The damaging role of aquariums
By Emil Davityan
March 20, 2024
Originally published by the Northwest Animal Rights Network
The Seattle Aquarium is set to unveil its Ocean Pavilion expansion this summer. Given the exorbitant price tag—now over $160 million—peak-season visitors will presumably be eagerly welcomed.
The costly expansion draws attention to potential incongruities with Seattle Aquarium’s self-proclaimed focus on conservation and respect for Indigenous communities. This is not unique to the Seattle Aquarium. City aquariums commonly mask entertainment as conservation work and education. In reality they contribute to an array of problems for marine ecosystems and Indigenous peoples.
The harmful footprint of aquariums
Major aquariums hold captive a wide variety of sharks, tropical fish and invertebrates. Marine animals are either born in captivity or must be captured in the wild and, along with corals and plants, transported for display. Approximately 55 million organisms, weighing 13,300 tons and worth $2.15 billion, are harvested from oceans globally each year for private and public aquariums, mostly in high-income countries. A separate study estimates that 11 million marine animals from 1,800 species are imported every year to the United States alone.
Vulnerable tropical coral reefs home to “exotic” species tend to be the most exploited habitats, including those in Indonesia, the Philippines and Hawaii. These fragile ecosystems are impacted by disruptions to animal populations, removal of species that provide valuable ecosystem services (like algal and parasite control), introduction of invasive species, and harmful collection methods.
Unsurprisingly, the animals that are removed, transported and confined are often subject to psychological distress, injury and death. It is estimated that 86 organisms die for every 100 that are on display, all for the amusement of human customers. The Seattle Aquarium has a similarly abysmal record, with NARN estimating only 175 fish survived of the approximately 500 captured in Hawaiian waters between 2015 and 2019.
Indigenous stewardship under stress
The pillaging of marine ecosystems has an insidious impact on Indigenous communities with deep cultural and economic connections to the affected environments. The traditional practices of many coastal Indigenous communities evolved to balance the needs of humans, non-human animals and water systems.
Harvesting for aquariums displaces traditional methods and disrupts sacred spaces of Indigenous communities. This occurs in part because the industry is subject to weak and unrepresentative international governance. Problems include opaque accreditation and collection programs, illicit harvesting, complex international supply chains that are difficult to monitor, and underfunded enforcement regimes.
This conflict between Indigenous traditions and the modern aquarium trade is evident in Hawaii. Traditional Polynesian management practices called ahupua‘a were developed over centuries, and recognized the essential interconnectedness of inland and marine ecosystems. Ahupua‘a carefully managed both freshwater and offshore systems through a regulated system of resource use and stewardship that adapted to evolving environmental conditions. The harvesting of marine life for aquariums has damaged Hawaii’s marine ecosystems and is the subject of a protracted legal battle. Mike Nakachi, a Hawaiian cultural practitioner and plaintiff, commented that “50 years of damage has already taken place” and that many locals are fighting against an “extractive wildlife trafficking business” to keep fish there in perpetuity. A coalition of native Hawaiian representatives and environmental organizations secured a multiyear embargo on fishing for aquariums that is still being litigated.
Given this context, it’s worth highlighting the Seattle Aquarium’s own words: “For nearly 40 years, Hawaii ecosystems have been part of the Seattle Aquarium experience … a lush community of corals, puffers, tangs, wrasses and other members of tropical reefs.” Until it recently halted the practice, the Seattle Aquarium acquired marine animals for display from Hawaiian waters, while simultaneously touting its scientific work in the region.
Uneven resources and control
The modern aquarium trade also reflects major structural disparities in economic resources and power. Aquarium executives and boards often overlap with major donors or corporate sponsors, rather than with Indigenous groups. The profits generated are concentrated with operators and suppliers. Through these practices the substantial conservation work by Indigenous communities goes unacknowledged, and their potential influence on the industry is precluded. It is worth asking what proportion of the multibillion-dollar aquarium industry profits benefits Indigenous communities or is reinvested into monitoring and conservation efforts.
As part of the expansion, the Seattle Aquarium repeatedly emphasizes its work with local Indigenous representatives:
“We are honored to be responsible guests on the traditional and contemporary territories of the Coast Salish people, who have stewarded these lands and waters since time immemorial. The Seattle Aquarium is committed to developing a strong foundation for long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with Tribal Nations, urban Native peoples and, as our mission grows, the Indigenous peoples of the Indo-Pacific and their local diaspora…”
While such engagement may be positive, collaboration on the Ocean Pavilion evidently focuses on the visitor experience, the design of exhibits, and public art. Less evident is whether Indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and other source locations provided consent to, or benefited from, the harvesting of marine animals for display.
It’s entertainment in the end
Nuanced and differing perspectives certainly exist across Indigenous communities. It is also true that some aquariums actively engage communities and support conservation. The point, however, is that aquariums are part of a broader outdated industry that misappropriates marine life and marginalizes traditional knowledge. Aquariums exist to provide paid entertainment for consumers primarily in industrialized countries—amusement sold under a thin veneer of conservation and education to disarm the audience.
The reality of the aquarium industry raises serious ethical and practical questions. Do the capture, transportation, and display for public entertainment of marine animals constitute a necessary—or even effective—way to promote conservation? Are the practices, needs, and rights of Indigenous communities genuinely integral to the business of aquariums?
Conservation requires a holistic approach that incorporates Indigenous wisdom and is funded directly. It cannot be an afterthought for an industry that commodifies animals for entertainment.
References
Watson, Gordon J., et al. “Can the global marine aquarium trade (MAT) be a model for Sustainable Coral Reef Fisheries?” Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 49, 8 Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh4942.
Rhyne, Andrew L., et al. “Revealing the appetite of the Marine Aquarium Fish Trade: The volume and biodiversity of fish imported into the United States.” PLoS ONE, vol. 7, no. 5, 21 May 2012, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035808.
Tissot, Brian N., and Leon E. Hallacher. “Effects of aquarium collectors on coral reef fishes in Kona, Hawaii.” Conservation Biology, vol. 17, no. 6, Dec. 2003, pp. 1759–1768, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2003.00379.x.
Wabnitz, C., Taylor, M., Green, E., Razak, T. 2003. From Ocean to Aquarium. UNEP-WCMC Cambridge, LIE.
Jokiel, P. L., et al. “Marine Resource Management in the Hawaiian Archipelago: The traditional Hawaiian system in relation to the western approach.” Journal of Marine Biology, vol. 2011, 2011, pp. 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/151682.
Ruminski, Laura. “Fate of West Hawaii Commercial Aquarium Fishing Hangs on State High Court Judgment.” Hawaii TribuneHerald Fate of West Hawaii Commercial Aquarium Fishing Hangs on State High Court Judgment Comments, www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/10/19/hawaii-news/fate-of-west-hawaii-commercial-aquarium-fishing-hangs-on-state-high-court-judgment/. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.
Leiser, Emma. “Hawai’i Is Facing More Marine Heatwaves. What Does That Mean for Its Fish?” Seattle Aquarium, 9 Feb. 2024, www.seattleaquarium.org/stories/hawaii-marine-heatwaves/.
Port of Seattle, “Seattle Aquarium Strategic Relationship Presentation.” Commission Meetings, meetings.portseattle.org/index.php?option=com_meetings&view=meetingattachment&fmt=html&id=455715. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.
Honoring Place.” Seattle Aquarium, 28 Dec. 2023, www.seattleaquarium.org/explore-the-aquarium/campus/ocean-pavilion/honoring-place/.