A Fascination for Fish by David Powell, University of California Press,
$29.95/拢19.95, ISBN 0520223667
DAVID POWELL believes the task of any aquarium is to 鈥渋nspire awe, create a
sense of wonder and appreciation that will grow into caring鈥濃�攁s well as
promote conservation. Over the years, he has created or improved many aquarium
displays that we now take for granted, such as touch pools, wave tanks and
exhibits of whole reefs. Spectacular recent additions at Monterey Bay Aquarium
are the Planet of the Jellies, showcasing an intriguing ballet of moon jellies,
and the pelagic fish display, where tuna come swimming out of the dark at full
speed, straight towards stunned visitors.
Powell was the pioneering curator of fishes at Sea World in San Diego and has
held key posts at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco and as director of
live-exhibit development at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Fish swim into his life
story at every turn.
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The author鈥檚 adventures make good reading. He built some of his own diving
suits and underwater lighting, and at one point used a pressure cooker to
decompress fish. He takes us from the first fish he caught, which he insisted on
sleeping with under his pillow, to the many others he collected over the years
for display in public aquaria鈥攇arden eels, great white sharks and
everything in between. Amateur aquarists looking to restock their tanks will
appreciate his descriptions of how to collect elusive, delicate and dangerous
species.
Powell鈥檚 main goal is, as ever, to convey the fascination of the underwater
world to non-divers in as realistic a way as possible. He describes an
interesting discussion he had with Jacques Cousteau, the grand master of the
underwater film, in which Powell contends that observation of living animals
cannot be completely replaced by films. Aquaria have a special role in public
education, he says. Instead of giving visitors a video display of an archer fish
shooting down an insect from a leaf above the water, for example, he trained the
fish to do on cue, allowing visitors to watch this unique behaviour live. He
makes the point that Cousteau鈥檚 Aquarium without Fish, an exhibit depending
completely on multimedia techniques, attracted so few visitors that it lasted
only two years.
An interesting side aspect of the book deals with management. Powell鈥檚 early
work for the California Department of Fish and Game gave him experience of
bureaucracy from the inside. Over the years he was often confronted with
unimaginative administrations that lacked imagination. Many of his widely
recognised successes were achieved without support from management, and
sometimes behind their backs.
Powell was fortunate enough to work on four large public aquaria,
participating both in rebuilding work and in innovative, exciting start-ups. He
honed his ability to detect the point at which managements became cautious and
unwilling to take the risks that come with innovation. When enthusiasm and
creativity were replaced by the 鈥減lay it safe鈥� approach, Powell usually changed
jobs. Faced with the task of assembling a team to build the Monterey Bay
Aquarium display and populate it with thousands of animals, the team Powell drew
together from around the globe built what many in the profession see as the
world鈥檚 leading aquarium.
This book makes excellent reading for anybody interested in fish and people.
To me, the usefulness of publications on marine topics can also be judged partly
by whether they provide new information for FishBase, the online database I am
involved with. Powell鈥檚 A Fascination for Fish passed the test by
providing new knowledge about Mola mola, the famous ocean
sunfish鈥攊ts lower temperature limit (12 掳C), growth data (374
kilograms in 15 months) and predator information (California sea lions).