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The SDWI is organized as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to bringing a world-class public aquarium to Tucson promoting education, conservation and preservation of Arizona's rivers and the Gulf of California for future generations. Sonoran Desert Waters Institute, Bringing the sea to the desert! El Acuario del Mar de Sonora (Sonoran Sea Aquarium)™ está organizado como una corporación sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3), dedicado a traer a Tucson un acuario público de primera clase para promover la educación, la conservación y la preservación de los ríos de Arizona y el Golfo de California para el disfrute de generaciones futuras. El Acuario del Mar de Sonora. ¡Trayendo el mar al desierto!
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Greetings from the Director of Education So much happened over the last year that it was hard to stop the train and create a newsletter to keep everyone up to date. Anyone interested in helping with future issues please let me know! Perhaps the biggest and most obvious thing has been our name change! On April 10, 2008 the Board of Directors of the Sonoran Sea Aquarium (SSA) voted to start "doing business as" the Sonoran Desert Waters Institute (SDWI). This step was taken to refocus the community on the successes of our education and outreach programs, make grant writing less cumbersome and allow future collaborations to be more straightforward. It remains the long term goal of the now Sonoran Desert Waters Institute to develop a facility in the Tucson area that will serve to enhance education, conservation and research efforts involving "Arizona's Rivers to Mexico's Gulf of California." Here are some other highlights since last April:
I’d like to thank our teaching and volunteer staff for the tremendous work they’ve done this past year. Long time Education Coordinator and volunteer extraordinaire Cathy Franklin has taken a well-deserved break and now works as a contract teacher for us. She joins Annette Felix and Svea Anderson on the teaching staff. Finally, fair winds and following seas to primo volunteers Cheryl Bonnes and Missy Smith. Cheryl took a position with NOAA in St Petersburg, Florida as the Marine Mammal Outreach Coordinator and Missy returned to Iowa to continue her work with an Osprey rehabilitation/relocation project.
TWO DAYS OF INTENSE TRAINING: Cathy Franklin and Annette Felix represented SDWI at the yearly SWMEA Conference held at Birch Aquarium on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD) campus, April 11 and 12, 2008. SWMEA, the Southwest Marine/Aquatic Education Association, is a regional chapter of NMEA – the National Marine Educators Association, whose mission is “to make known the world of water, both fresh and salt.” SWMEA includes educators from California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Formal and informal educators are offered a way to share ideas, current scientific information and activities related to all aspects of the marine and aquatic ecosystems through SWMEA.
This was a wonderful conference with only about 35-40 people in
attendance. The information shared by researchers, grad students, and
aquarium staffers was excellent and all in a very useable format. There
will be a website shortly to share the Powerpoint presentations, website
suggestions for additional information on the topics, and contact
information about the presenters for further questions. It is important to
continue being a member of this organization and attending their yearly
conferences. And, when the Sonoran Desert Waters Institute’s preview
exhibit opens, we should consider hosting the conference here in Tucson!
DONATIONS ONLINE. It is now possible for us to accept donations via credit or debit card online. We’ve established a PayPal account. Simply open the website at www.tucsonaquaium.com and click Donations/Memberships. WISHLIST
Fish Humor
Courtesy of Gene Collins of Genes Barbershop Wrightstown and Pantano. I know, I need to find another barber! Terms of Venery: In linguistics, a collective noun is a word used to define a group of objects, where "objects" can be people, animals, inanimate things, concepts, or other things. For example, in the phrase "a pride of lions," pride is a collective noun. Originally it was a shoal of fish, but over time this morphed into a “school”. There is debate on a Pod of Whales. You will often see a Gam of Whales, with Pod being reserved for a group of seals. How about a shiver of sharks? If you know anymore please forward. Featured Seafood
Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide
Abalone farming is a highly regulated, well-managed industry. Summary Depletion of wild populations has encouraged the farming of abalone in many countries to meet the demand for this luxury seafood. In California, the commercial abalone fishery was closed in 1997, but sport fishing is still allowed north of San Francisco. Although wild abalone populations remain in a state of recovery, abalone farming sustains continuing public consumption of this ocean delicacy. Farm-raised abalone are harvested when their shells are no more than four inches long, so any abalone bigger than that was probably "poached," or sold illegally by a sport diver.
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