For the first time in its 25-year history, the Aquarium of the Pacific has officially reimagined its exhibit that exclusively features the marine life found specifically in southern California, presented in a series of exhibits that depict the coast and its marine life.
“The gallery revamp has been in development for more than a year,” said Johnathan Casey, Assistant Curator of Fish and Invertebrates at the Aquarium.
“For me, it’s been the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Casey, who spearheaded the year-long process of curating and later building the exhibit. “It’s like an endless, life-long learning pursuit,” said Casey, noting that marine and ocean researchers were “learning about new species” almost every day.
Casey said the Aquarium has partnered with local institutions, universities and think tanks, including Cal Tech to improve its first revamp of the Southern California gallery since opening 25 years ago.
“It’s the first time we’ve renovated one of our permanent galleries in 25 years,” he said, “it was getting a little archaic and we really wanted to have a better theme.”
The 10 new exhibits within the revamped Southern California Gallery are based on aquatic life along the Coast of California and Catalina Island, he said.
“We wanted to do like a conservation-based theme for the gallery and really have it be like our backyard if you’ve lived in Southern California. Almost every one of these displays are based on certain locations in SoCal,” said Casey.
The Aquarium’s new SoCal gallery opened to the public Saturday morning.
Upon entering the new gallery, native fish swim amongst tall, living kelp plants flowing back and forth within the massive tank of marine life that welcomes visitors to the new gallery.
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“These are living kelp plants,” explains Casey with a smile, as a four-foot Leopard shark sneaks across the tank.
The exhibit includes the nearly three-story-tall Honda Blue Cavern, with iconic sea bass, the 211,000-gallon Seal and Sea Lion Habitat, the Ray Habitat Touchpool, and Shorebird Sanctuary exhibit. Living, swaying kelp replicates Casino point off Catalina Island where kelp is making a comeback, aquarium officials say.
The Aquarium’s Gulf of California exhibit features some of the variety of one of the most biologically productive and diverse seas in the world. It includes unique species of butterflyfishes, and large silvery fish called Mexican lookdowns.
The new Southern California Gallery will feature over ten exhibits and more than three dozen species. Highlighted animals will include the California two-spot octopus, leopard and horn sharks, California scorpionfish, a moray eel, California spiny lobsters, Catalina goby, and California’s state marine fish—the Garibaldi. Visitors will be able to get up close to the marine life that lives on our coast, the aquarium said in a statement.
The 30-foot long tank called seagrass meadows includes various species indigenous to southern California.
Two of the exhibits will focus on underwater habitats off Catalina: Casino Point kelp forests and deep-sea hydro corals at Farnsworth Bank, it added.
Another exhibit focuses on oil rigs that serve as artificial reefs located between the mainland near the Aquarium and Catalina Island. An ecosystem has formed on the pilings that rise from the sea floor since the placement of oil platforms, which started in the 1960s.
The new revamp also focuses on the role individuals can play in protecting SoCal’s aquaculture.
The Aquarium has a variety of conservation initiatives to restore California’s marine and coastal ecosystems and species. But true success in conservation depends on participation from everyone. Small actions of individuals, such as the proper sorting and disposing of your waste and being careful not to disturb or remove marine plants and animals when you visit them, all collectively roll up to impactful results,” said Jennie Dean, Aquarium of Pacific Vice President of education and conservation.
Since it’s inception, the AOP has played a role in preserving local habitats and animals. They said these programs include programs for local endangered species such as the white abalone, giant sea bass and green sea turtles.
Casey is especially proud of that exhibit, “which is very interactive and great for kids,” he said.
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He explains the planning it took to create real, underwater life that attaches itself and creates its own marine life ecosystem on steel beams that are sunk into the ocean floor to support the drilling platforms.
“We used a special glue to attach the sponge-like creatures to the steel,” he explains, but one that he said dissolved as the attached marine life’s natural bonding properties eventually took hold.
Blue paint, filters, and accentuated lighting recreate the dark blue nature of deep water around the rigs, he says with the pride of a man who has spent a year with a team bringing an underwater vision to life.
He is also proud of a 30-foot-long tank that includes indigenous sea grasses, starfish that swim, pipefish that look like pipes, and other fish that have adapted so well one can barely distinguish them from the replicated ocean bottom of sand and rock.
“These big sweeping long displays (30 feet) show people a very interesting, unique view into the world in the shallow environment,” said Casey. “It’s very photosynthetic, so for me, I wanted to do that on a marine level,” he said.
“There are over a dozen species of fish in there,” he said, pointing at the long tank, “and over 1000 fish live in here.”
In addition, he said along with the fish, all kinds of other critters, including sand sifting starfish,” said Casey.
“The more you look, the more there is to see,” he explains.
And when visitors look up, they will digitally designed scenes that give the impression that the gallery is underwater. Casey, also a diver and underwater photographer, looks up briefly and says “I really like that.”
Taken together, Casey said the new Southern California Gallery presents much of the marine life, sea grasses and other sea life that literally flourishes in residents’ “backyard.” He said the Aquarium presents the local aquatic ecosystem in a very natural, yet realistic marine environment that will provide local residents an enjoyable learning experience.
“We want to give local residents a little window into maybe a world that they know is right outside their back door, but they don’t get to explore very often,” Casey said.
The new exhibit is now open seven days a week. For more info, visit www.lbaop.org.
