The status of North American public aquariums at the end of the century

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POLLARD, D. A., INGRAM, B. A., HARRIS, J. H. 8r

REYNOLDS, L. F. (1990): Threatened fishes in Aus- tralia: an overview. J . Fish Biol. 37A: 67-78. RANA. K . J. 8r MCANDREW. B. J. (1989): The via- bility of cryopreserved Tilupiu spermatozoa. Ayuu- culture 7 6 335-345. REID, G. M. (1990): Captive breeding for the conservation of cichlid fishes. J. Fish B id . 3 7 A 157-166. SENANAYAKE, F. R. 8r MOYLE, P. B. (1982): Conser- vation of freshwater fishes in Sri Lanka. Biol. Con- serv. 2 2 181-195. SKELTON, P. H. (1990): The conservation and status of threatened fishes in southern Africa. J. Fish B i d 37A: 87-96.

SPILLER, G. ( 1993): Sustainable livelihood alterna- tives for coral divers in the Philippines. Sea Wind 7:

THONEY, D. A. 8r GRECO, F. (1993): Marine aquaria: an ecological approach. Seu Wind 7: 26-27. WILLIAMS, J . E. & MILLER, R. R. (1990): Conserva- tion status of the North American fish fauna in fresh water. J. Fish Biol. 3 7 A 79-86.

2-7.

Manuscript submitted 8 December 1994

Int. Zoo Yh. (1995) 34: 14-25 0 The Zoological Society of London

The status of North American public aquariums at the end of the century LEIGHTON TAYLOR Leighton Taylor & Associates, 1677 Sage Canyon Road, St Helena, California 94574, USA

In recent years public aquariums have grown in number and their popularity has increased. In today's increasingly competitive economic times, aquariums are using their popularity to earn revenues to support their capital and operational costs. Although philanthrophy still exists, most institutions must earn their own support. Such economic reliance presents the risk of losing the critical primary focus on the ethics and practice of maintaining and displaying living organisms. Living collections are the secret of the success of aquariums but they place serious responsibilities upon aquarium professionals. Allegiance to ethical practices, which should include conservation and education, will help to assure the continued success of aquariums. In addition to the living organisms that are the heart of an aquarium, new trends (but with historic origins) in exhibition techniques promise to make aquariums more exciting and popular. From habitat replication to integrated film programmes, these methods and materials will enhance the popularity of aquariums and make them even more successful in building appreciation and sensitivity for the natural world. Examples are given mainly from North America but also from around the world.

As the century closes, aquariums are in the midst of a rich bloom, especially in North America. In the past decade

(1 985-1995), seven new aquariums have opened and eight established institutions have significantly expanded. At time of writing, in 24 states, there are at least 55 projects in the planning stages for either new aquariums or expansions, with a fur- ther six in Mexico and Canada, although it is unlikely that all will actually reach completion.

In planning for the future it is' helpful to look for the reasons for this broad and intense interest. We also need to consider the opportunities and challenges of those who devote their professional lives to aquarium management, to caring for living plants and animals and to inter- preting and safeguarding the ecosystems they represent.

T H E SUCCESS OF AQUARIUMS Aquariums, it might be argued, are the most financially successful of cultural institutions. Art museums, zoos, natural- history museums, science centres, libraries

NORTH AMERICAN AQUARIUMS: PRESENT A N D FUTURF 15

and aquariums can be considered as vital to healthy, prospering communities but, in North America at least, apart from aquariums the majority would not survive without operating subsidies; many aquariums do not receive subsidies and many actually generate a cash surplus.

Traditionally, aquariums have been built with capital costs contributed by phi- lanthropy or government. Increasingly, revenues earned from operations are considered as a source for debt service. Aquariums are now being built that are expected to pay back their construction costs. These are funded by revenue bonds, in contrast to bonds repaid by the general tax base of the community. Two new aquariums in the United States, the Oregon Coast Aquarium (Plate l), opened in 1993, and the Florida Aquarium

Plate 1. The Oregon Coast Aquarium opened in 1992 as the first American non-profit aquarium to be financed by a debt which it must repay from earned revenue. In its first three years it was successfully meeting bond payments and generating surplus revenue. The exhibit theme is focused solely on Oregon ecosystems. Strode Eckert Photogruphic.

