Always something new - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 239

in Monterey Bay—always a favorite topic. But as with the Star Trek
show, some visitors were disappointed because they didn't get to see
real whales.
Meanwhile, the Monterey Bay Aquarium was doing well in every
area—visitor satisfaction, encouraging ocean awareness, and earning
revenue. Management began to consider the possibility of a major ex-
pansion, but while these discussions were going on, the aquarium de-
cided to launch a series of live special exhibits, both to attract new and
repeat visitors and to more e¤ectively communicate our message of
ocean conservation.
“MEXICO'S SECRET SEA”
One of the most memorable of these exhibits, at least to those of us in
the husbandry department, was “Mexico's Secret Sea,” which opened
in 1988 and closed about a year later. This exhibit was the first of many
in which the husbandry and exhibit departments worked together to
present, in a fresh, stimulating way, live animals not necessarily found
in Monterey. Since that time, in fact, this second-floor space has be-
come the primary special exhibits space, focusing on a variety of top-
ics, messages, and animals.
“Mexico's Secret Sea” didn't happen overnight—far from it. Plan-
ning began in 1986 when, having interpreted all the nearshore habi-
tats of Monterey Bay, we decided to look beyond Monterey for a suit-
able topic. Steve Webster and I had each spent considerable time in
Baja California, and we pushed hard for an exhibit showcasing the Sea
of Cortez. John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts's topic Sea of Cortez pro-
vided an excellent connection between Cannery Row and Mexico's Gulf
of California.
Finally, our proposal was accepted and an intriguing story line de-
veloped: the exhibit would retrace the scientific expedition that Stein-
beck and Ricketts made from Monterey to the Sea of Cortez in 1940
aboard the fishing boat the Western Flyer. Although the husbandry sta¤
would visit some of the same spots Steinbeck and Ricketts had seen,
we would travel by land down the length of the Baja California penin-
sula and transport the live animals back to Monterey by truck and air.