for a few months, it just never crossed my mind that there was another genus of Razorfish. Apparently, only 3 other facilities in Australia and Asia exhibit them, not sure about the US (according to ZTL so take it with some salt). The Striped Shrimp that were originally in this tank are at the offsite facility to my knowledge (but they're still signed so I thought I'd mention them).
• The Soldierfish species in the "Archipelago" are actually Pinecone Soldierfish (Myripristis murdjan), previously, they were mentioned as "Pearly Soldierfish" (Myripristis kuntee). Looking at the ones on exhibit compared to pictures online of M. murdjan, they definitely match so that one was updated accordingly.
• However, the Batfish sign is incorrect since the profile is for Orbicular Batfish (P. orbicularis), but neither species we have is even P. orbicularis (we have P. pinnatus and P. teira) so I'm not sure how that happened.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Pier 60 News |

• There are now a couple of Orange Sea Pens (Ptilosarcus gurneyi) in one of the Deepwater Tanks (the "Filter Feeders Tank" the aquarists like to call it). I can't even remember the last time we had Sea Pens at the Aquarium, so this is pretty exciting. Apparently, Summer is when most of the collection trips for the Pier's / local exhibits happen, so we might see some new things on exhibit soon. With how many old species that haven't been kept in years coming back (Big Skate, Sturgeon Poacher, Sea Pens, etc), I would love to see some Spotted Ratfish again in the Dome if at all possible.
• Unfortunately, in the same tank, the Basket Star is now off exhibit. I don't know why, but the last two or three times I saw it previously, it didn't look very well (it was on the floor of the tank instead of on the rocks), so it must've been sick. I'd expect another to be on exhibit soon however.