(Plate 2), opened in early 1995, will repay the debt incurred for capital construction. More aquariums, financed in a similar manner, are being planned. In the USA, Canada and Europe commercial aquariums, that is, businesses that distribute profit to investors, are operating successfully.

The economic success of aquariums and their broad public appeal have also attracted the interest of casino operators in the United States where gambling is becoming widespread. Casino operators attempt to appeal to wide markets, including families. For example, the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas promotes its multi-million dollar porpoise facility and large tropical shark exhibit, which is a feature of the entrance lobby. Captive breeding has been achieved in the porpoise centre which comprises a 7 570 000 litre display and holding area, with state-of-the-art life-support and water-treatment systems. At least two large aquarium exhibit complexes are planned in association with casinos near Las Vegas and in the southern United States. American aquariums associated with gaming emphasize amusement over education.

Good financial performance is one reason for the expansion of aquariums. It has encouraged new players to enter the field of aquatic animal display and has opened these traditionally cultural institutions to management and financing techniques once limited to commercial enterprises. These new combinations of commerce and culture may present special ethical challenges.

Financial performance is only one measure of an aquarium’s success and other parameters, such as size, institutional influence, exhibit quality and mission, can also be used as gauges.

Size as a criterion is far-reaching and should always be considered in regard to the appropriate scale for the community and market. Possible dimensions include physical size, attendance, operating

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Plate 2. The 1100-panel shell-shaped dome at The Florida Aquarium covers the Florida Wetlands Gallery and illuminates the Aquarium in the evening. The Florida Aquarium.

budget, profit (in tax-exempt, public- service institutions, this is better termed ‘surplus revenue after expenses’) and scope and quality of the exhibits.

Aquariums built in North America in the last decade range from modest to large in physical size. Oregon Coast Aquarium has 3716 m2 under cover, with an exten- sive outdoor exhibit area. Monterey Bay Aquarium with its new extension has an indoor area of 32 516 m2. Attendance also covers a wide range and, of course, is related to the size of the market and the facility. The Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka, opened in 1991, hosts nearly 4.5 million visitors annually; the Waikiki Aquarium, renovated in 1993-1 994, counts c. 400 000 visitors per year. A complete review of the physical size and attendance of world aquariums appears in Taylor (1993).

A comparative analysis of the income statements of six respected aquariums in the United States show that tax exempt,

not-for-profit aquariums can be operated with surplus revenues (Table 1). In 1993-1994 these institutions had an mean annual attendance of 1.366 million (range 0.6-1-7 million). Mean annual revenue was US$14 889 million (range $6.06-23-5 million) and annual gross revenue per visitor $10.84; expenses were managed so that the net surplus generated per visitor was $2.05 (range $1.13-3.43).

In addition to the profit earned for operators andlor ‘social investors’, such positive economic activity also produces secondary benefits for the community where the aquarium is located. These benefits take the form of new jobs, an increase in economic activity, lengthening of visitor stay (with consequent benefits to hotels and restaurants) and resulting increases in tax revenue.

Another less tangible criterion of aquarium success is institutional influence: the way people think and act as a result of the aquarium exhibits and pro-

NORTH AMERICAN AQUARIUMS: PRESENT AND FUTURE 17

AQUARIKJM NO. OPERATING OPERATING NET GROSS GROSS NET SURPLUS/ VISITORS REVENUE EXPENDITURE SURPLUS REVENUd EXPENDlTURd VISITOR 000s $OOOs $OOOs $ 000s VISITOR VISITOR $

$ $

Baltimore 1542.7 17 892.0 15 434.9 2457.1 11.60 10.0 I 1.59 Chattanooga 1400.0 15 217.7 12 056.2 3161.5 10.87 8.61 2-26 Monterey 1680.0 23 501.3 19 143.3 4358.0 13.99 11.39 2.59 Boston 1276.6 14 445.9 12 770.4 1675.5 11.32 10.00 1.31 New Orleans 1700.0 12 220.0 10 296.0 1924.0 7.19 6.06 1.13 Newport 600.0 6060.5 4002.0 2058.5 10.10 6.67 3.43

MEAN 1366.6 14 889.6 12 283.8 2605.8 10.84 8.79 2.05

Table 1. Comparison of income statements in US$ from six United States aquariums. Figures are taken from the published 1993 annual reports of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Tennesse Aquarium (Chattanooga), Monterey Bay Aquarium, New England Aquarium (Boston), Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans) and Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport).

grammes, or the presence of the institution within the community andfor region, Visitor satisfaction, reflected in surveys, return visits, word-of-mouth recommen- dations, credibility and renown, are all measures of an aquarium’s influence.

