Marineland of the pacific - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 15

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MARINELAND OF THE PACIFIC
A TIP IN 1958 FROM JERRY FAWCETT , president of the fledgling Ma-
rine Aquarium Society of Los Angeles, let me know that Marineland
of the Pacific was looking for an aquarist. Marineland, which opened
in 1955, was the world's second oceanarium, following on the success
of the original Marineland in St. Augustine, Florida. Bearing the newly
coined name “oceanarium,” these two facilities were totally di¤erent
in concept from the classic indoor aquarium. Located where year-round
weather was mild, most of the main exhibits were outdoors. Marineland
of the Pacific, perched as it was atop the cli¤s of the Palos Verdes Penin-
sula in Los Angeles, had a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and
Catalina Island on a clear day.
A phone call to curator Ken Norris led to my first job as a profes-
sional aquarist—my real break into the field of aquatic biology, on which
I had set my heart as a boy in England. It was what I had prepared for,
and I was ready.
I saw this as my opportunity to share with others the fascination I
had for the creatures of the sea: to collect animals and create exhibits
that would give land dwellers a glimpse into the underwater world. I
didn't think of it as a profession—although it turned out to be one; I
just knew it was what I wanted to do. My formal schooling was be-