Volume 1, No. 8. May 18, 2001
It's
a shark exhibit!
Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky, announces
the arrival of "Guardians of the Deep," May 10, 2001. Measurements: 75 sharks,
30 species, three new tanks, seven staff adventure stations, 12 collectable
SeaMore Stamps, 265 interpretive signs.
This arrival was almost waylaid by
a new arrival upon arrival. The Newport Aquarium gathered species of sharks
from all over the globe for its new exhibit. Among them were specimens from
South Africa, many never before displayed in North America. En route from Capetown
to JFK Airport in New York, one Guitarfish had three pups. When the crate arrived
in New York, U.S. Customs officials took exception to the fact that the number
of fish in the tank didn't match the number on the paperwork; but, without evidence
that the pups were not born on U.S. territory, the shipment headed on to Cincinnati.
There, the entire 100,000-square-foot Newport Aquarium, across the Ohio River
from downtown Cincinnati, was being made over into a shark-themed education
trail as a kickoff to the aquarium's third season. "I had decided that if we
were going to do a big thrust for the third season it needed to be sharks,"
said John Tighe, the aquarium's general manager. Already, the aquarium's 85-foot-long
acrylic tunnel through the 380,000-gallon shark tank was, along with penguins,
the aquarium's most popular draw. Topping that proved a challenge. "Everybody
wants to see great whites, and that's just not going to happen," Tighe said.
What delighted civic leaders and media members on an invitation-only gala Thursday
evening before the public opening were the three new tanks and their unusual
inhabitants: Shark Pup Central, a double-decker tank with pups and eggs; Wobbegong
Kingdom, a 500-gallon walk around display featuring the Ornate Wobbegong Shark;
and Underwater Safari, an African-themed room with a 7,000-gallon tank in the
middle containing species of South African sharks, ranging from the spry Pyjama
Shark to the timid Dark Shyshark and the aforementioned, descriptively named
Guitarfish. The tank also contains human children: kids can crawl into the tank's
base and stand up in two bubble windows for a 360-degree view of the sharks'
domain.
"We wanted to have as big an impact as we could," said Tighe, and the aquarium
delivers with small but unique sharks. "I really stretched my curatorial department
to the limits with this one.
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