It is worth considering how aquariums achieve this success. Simply put, aquariums are successful because they display living animals. Certainly credit should also be given to creative exhibitry, vivid films and stimulating programming and interpretation, but intrinsically it is the animals and plants in water that sell the tickets and thrill the soul.

Of course, there are other, perhaps philosophical reasons why aquariums are successful including the apparent magic of water; the excitement of life’s diversity; our need for contact with animals and with other people enjoying the same experience; our quest to understand the world and our place within it; novelty, the chance to see new creatures and new worlds; the opportunity to have an adventure that is extraordinary yet convenient, thrilling yet safe. Aquariums are above all entertaining and entertainment can be defined as ‘to hold the attention’ or literally ‘to hold between’. A successful aquarium exhibit holds our attention between two worlds, our own and a dif-

ferent and certainly fascinating other world.

However, to appreciate aquariums, we need to distinguish between two funda- mentally different kinds of imaginative involvement. One approach inspires us to look outward to new, real places and helps us to understand our own place within the world. The second inspires us to look away from the world, to escape into fantasy. Both kinds of entertainment have their place but surely the former is more worthwhile. Aquariums encourage and assist visitors to enjoy, in safety, strange and sometimes dangerous natural spectacles, and to appreciate and begin to understand the world as a whole.

A good aquarium is successful because it has a defined sense of mission; that is, it knows what business it is in and why. Everyone, from employees to the public, should also understand the raison d@tre of the aquarium and its mission which should remain clear and consistent. The missions of successful aquariums include a mix of education, recreation, adminis- tration, research and social benefit. Good aquariums are well-managed and, while the mission is foremost, aquarium operators know that good management makes possible the effective pursuit of that mission.

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In Canada and the United States the range of organizational structures for aquariums extends from commercial profit-making corporations to private, non-profit, tax-exempt organizations. There has been a dominant trend for aquariums, which are institutions with significant social influence, to have at least nominal dedication to educational goals. There also seems to be a strong positive correlation between success and commit- ment to an educational mission which underpins any entertainment value. It may be helpful to list the various kinds of governing structures with selected examples.

Aquariums managed by a state university include Stephen Birch Aquarium- Museum at the University of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography (La Jolla, CA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Aquarium (Woods Hole, MA) and Waikiki Aquarium of the University of Hawaii (Honolulu). Unlike many zoos in the United States, only a few aquariums are managed by city governments, for example, Seattle Aquarium. Many aquariums are managed by tax-exempt, not-for- profit corporations often situated on public land; for example (with owners of the land indicated in parentheses), Stein- hart Aquarium of the California Academy of Sciences (City of San Francisco), National Aquarium in Baltimore (Port Authority), Vancouver Aquarium (Parks Board), The Florida Aquarium (Tampa Port Authority) and South Carolina Aquarium (Charleston Port Authority). Some tax-exempt aquarium corporations own the land they occupy, such as Monterey Bay Aquarium, Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga), New England Aquarium (Boston) and Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans). Privately owned facilities (including stockholder corporations) on privately owned or publicly leased land include Underwater World (San Francisco), Marine World Africa USA (Vallejo) and Sea World Inc. (Aurora, Orlando, San Antonio and San

Diego) and Hawaii Sea Life Park (Waimanalo).

Also underlying the success of aquariums is the fact that co-operation, not competition, is the general rule. Whether from the marketing or biology depart- ment, aquarium operators typically share information. This is especially true for aquarium biologists and the more information they have about the biology of the animals in their care, the better the displays and the influence on their visitors. In effect, this is evidence of the mission that all aquariums share: to help people to understand and appreciate the natural world.

THE ETHICS OF SUCCESS The success of aquariums and the growing practice of financing their construction through a repayable debt makes the operators, whether academic or business, increasingly focus on earning revenue. This creates a risk of moving attention away from education, research and the promotion of environmental responsibility and redirecting it principally to economic performance. In order to assure that aquariums continue to succeed and to ensure that traditional professional ethics and standards prevail, aquarium professionals need to confirm their ethical com- mitment. Responsibility accompanies success.

