Blog

Last week was Capitol Hill Ocean Week! Thousands of people gathered in DC to talk about solutions to pressing ocean challenges. The Seattle Aquarium participated for the first time, represented by Erin Meyer and Nora Nickum from our Conservation Programs and Partnerships department.

Last September, the Seattle Aquarium and Woodland Park Zoo co-hosted the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ annual conference. The Aquarium hosted the conference’s big kickoff social, the icebreaker—and, in a first for these events, it was carbon neutral!

We would like to extend a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in the Survive the Sound challenge. If you picked the Aquarium’s fish Pierre 59 we have some great news—you won! Pierre 59 was a strong swimmer and crossed the finish line ranked in first place! Pierre 59 was able to successfully migrate out of the Salish Sea, but the fact is not every fish made it. Migrating salmon face many obstacles as they travel through our local waters, and this challenge showed us that a small fraction of the fish who undertake the journey make it out to the open ocean.

The 2019 legislative session has come to a close here in Washington state and we are proud that the Aquarium took an active role in advocating on behalf of the Salish Sea and the many incredible creatures that call it home. More than 2,000 bills were introduced in this Washington state legislative session. The legislators were very busy and so were we!

At the Seattle Aquarium, we believe that sustainability starts at home—meaning that it’s important for us to model the practices we promote as part of our quest to improve ocean health. Our sustainability efforts are reflected everywhere in our facility—including our café.

The New Year has arrived and many of us are figuring out our personal goals to make 2019 the best year yet! We at the Aquarium are making our own resolution: to be part of the solution in the fight for a plastic-free future.

Over the past year the Aquarium has been trying to keep our readers up to date on the challenges facing our local orca population. The southern residents, better known as the J, K and L pods, are down to just 74 family members and news recently broke that two more members of J and K pods are struggling to get the food they need to survive.

As part of ongoing efforts to help save our southern resident orca population, a task force convened by Governor Jay Inslee has been meeting regularly over the past six months to help determine how we can take measurable steps to better protect our local orca population. Photo: Center for Whale Research.

The Aquarium aspires to turn knowledge, into inspiration and move people to action. And this November Washington voters have an opportunity to take a big step toward better protecting the health of our planet and the ocean, by voting YES on Initiative 1631.

We here at the Aquarium are deeply saddened by the presumed loss of another young member of J Pod. Scarlet’s death brings the southern resident orca population down to just 74 individuals and is most certainly a blow to the future of this iconic species. We can all take a moment to mourn this tragic loss—and then we must come together and take measurable steps to save our southern resident population and their primary food source, Chinook salmon, to help protect the rest of Scarlet’s family.

The Endangered Species Act is an important law to help preserve and protect species that are threatened or on the path to recovery. These important federal protections have a 99% success rate when it comes to ensuring the survival of endangered or threatened animals and it is critical we keep these laws in place.