Blog

The Seattle Aquarium hosted its annual Ocean Conservation Honors dinner on January 30. We were honored to present Former Secretary of the Interior, the Honorable Sally Jewell with the Seattle Aquarium Sylvia Earle Medal; Dr. Drew Harvell with the Conservation Research Award and longtime board member Gary T. Smith with the Scott S. Patrick Inspirational Award.

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse, valuable and fragile ecosystems on Earth. Despite coral reefs only representing 1–2% of total marine habitat, 25% of marine life directly depends on them for survival. Unfortunately, land-based pollution and warming ocean temperatures are threatening these critical ecosystems.

What do a day octopus, frogfish and dwarf cuttlefish have in common? At the Seattle Aquarium, they were all subjects of a study by one of our Warm-Water Fish and Invertebrate team interns. Below, she shares her study findings and thoughts on interning for the Seattle Aquarium.

The Seattle Aquarium and our partners in the Environmental Priorities Coalition have been working hard to increase protections for the critically endangered southern resident orcas. In the 2019 legislative session, we helped to pass four key orca recovery bills.

On January 20, nine Youth Ocean Advocates marched down to Olympia to lobby for the Reusable Bag Bill. While it has already passed in the Senate, it’s very important that it passes in the House and becomes a statewide law, as thin plastic bags are getting into our water systems and the toxics are spreading into our fish (and other wildlife), and therefore into ourselves.

These tiny brown-and-gray birds—they weigh only 1.23 ounces each, about the equivalent of a nine-volt battery!—have a big impact on everyone who meets them with their “ability to capture the hearts of visitors because of their tiny, adorable appearance,” says Animal Care Specialist Sara Perry.

Plastic in the ocean is a very serious—and growing—issue. Approximately 8.8 million tons of plastic enters the ocean each year. Seabirds, sea turtles, dolphins, whales and other animals die every year because they get tangled up in plastic or fill up their stomachs on plastic they mistake for food. To help address this crisis, the Seattle Aquarium worked hard last year to advance a Reusable Bag Bill in Washington state. 

Meet Grant Abel, our new director of life sciences. We’re thrilled he’s found a new home with us at the Seattle Aquarium—and he’s quite happy as well, commenting, “I’m very excited to be here because I share the vision and values that our staff and volunteers bring to the Aquarium every day.”

Microplastics, microplastics everywhere—or so the news says. But just what is the extent of the problem in Puget Sound and the greater Pacific Northwest region?To start answering this question, the Seattle Aquarium recently hosted the first Microplastics Monitoring Workshop in the greater Pacific Northwest, and invited local and regional experts to join us and share knowledge, insights and strategies about their microplastics efforts.

The Washington state 2020 legislative session is about to begin, and the Seattle Aquarium will again be advocating for science-based measures to protect our marine environment. This year, we will be working hard to reduce plastic pollution, protect orcas and accelerate actions to address climate change. As a new member of the Environmental Priorities Coalition, we will be doing so in close partnership with 23 other like-minded conservation organizations.

A message from Seattle Aquarium President and CEO Bob Davidson.

We at the Seattle Aquarium were saddened to learn recently that William D. Ruckelshaus had passed away at age 87. His long and storied career led us to present him with the very first Seattle Aquarium Medal (now the Sylvia Earle Medal) in 2004. Mr. Ruckelshaus will be remembered for his extraordinary contributions and commitment to environmental conservation.

We at the Seattle Aquarium were saddened to learn of the passing of James (“Jim”) Reed Ellis on December 3 at his home in Bellevue. He was 98.