If the basic principle of aquarium success is the appeal of living animals, then aquarium employees at all levels must have a clear and strong ethical stance towards the animals exhibited. Such an ethical position needs to direct attitudes and management actions, and guide the collection, maintenance and display of animals. This is essential for both practical business and philosophical reasons.

To attract visitors aquariums need healthy, vibrant displays that reflect wild places. There is a practical and ethical advantage to promoting both of these aspects because aquariums are agents of

NORTH AMERICAN AQUARIUMS. PRESENT AND FUTURE 19

influence and valued cultural assets. They can help to save the natural world.

The animals that visitors see within an aquarium are ambassadors of that natural world. Their exhibition in aquariums helps to ensure that conspecifics in the wild survive and that the natural habitats are safeguarded. These are the only ethical justifications for displaying living animals. One cannot superficially don an ethical cloak and go on to rationalize the ‘education value’ of the aquatic equivalent of albino tigers jumping through flaming hoops. The exhibition of animals for other primary ends will result in dishonest displays and poorly maintained animals, a situation that visitors will sense sooner or later; the magic of the aquarium will diminish and the gold will turn to lead.

If we take the ethical responsibility of designing and running institutions seri- ously, based on proven measures success is assured and the world will possibly be a better place.

TRENDS IN EXHIBITRY AND INTERPRETATION Just as we see an increasing interest of economic developers in aquariums, we also see a continuing interest on the part of the operators to make their exhibits more engaging, exciting and effective. Traditionally, and contemporaneously, such efforts have taken the form of displaying species never seen before out of the wild, with large size a major criterion. P. T. Barnum displayed Beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas in Manhatten in the 1850s; more than a century later Senzu Uchida first displayed Whale sharks Rhin- codon typus in Okinawa Expo Aquarium.

Excellent research at such institutions as Monterey Bay Aquarium, Waikiki Aquarium and Tokyo Sea Life Park, to mention only three, now permits the widespread display and culture of medusae, living corals, chambered nautilus and sev- eral species of large tuna.

In addition to the display and maintenance of a growing number of species in

increasingly improved conditions, one sees new trends in aquarium exhibits. These include a regional ecosystem focus; ecosystem exhibits with a dramatic sense of context, effected by using stagecraft and replicas; use of film to develop imaginative context; inclusion of humans onto the exhibit’s species list; incorporating a sense of both time and place, often by using exhibit elements, such as human artefacts and building types, as cues to context.

Traditionally public aquariums have displayed species from a variety of geo- graphic areas. Examples of respected institutions which exhibit the ‘fishes of the world’ include the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco and the more recently established Sea World parks.

A number of smaller aquariums have long focused on their adjacent surround- ings, for example, Naples, Italy, Plym- outh, England, and Elsinore, Denmark. However, there is a growing trend for new large aquariums to focus their programmes on larger regional themes and contiguous ecosystems. Monterey Bay Aquarium, opened in 1984, is a leading example. Nagoya Aquarium, opened 1992, chose the exploration route of an esteemed research vessel for its featured localities. The Florida Aquarium interprets the ‘Florida water story’ from freshwater aquifer to Gulf Stream currents. Oregon Coast Aquarium interprets the aquatic ecosystem of the coastal Pacific North-West .

Most new aquariums now in the planning or design stages are choosing regional themes and subject matter, although some choose quite large regions; The Ring of Fire Aquarium, Osaka, opened in 1991, displays animals from the complete perimeter of the Pacific Ocean. The Aquarium of the Americas, opened in 1990, limits its scope to two continents (Plates 3 and 4).

Aquarists were once content to display selected species. Animals were chosen because of their inherent interest or

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Plates 3 and 4. The Mississippi River exhibit at the Aquarium of the Americas creates a sense of time and place as well as offering a view of the River’s plants and animals. BIOS, Inc.

NORTH AMERICAN AQUARIUMS: PRESENT AND FUTURE 21

because they represented a specific habitat, for example, trout, dogfish, cod, lob- ster. A growing trend in the 1990s is the expansion of exhibitry to encompass the entire ecosystem, coral reef, kelp forest, Amazon River and forest, or Arctic bird colony. While remaining the central and most interesting feature, living animals are presented within the context of their habitat. Another trend is the integration of natural history cine and video into exhibitry. All these approaches are attempts to reduce the abstraction of nature that artificial conditions inflict.

