New England Aquarium News and Updates: January 2009

Celebrate Sustainable Seafood with Celeb Chef Michael Schlow

January 27, 6:30 p.m. Aquarium Executive Chef Tim Ridge is teaming up with one of the country's top chefs for a tasty and informative sustainable seafood dinner event.

Diners will be up close and personal with Chef Michael Schlow of Great Bay Restaurant, as he demonstrates how to purchase, cook and enjoy sustainable seafood.

The Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series pairs the Aquarium with top local chefs to create a delicious way to educate the public about the many ocean-friendly seafood options available.

On the menu for the first event of 2009 on Jan. 27 are farm-raised oysters, farm-raised Arctic char and wild Pacific cod. Through its Celebrate Seafood program, the Aquarium promotes seafood choices that have minimal environmental impacts on the world's oceans.

Overlooking Boston Harbor in the Aquarium's Harbor View Cafe, the dinner will include selected wine pairings and cooking demonstrations in a fun, conversational format through which guests are encouraged to ask questions of the chefs and Aquarium experts.

Michael Schlow has been at the top of Boston's restaurant scene for more than a decade. He is executive chef and co-owner of Radius, Via Matta and Great Bay restaurants. Schlow and his restaurants have won numerous awards including top honors from Boston Magazine and rankings on “bests” lists in Gourmet, Food and Wine and Esquire magazines.

Tickets are $65 for members and $75 for non-members. Register online or call 617-973-5206.

Changing Climate, Changing Coasts

A joint symposium on climate change and the marine environment

February 5, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Moakley Federal Courthouse, Boston

Climate change will have significant effects on the economy of Massachusetts and the natural environment of the Gulf of Maine. Join fellow business leaders, policy makers, elected officials and non-governmental organizations to examine the effects of climate change on coastal development, real estate, fisheries, marine mammals and other resources. Together, we will explore the implications for Massachusetts policies and priorities for the future.

For an invitation, contact Pam DiBona or Vickie Cataldo.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation

How will your kids remember their summers? Family vacations, sports, art classes, time with friends … and long afternoons spent in front of the TV, computer and video game console. Replace that last part with a fun, active and educational experience through the Aquarium's Harbor Discoveries Camps.

These one- to two-week-long programs, divided by age and offered for students entering 4th through 9th grades, each focus on different aspects of marine life and include hands-on encounters with amazing animals, immersion into marine conservation and behind-the-scenes peeks at life at the Aquarium.

Camp registration opened to members January 5, and the general public can sign up on February 2. Register as soon as possible--programs often completely sell out within a few weeks.

For more information, including program descriptions, dates, fees and registration, please visit Harbor Discoveries Camps online.

Paradise Protected

President Bush recently designated three large new marine reserves in the Pacific Ocean. The protected areas will cover 195,280 square miles and protect some of the most ecologically important areas of the world's oceans. For more than a century, exiting American presidents have used their executive power to preserve wildlands, and President Bush modified that legacy to include large-scale protection of the oceans.

Less than one percent of the world's oceans are currently protected, and governments and the public have been slow to realize the value of marine protected areas. But in the past year, a new trend has emerged of super-sized marine reserves in the Pacific. In February, the atoll nation of Kiribati created the world's largest contiguous marine protected area around the pristine coral reefs of the Phoenix Islands in the Central Pacific. That designation gained the attention of the Bush administration.

Dr. Greg Stone, the Aquarium's Vice President of Global Marine Programs, helped lead the effort to create the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. “The new American marine reserves will possibly add even more momentum to the creation of other marine protected areas by other Pacific island nations. These regions of the Pacific are some of the last great swaths of tropical ocean near-wilderness on the planet. Governments are awakening to the vital importance of the seas. The oceans are the engines of Earth's weather, and setting aside vast tracts of relatively healthy ocean can help mitigate climate change among many other benefits,” Dr. Stone said.

Photo: Environmental Defense Fund

Turtles Uncovered: Get Beneath the Shell

This winter, the Aquarium is your gateway into the world of turtles! Plan your visit today and come walk the turtle trail featuring six stops around the Aquarium with live turtles. Learn turtle facts and stamp your turtle passport. Visitors can also see live animal presentations and visit the Aquarium Medical Center to learn how the Aquarium rehabilitates sick and wounded turtles.

Learn more about turtles:

Sea Turtle Rescue at the New England Aquarium

Turtle Rescue Blog

Annual Sea Turtle Exams

Sea Turtle Training

Online Game: Saving Sea Turtles

Blue Lifestyle Tips

When the cost of utilities has you seeing red, use these tips to save some green by living blue.

Use a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature of your home every day. Set it at a maximum of 65 degrees, keep your toes toasty in a thick pair of socks and think about all the money you're saving--about 3 percent of your heating bill for every degree chillier. Lower it even further at night, since your family will be snuggled deep into blankets, anyway. Whenever your home will be empty for at least a few hours, lower the thermostat to 55 degrees to knock up to 10 percent off your bill.

Plus! Shaw's is kicking off a new program to support environmental causes throughout New England. To encourage customers to reuse and recycle, Shaw's will sell reusable shopping bags (featuring an adorable polar bear) in all of their New England stores. Adding to the benefit of decreasing the amount of plastic bags floating around the atmosphere, Shaw's will donate 10 cents from the sale of each bag in Massachusetts to the Aquarium in recognition of our deep community connection and highly regarded research and conservation programs. So go ahead, get shopping!

Take a Moment

Please consider making a charitable contribution to the New England Aquarium. We rely on our generous donors to contribute more than 30% of our operating budget. These funds support the educational, conservation and research programs that make the New England Aquarium a leader both locally and globally. We need your support now more than ever. Gifts of any size make a difference!

Please make a donation online today!

Now Playing at the

Simons IMAX Theatre

Wild Ocean 3D

Grand Canyon Adventure 3D: River at Risk

Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean

The Dark Knight

Coming in February! Under the Sea 3D

@NEAq.org

Dive deeper into the our online community to discover more about our exhibits, animals, scientists and global projects.

See an X-ray of material passing through a Kemp's ridley sea turtle's digestive system!

Video: The marine mammal trainers made a resolution to exercise...with the seals!

What really goes on in the Aquarium when it's closed to visitors?

Plus, our right whale researchers have recorded a record-breaking number of mother and calf pairs in the birthing grounds from the coasts of Florida to Georgia.

Read more about the survey team's busy but satisfying season.

Dive Into the Bahamas

The Aquarium replenishes the fishes and invertebrates in our Caribbean reef exhibits with two annual expeditions to the Bahamas, and you're welcome to come along! Guests will dive alongside Aquarium biologists as they carefully and safely bring back animals that will be viewed in the Aquarium's exhibits. Read exciting accounts of previous expeditions on the Bahamas Collecting Expedition Blog. For more information about how to join, contact Sarah Taylor or Sherrie Floyd.

Lionfish