Waikiki Aquarium

Hairy yellow hermit crab as seen at the Waikiki Aquarium

The Waikiki Aquarium is a marine science institution in the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii. Founded in 1904, this marine aquarium is the third oldest public aquarium in the United States. Since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium has been an institution of the University of Hawaii System.

Built near a living coral reef on the Waikiki shoreline, the Waikiki Aquarium is home to more than 3,055 organisms of 464 species of marine plants and animals. Each year, over 350,000 people visit. The Waikiki Aquarium was designated a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center of the Coastal America Partnership federal program.

Establishment

The Waikiki Aquarium was established on March 19, 1904 by the Honolulu Rapid Transit Authority, a forerunner of the present-day TheBus. It was hoped that the aquarium would entice travelers to ride the trolley all the way to the end of the line at Queen Kapiʻolani Park. It was built on land donated by James Bicknell Castle with funds from Charles Montague Cooke and his wife Anna Rice Cooke.

William Jennings Bryan and Jack London traveled to Honolulu to see the Waikiki Aquarium first hand. Biologist David Starr Jordan said the Waikiki Aquarium had the finest collection of fishes in the world.^{[citation needed]}

History

The Hawaiian monk seal at the Aquarium

The Hawaiian butterflyfish is named Chaetodon tinkeri in honor of Spencer Tinker who became the Aquarium's second director in 1940.

The aquarium's live fish gathering has a controversial history. In 1973, community worries over collecting actions were first handled by the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources by requiring monthly collection information. Increases in fish gathering united with growing public perception of declining fish supply ultimately developed into a harsh disagreement between fish collectors and the dive tour industry.

In reply to declines in reef fishes due to aquarium collectors, the Hawaii State Legislature, in the course of Act 306, formed the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area in 1998 to advance management of fishery resources. The projected management plan received 93% support at a public hearing and was then approved by the Governor.

Development and conditions

The Waikiki Aquarium developed displays of living corals starting in the middle to late 1970s. These aquarium structures were reliant on a permanent provision of seawater and therefore the aquarium seawater situation was not so different from the ones on the reef just outside.

Living corals are more complex to sustain in aquariums than most marine fish. Aquarists must be more aware of the physical, chemical and natural necessities of corals if they hope to accomplish success. Lighting, water chemistry, water motion, and temperature are the main features of concern to aquarists preserving living corals.

The Waikiki Aquarium was the first aquarium in the world to maintain the chambered nautilus and the first to breed them.

Art

Art at the Waikiki Aquarium includes:

• Tropical Sounds, a 2000 group of abstract ceramic sculptures by Jun Kaneko
• Vita Marinae, a 1975 ceramic tile waterscape by Claude Horan

See also

• Kapiolani Park
• Kuhio Beach Park

External links

• Waikiki Aquarium
• Coastal America Partnerships
• Case Studies in Aquarium History