When we build an exhibit, we abstract a piece of nature. We literally ‘pull it away’ from the wild world. Some parts of a natural ecosystem, usually animals, are removed and installed in the aquarium while other parts, usually plants, rocks or coral skeletons, are replicated. Given that one must abstract, one should aim for authenticity; that is, to produce an exhibit with an effect which seems genuine and worthy of trust. ‘Authentic’ comes from the Greek for ‘trustworthy author’ and it is an aquarium designer’s job to be a ‘trustworthy author’ of exhibits.

As such, every aquarium designer has certain responsibilities and opportunities, which are based within the design process itself; the artist-designer, the scientist and the child all aim to discover how the world works and to tell others about their discoveries. Their tasks are the same, only their methods differ.

Scientists have formal methods for both discovery and reporting. Artists have broader, less constrained, more subjective methods. Children have the freshest, most creative methods of both discovery and reporting, and one of our responsibilities is to encourage their novel and sincere approach. Good scientists and artists (and aquarium designers) still have that enthu- siasm for discovery. Successful aquarists act partly as scientists, a good deal as artists and mostly as children. They ‘discover’, in fresh and exciting ways, by visiting the natural habitats of the plants

and animals they display. They experiment with water systems and feeding techniques. They use both the objective serious methods of science and the subjective adventurous approaches of art and childhood. They use knowledge, craft and serendipity, experiment, accident and casual conversation.

The process of designing and maintaining exhibits in aquariums is at least two-fold: (1) to invoke in visitors a complex set of emotions, sensory experiences and intellectual ideas similar to those they would perceive in the wild habitat that is chosen to be displayed; (2) to provide living conditions for the plants and animals that are as close as possible to those in their natural ecosystems.

To do so calls for some degree of abstraction. A natural ecosystem cannot be completely duplicated. Major elements, by necessity, are left out. Aquarium abstraction ranges from drastic, a goldfish in its bowl, to almost authentic, a living kelp forest.

By what limits do we bound abstraction? Its highest form is a thought, highly personal and difficult to share without symbols of some sort; for example, pic- tographs, gestures or words. A next level of abstraction could be the removal of an authentic object from its context: the goldfish in the bowl. Technically this is a double abstraction; the goldfish is a genetic abstraction, the plantless bowl is an ecological abstraction. One example of an aquarium exhibit that is far less abstract and a much more realistic depic- tion of the real world is the Kelp Forest Exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium (Plate 5 ) . This is almost a continuation of the wild kelp communities in the adjacent Bay and almost identical in species’ diversity, appearance and species’ behaviour. Judging from the comments of some visitors as they stand in awe before the exhibit, they think they are looking through a window into the real Monterey Bay.

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Plate 5. The Kelp Forest exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Now considered the classic example of a multi-species exhibit, the Kelp Forest was a forerunner in the modern trend to attempt to replicate a complete ecosystem. Monterey Bay Aquarium.

However, does ‘less abstract’ necessarily mean ‘more authentic’? What exactly is it that we are saying is authentic? Is it the physical appearance, the topographical accuracy, the species’ list, the ‘verisimilitude’? If this is the measure of authenticity, multi-taxa exhibits move towards it but when 5% of an ecosystem is represented in a display it is pretty abstract; when 20% is displayed is it less abstract and more authentic? Not necessarily. For example, consider my personal response to a very abstract, yet very authentic abstract, again at the Mon- terey Bay Aquarium in their ‘Living Treasures’ exhibit. I came around a corner thinking I was sated with the spectacle of tropical reefs when suddenly I saw a 3785 litre tank holding only a huge chunk of green jadeite with six pink Telia anem- ones. Before it registered on my intellect, that combination seemed to sing an emotional chord, to tell me a truth about rock

and flesh and about sea and creature. For me it was an authentic experience. It meant something important. Exactly what I am not sure intellectually but emotionally and aesthetically, it was stunning.

All this signifies that both ‘abstract’ and ‘authentic’ are relative; relative to what one intends an exhibit to do and what discovery about the world one wants to report; that is, what story a ‘trustworthy author’ wishes to tell. A good aquarium designer needs to ask what response, what feelings and thoughts, he wants to stimu- late in the visitor. Is it excitement, con- fusion, alarm, serenity, enchantment or curiosity? Successful exhibits simul- taneously touch and engage the visitor emotionally and intellectually. They make him feel and they make him think. The purpose of the best kind of exhibit is to bring the visitor, imaginatively, to the real place with the real ecosystem. (Plate 6.)

