Blog

The Seattle Aquarium is supporting the Keeping Ecosystems Living and Productive Act, or KELP Act, in Congress. This bill would establish a grant program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for kelp forest conservation, restoration and management projects. These types of projects can help us better understand what actions can support kelp forest growth and sustainability into the future—and then take those actions. 

Kelp forests are a historically and culturally important ecosystem in Washington, and vital to the health of our ocean, food security and livelihoods. Now is the time to support these ecosystems to ensure that kelp forests grow and thrive for generations to come.
 

Imagine you are a young green sea turtle. Before the storms came and the sea became very cold, you were swimming in a warmer current. In warm water, you are a strong, graceful swimmer. Your powerful front flippers propel you through the water with the ease of a bird soaring through the air. But now you’re cold. So cold that you can’t move. You’ve been floating at the surface, too cold to swim, for many days. You’re also hungry. You can’t find food because you can’t move your flippers to swim. You float, carried helplessly in a current that is getting colder and colder, waiting for something to happen. Sharks and other predators are looking for an easy meal. And right now, you are an easy target. The storms started coming about a month ago. One after another, bringing high winds to the surface waters where you need to come up to breathe. The wind, waves and currents were strong.  You couldn’t swim away when the sea became even colder. Finally, after drifting for countless days, the waves pushed you onto a beach. There you lay, weak, starving and too cold to move.
 

Our new Empathy Fellowship program kicked off last year, and the first cohort has completed their time! The capstone of these full-time, paid, fully benefited positions is to develop an empathy community action project (ECAP). The fellows research, implement and present on projects in order to apply all that they’ve learned with the Aquarium to a real-world, marine-conservation-related issue that impacts themselves and their community.

Now our first two fellows offer reflections on their experiences in the program. 

Our new Empathy Fellowship program kicked off last year, and the first cohort has completed their one-year terms! The capstone of these full-time, paid, fully benefited positions is to develop an empathy community action project (ECAP). The fellows research, implement and present on projects in order to apply all that they’ve learned to a real-world, marine-conservation-related issue that impacts themselves and their community.

Now our first two fellows offer reflections on their experiences in the program. 

The national goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of U.S. land, waters and ocean by 2030, known as 30x30, represents the single greatest conservation agenda the United States has ever committed to. Sign your name to protect coastal habitats for biodiversity, climate and equitable access to nature. 

We’re excited to announce the launch of Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home, an awe-inspiring, curated interactive exhibit—now in the Family Activity Center at the Seattle Aquarium!

Have you ever wondered about the animals under our care at the Aquarium, such as how they came to live here and why they need our care? Those are big questions, and part of the answers can be found through our accreditation with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) and participation in its Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program. What is that exactly, and how do we participate? Let’s dive in!

Last summer, the Seattle Aquarium offered high school students the opportunity to participate in our first-ever online marine science club, an eight-week drop-in program featuring guest speakers, behind-the-scenes Aquarium tours and opportunities for participants to earn service hours by completing conservation actions. One participant, Lucas C., took those actions to the next level. 

Fall is here: mornings are getting chilly and school buses are back on the road, which means it’s salmon time! As kids are heading back to school, spawning salmon are heading back to the rivers in which they were born. Every year, millions of Washington salmon make the journey upstream against rushing currents, led by their incredible sense of smell. If you’re eager to see them for yourself, join us along the Cedar River in October for the Cedar River Salmon Journey, and trained naturalists will help you spot these salmon.

Providing the best lives possible for the animals in our care is our priority, with our veterinary and husbandry team at the forefront, monitoring the health of the animals each and every day. 

The Seattle Aquarium’s unique location and ongoing monitoring efforts enabled us to publish the first long-term monitoring of microparticle concentrations in an urban waterfront of the Salish Sea as a scientific paper. Our paper, titled Temporal variability of microparticles under the Seattle Aquarium, WA: Documenting the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The Seattle Aquarium is home to nearly 400 species and over 12,000 individual mammals, birds fish and invertebrates. And, just like humans, these species have their own distinct care needs that change as they age. “All animals at the Aquarium have care plans that are customized to their species and the needs of the individuals or groups,” says Senior Veterinarian Dr. Caitlin Hadfield, MA VetMB DAZCM DECZM.