#113
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Most of the detractors, such as yourself, of any aquarium, much less one as keenly devoted to the care and preservation of aquatic animals, like the GA, consistently use the same old inflammatory phrases, and just as consistently ignore the facts.
You use terms such as "human entertainment," and ignore the prospect of "public education and awareness." Each gallery/exhibit has volunteers who stand there for a minimum of four hour shifts for the sole purpose of educating the public to the habits of those particular animals, their ecological importance, and most importantly, their plight in the worldwide ecosystem.
If just ONE individual walks out of there with a new understanding and new way to interract with these creatures in the wild, much less the THOUSANDS that come through every day, then perhaps we’ll have one less plastic bag discarded into the ocean for an endangered loggerhead or leatherback turtle to swallow, thinking it’s a jellyfish, or perhaps we’ll have one less foreign visitor ordering up sharks fin soup when they return home, which will help quell the senseless slaughter of over 110,00,000 sharks/year. Maybe we’ll have one child enthralled enough by their visit to make marine biology or marine husbandry their ultimate vocation (which was the case for more than one of the GA’s resident biologists).
You said yourself, diving with the whale sharks was a gift from God, and I agree, that’s exactly what it is. And seeing these fantastic creatures changed you forever. I have no doubt YOU will never order up a plate of whale shark, or shark fin soup. How else can millions of other non-divers, OR even the majority of divers that haven’t had that experience, feel that same sense of urgency and empathy, if not to see that beauty and majesty for themselves?
You say (and I quote): "These people that PAY to do what we do for free are not only stupid and just got ripped off, but they are too lazy to get certified and enjoy nature the REAL way." Well, I’m impressed if you can dive "for free." For me, anyway, just reaching Rescue cert level, cost me over $1,000 in classes, about $3,000 more in gear, and just GETTING to a salt water dive site costs me additional hundreds for a flight or long road trip, not to mention the dive op, tips, hotels, etc. Glad YOU can do it for free. For the "stupid, ripped off" public, it costs $26 for an adult, and $19.50 for a child. Perhaps those that are "too lazy to get certified" don’t have the privilege you and I have of the resources, time, money, or physical ability to make it happen.
You also say: "I also see it as ANOTHER WAY for the Aquarium to make money." Well, perhaps you’re not aware that the Georgia Aquarium is 100% NON-PROFIT? No one "makes money." 100% goes back into running the GA, doing the research, conducting their "4-R" philosophy: Rescue, Relocate, Rehabilitate, Research.
The GA has the only project where an aquarium research lab is working with a Veterinarian school as an integrated teaching effort. http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/conservation/
Finally, you say: "Why should these people get to see something so rare that most will likely later take for granted in an enviroment that practically serves it on a plate to them?"
Well... all I can say is... HUH?
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