There is one absolute measure of authenticity of an exhibit; the health and behaviour of the organisms maintained within it. Feeding, growth, natural behaviours and reproduction all indicate that the plants and animals act as if it is an authentic replica of their habitat.

Each aquarist has his own answer to what he wants an exhibit to achieve. For some, it may be the message that ‘this part of the world is beautiful, relax and wonder at it’. For others it might be to make the visitor marvel at the technical achieve- ment of mounting such a complex exhibit with so many kinds of animals and so much replicated rock.

These are laudable motives but they are not sufficient by themselves. Exhibits with these sole motives are luxuries that responsible aquarists can no longer afford. The world we are abstracting is in jeopardy. It is possible that soon parts of it will fade from the wild and survive only in our abstractions. The ocean may be buffered from change but once the balance shifts it is difficult to recover.

Aquariums need their stories to affect their audience emotionally. But it should

NORTH AMERICAN AQUARIUMS. PRESENT AND FUTURE 23

Plate 6. Today’s trend towards dramatic and authentic exhibits has its roots in earlier designs as seen in this engraving of an artist’s view of the Paris Exposition Aquarium 1900.

be an emotion, an inspiration, that is authentic and appropriate. We need to add advocacy. It is not enough simply to display manatees or corals or rivers-at- risk. We need to advocate for actions that enhance their survival. The degrees of authenticity and abstraction of exhibits need to be measured by their success in influencing our audiences. The successful aquarium exhibits of the next decade will be those that are truly convincing and moving, truly trustworthy and authentic, and have a conservation and education message. These are worthy of the best efforts of every part of us, the scientist, the artist and, most of all, the child.

FILM AS AN EXHIBIT ADJUNCT Aquariums are increasingly faced with the need to balance visitor satisfaction, social purpose, research missions and entrepre- neurship. In attempts to display habitats

and the dynamic interactions of ecosystems, aquariums risk confusing contenr with context. Despite expensive and elab- orate ‘immersion dioramas’, such as life- size simulations of a tropical rain forest, all too often visitors are not convinced of the effect intended or cognizant of the information presented.

Designers and educators need to consider integrating film experiences with exhibitry to prepare visitors emotionally and intellectually for three-dimensional exhibits and the living organisms within them. Film experiences shared in groups and appropriate settings, effectively and efficiently provide both intellectual and emotional preparation for a subsequent event, such as an exhibit. Also they produce revenue.

Film helps to establish the ‘willing suspension of disbelief that visitors will need in the necessarily artificial exhibits. Dis-

24 AQUARIUMS

plays with living animals in natural sur- roundings require the least ‘suspension of disbelief but it is still essential. Humans seem innately to enjoy a close encounter with wild creatures and wild places. It is this fascination and interest that gives aquariums their appeal.

As Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1817) observed ‘The two cardinal points of poetry [for our discussion let us substitute aquarium exhibit design] are the power of exciting the sympathy of the reader [aquarium visitor] by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature, and, the power of giving the interest of novelty by the modifying colours of imagination.’.

For a complete discussion let us add the view of Gerald Warner Brace (1969) who commented on writing but whose thoughts are useful in considering the aquarium exhibit as a communication medium: ‘A reader [aquarium visitor] is willing to suspend a great deal of disbelief, he likes to pretend, to make believe, to enter into wonderful experiences, to col- laborate with a fable, but if the writer [designer/aquarist] is unaware of his artifices, any possibility of collaboration is lost.’.

Film theatres provide a shared emotional and intellectual experience that can create a strong sense of mood and can urge a sense of collaboration in the viewer. Dramatic elements in film support the intent and goals of well-conceived exhibits and educational programmes, as well as describing and celebrating the aquarium’s research achievements and efforts.

Certainly aquariums place great impor- tance on ‘faithfully adhering to the truth of nature’. They fall short in the use of ‘novelty by the modifying colours of imagination’; for example, moving from a sunlit foyer to a darkened simulated rain forest or atoll beach without any emotional preparation. By providing the basic intellectual preparation that a museum visitor would need in an exhibition, film can impressively ‘modify the colours of

imagination’ while also helping to establish the willing suspension of disbelief that visitors need in an artificial exhibit.

