What is the likelihood Monterey Bay Aquarium will display another baby great white shark?

[sally666]

What is the likelihood the Monterey Bay Aquarium will display another baby great white shark? They successfully kept five baby great whites in their Open Sea tank, so will they attempt to do it again?

 

[KrisReef]

I don’t think so. They get to big and they are expensive to capture and they may eat the other fishes that are in the tank.

They are also dangerous for the divers who have to clean the glass.

 

[Malcontent]

Have you seen Jaws 3?

 

[krollins]

Following

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I don’t think so. They get to big and they are expensive to capture and they may eat the other fishes that are in the tank.

They are also dangerous for the divers who have to clean the glass.

I agree with this - they don't seem worth the risk and opportunity cost to keep:

-You can't keep many critters in a tank with them, so the display is basically just the shark(s).

-They need a huge tank that's extremely expensive and could be used for a display which could appeal to a much broader audience (thus bringing in more money to offset the cost of the massive tank).

-They're dangerous to the employees, and likely complicate typically fairly easy tasks such as cleaning and maintenance on the tank, any needed veterinary care, etc.

So, yeah, they're cool animals, but they don't really strike me as a good animal for an aquarium from a business perspective.

 

[KrisReef]

I agree with this - they don't seem worth the risk and opportunity cost to keep:

-You can't keep many critters in a tank with them, so the display is basically just the shark(s).

-They need a huge tank that's extremely expensive and could be used for a display which could appeal to a much broader audience (thus bringing in more money to offset the cost of the massive tank).

-They're dangerous to the employees, and likely complicate typically fairly easy tasks such as cleaning and maintenance on the tank, any needed veterinary care, etc.

So, yeah, they're cool animals, but they don't really strike me as a good animal for an aquarium from a business perspective.

You said that so much better than i did. I wnet to the aquarium when they had their second baby great white and it didn't look like much of a threat (like was seen in the "Jaws" movies. Well fed sharks don't hunt much? But I did notice the huge tuna (blues and yellows?) that were cruising about, and they were more impressive to me than Baby Jaw. I did have to think that the tuna's and other display fishes might be nervous with the predatory in the mix and maybe I was projecting but the display didn't look all that calm to me, tense and waiting for a random attack from the keystone predator, but again nothing happend but the tank looks happier without these things threatening the other fishes.

Like a rodeo vs a bullfight, both can be exciting but one is less desirable to look at, ime.

My son married a docent at Monterey Bay Aquarium, so I need to go visit and get Jackie to give me the Father-in-law tour. Not the one where she shoves me into the shark tank, the other one.

 

[fish farmer]

Considering they are protected in California, there is likely a huge stack of paperwork/care requirements to even approach working with/keeping said animal in captivity.

 

[sally666]

Considering they are protected in California, there is likely a huge stack of paperwork/care requirements to even approach working with/keeping said animal in captivity.

Wow I never knew that!