Don't Look Here... [Archive] - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

JohnR

01-27-2003, 08:07 AM

FWW - that was the one - buncha boneheads...

This was September 2000 when the New England Aquarium had moved the seals from the large tank just outside the aquarium to somewhere inside because the noise of the nearby Big Dig construction was tough on the seals. So NEAQ went and put som basses inside that tank:

Just got back from a lunch time stroll down the street to the New England Aquarium. A couple people from work had said that the seals were gone and stripers were in!!! Makes sense to me, I mean, who want's to see seals right??? Everyone wants stripers... Anyway, go down to take a look and I was wondering if I should bring some eels next time and toss them in. Watch under conditions, that while not quite natural, would provide a controlled environment where I could clearly see how that bass would consume those eels (no hook in them though, Patrick <img src="/Images/Tounge_Wink_Face.gif">). Well, it might just be possible!!! The tank (obviously) is closed off on all sides but there is no roof!! I might just be able to toss some in....

Well, there are probably 50 fish in there (all fat) ranging from about 4 pounds up to about 35-40!!! Most are around 12-15 pounds. There is one real nice fish in there and while most of the smaller fish school together, they are following the big fish most of the time. As the big girl is doing laps near the bottom of the tank, the rest of the fish, including several over twenty pounds are collecting in a big school and following the largest bass as she slowly winds her way around the tank... Pretty cool to see it and if any of you get the chance, you should see them. I can't imagine they'll be here for long but it was very interesting to see... Tough to see with some of the glare on the tank but here are a couple shots...

http://striped-bass.com/aquarium.shtml

click on the thumbnails for the bigger shots (ok, they are not really thumbnail size

Here was the article from back then after the brain dump by the scientists at NEAQ:

Fishing Report Posted 10/16/00
Jerry Vovcsko

When you write columns for readers who like to fish you can count on finding the e-mailbox full come Monday morning. Here's one that turned up last week from an irate fisherman:

* Torture at the New England Aquarium ?*

As an avid sportsman who has enjoyed fishing all my life, I was appalled at what I saw in the outside tank at the New England Aquarium yesterday. The tank which usually houses the Harbor Seals has been occupied for several months instead, by a school of about forty Striped Bass. As I walked near the tank I saw them with their heads crammed into the corner swimming feverishly into the glass. As I approached I soon saw the reason why.

Someone, probably with a PhD in Marine Biology, made the decision to put the seals back into the tank with the fish. I, as well as other spectators with children, watched as the seals picked fish as easily as grapes off the vine. They then played a cruel game of cat and mouse with their injured prey. On the tank floor were the bodies of two unlucky fish with their heads chewed off, while several others were trying to remain swimming, with slashed tails and fins. I questioned an aquarium employee about it.

She said that the seals were raised in captivity and that they didn't think they would attack the fish. I guess they didn't ask the fish how they'd like to be trapped in a tank with one of their most feared mortal predators. Maybe they could have asked some of grade school children who go their on field trips, they'd have probably given the right answer.

Striped Bass are a protected species and are recovering thanks to
tremendous efforts made by government agencies and sportsmen alike. There is a size limit and only one fish per day can be taken by fishermen. The fish killed by the foolish decision to put the seals in the tank were definitely undersized. There is a substantial fine for taking such fish, maybe the Aquarium should pay this fine and be forced to send whoever's bright idea it was back to school to learn some common sense. Or, simply put the fish out of their misery and take them across the street to Legal Seafood, but again, they are illegal fish! *

Now I found that e-mail very disturbing, so I called the aquarium folks to see what it was all about and soon received a call back from a cheerfull young lady in the Press Relations department. Fully expecting to hear an indignant denial that no one the least bit familiar with the marine environment would do such a stupid thing, I asked if it was true that there had been a tank full of striped bass on exhibit and that somebody on staff had decided to put seals in with the fish. But no! Instead, the spokesperson cheerily explained that the fish had been caught by staff from the pier behind the aquarium and, yes, they had been put on exhibit
in a large tank. She went on to say that the seals were introduced into the tank because aquarium staff reasoned that "...as the seals had been raised in captivity and fed only dead fish they should be able to co-exist with the striped bass."
She further informed me that after the slaughter the stripers were
released back into Boston Harbor, the ones that survived, that is. She went on to point out that in the aquarium's view the exhibit had been a good forum for a conservation display, that is to say, "Look how well the stripers have recovered from the problems of the 1980s."

With my brain reeling from that lesson in PR-speak I conducted an
informal poll with my two children, ages 11 and 13. Iasked what would happen if seals raised in captivity and fed only dead fish were put into a tank with striped bass. My 13 year old son said, "They'd kill every one and eat them." My daughter rolled her eyes at me for asking such a stupid question and said, "Duhhh, dad, the same thing as if you threw a live chicken into a cage full of tigers."

Of course, neither child has a PhD in marine biology but, judging from the decisions made by the sages at the New England Aquarium, I think I trust the kids' judgement a bit better. With friends like the folks up there in Boston the fish don't need enemies.