Invariably aquariums that have film theatres have treated the film experience and the exhibit experience as discrete and separated elements. In 1995 the Aquarium of the Americas opened a new IMAX theatre as part of its expansion. The Ten- nessee Aquarium has a similar project in design and at least four new aquariums now in planning stages indicate the incor- poration of large-format film theatres.

However, the full value of film in the aquarium setting will be realized only when it is integrated with exhibitry or, better still, used in support of the same goals. A variety of formats and settings are available including: large format, 70 mm, for example, IMAX, Showscan, Iwerks; high-definition television; inter- active multi-media, such as CD-ROM or Laser disc, which could be used in theat- rical settings, conventional theatres, discovery theatres, motion-simulator theatres or in combination with live exhibits.

Examples of good films integrated with aquarium exhibitry include Be a Bass and Exploring Ozark Streams at the Center for the Living World at the St Louis Zoo, and Aliens from Innerspace and Lost World of the Medusa at the Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu. Although not strictly integrated with exhibits, these environmen- tally inspirational films have enhanced the adjacent exhibit halls. Shown totally independently of aquarium exhibits but illustrative of the type of content that could be well integrated with them are the IMAX films produced in 1992-1994, Rainforest, Antarctica and Sharks.

Motion-simulator theatres, although now viewed solely as amusement park thrill rides, have an exciting potential as learning environments. These displays combine a film experience with moving seats, to add the sense of physical travel to the four- to six-minute episodes, and can house from four to 60 people simul- taneously. In the United States all such

WCS AND COWRl 25

programmes have so far been fantasy-ride amusements. The Bermuda triangle show at Sea World in San Diego and Orlando presents a science-fiction adventure beneath the Atlantic but with little factual content. On the other hand, at the Nagoya Aquarium the technique is used, in combination with factual content on exploring the abyssal sea, to good effect. Ride-show producers in the United States are planning programmes with authentic content for use by aquariums, which can be considered as the ultimate combination of film and exhibitry, joining content and context, intellect and emotion.

To exploit the full advantages of film in the aquarium and to integrate film content and mood with exhibitry and programmes, whether interpretation or research, aquariums need to influence the film production. This issue needs to be considered in the selection of the Aquar- ium's format so that the institution is allowed the choice of controlling film con-

tent or accepting films made for other institutions with other intents.

The most effective linkage of film and exhibitry is yet to be made. By combining techniques, such as film and exhibit, aquariums will provide more successful displays resulting in satisfying experiences for their visitors. Films in aquariums can provide at least the following advantages: a shared cultural experience; a sense of mood; the display of places, organisms and behaviours that cannot be shown within the aquarium; a willing suspension of disbelief; additional revenue sources; crowd control; addition of new content to permanent exhibits.

REFERENCES BRACE, G. W. (1969): The stuf fof jc t ion. New York: W. W. Norton. COLERIDGE, S. T. (181 7): Biogrupphica Literaria. TAYLOR, L. (1993): Aquariums, windows to nature. New York: Prentice Hall.

Manuscript submitted 27 February 1995

Znt. Zoo Yb. (1995) 34: 25-30 0 The Zoological Society of London

COWR I: Critica I Ocea n W i Id I ife Recovery In it iat ive PAUL BOYLEI, DORENE BOLZE2 & FRED KOONTZ' I Deputy Director, Aquarium for Wildlqe Conservation, Wildige Conservation Society ( WCS), and Director, WCS Osborn Laboratories of Marine Science, Surf Avenue at West 8th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11224, 2Policy Analyst, International Programs, and "Director, Science Resource Center, Wildlge Conservation Society, 185th Street & Southern Boulevard, New York, New York 10460, USA

COWRI, the Critical Ocean Wildlife Recovery h i - tiative has been developed by the Wildlife Conser- vation Society, New York, through the Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation and the Osborn Labora- tories of Marine Science, with three major objectives: basic and applied research; public awareness and conservation education; marine conservation policy. The authors introduce the concept of COWRI and report on the current progress of the three pro- gramme areas.

The Oceans envelop almost three-quarters of Earth, dwarfing the land surface occu-

years we have so persistently over-used global Ocean that many indivi- dual species have declined to a position poised literally at the brink of ecological extinction. A long list of fisheries has been

pied by humans. Yet, in just the last 50

Documents

The status of North American public aquariums at the end of the century