National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence Sylvia Earle has spent so much time in the ocean that she’s often called “The Sturgeon General” or simply, “Her Deepness.”
And the ocean — not aquariums — is where orcas and dolphins belong, Earle said on Wednesday after an Earth Day talk to schoolchildren at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center.
“The only excuse for having a marine mammal in captivity today is when they are being brought back to health if they’ve been injured… to restore them and put them back in the ocean. When not possible, they might serve as ambassadors. But to take a healthy animal out of the ocean today is irresponsible and should not be condoned at all, period,” said the Gloucester County native.
Since a SeaWorld trainer was killed by an orca (also known as a killer whale) in 2010, the documentary Blackfish and books like Death at SeaWorld and Beneath the Surface have increased pressured on the company to end its orca program, much as Ringling Brothers is phasing out its elephant acts.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said the company has not collected whales and dolphins from the wild for many years.
“As far as Dr. Earle’s comments, SeaWorld inspires millions of people to learn more about marine life and educate them about conservation. In fact, many people who visited SeaWorld as children have been inspired to become marine biologists or veterinarians,” Jacobs said via email.
See Sylvia Earle tonight, April 22, 2015
8 o’clock, Mayo Performing Arts Center
Admission: Free. Call 973-539-8008
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Earle, who has set records for deep dives by a woman, sees it otherwise.
“The best aquarium is the ocean, no question about it. I’ve seen the evolution of aquariums from pretty sad places that had little respect for the animals to great educational centers, like the New England aquarium, and the one in Camden.
“But I think that marine mammals are best observed in the ocean. Now we know what we could not know, did not know, when marine mammals were first brought into captivity. Now it’s very clear, the trauma” that captivity causes these animals, she said.
During her hour-long talk to nearly 1,000 students, Earle, 79, said the number one question she hears from kids concerns sharks: Namely, has she been bitten by one?
“Really, we’re not on their menu!” she assured the audience, adding later: “I’ve bitten many more fish than have bitten me.”
(Repentant, she no longer eats seafood.)
Many more people are killed every year by defective toasters than by sharks, said Earle. In fact, she said, shark populations have been decimated by humans — a trend that threatens the fragile ocean ecosystem upon which we all depend.
Earle challenged students to get wet behind the ears — “no child left dry!” she quipped — and delve beyond misconceptions to learn how the world works, and reverse the damage people are inflicting on the planet. Today’s youngsters are uniquely poised to do so, she said.
“Ten-year-olds are armed with access to knowledge that Aristotle didn’t have, that Copernicus didn’t have, that Einstein didn’t have,” said Earle, founder of three deep-sea exploration companies. “If you make the right choices, there’s a way to go where you want to go.”
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The message resonated with Matthew Werner and Francesca Forgione, 6th graders from Morristown’s Assumption School.
“I never knew how much we should take care of the ocean. I want to go to the Jersey Shore and clean up the ocean,” Werner said.
“I think she’s an amazing person and really brave as well,” said Forgione. Would she like to explore the ocean depths? “Definitely!”
Seventh graders from the Delbarton School in Morris Township attended the presentation because student Liam Corcoran discovered a TED talk by Earle online. Corcoran said he was impressed on Wednesday by the way the ocean has inspired the oceanographer.
One part in particular is likely to stay with him: Earle’s observation that every species is unique, and they all should not be lumped together simply as “fish” on a menu.
Next time Corcoran visits a restaurant, he said, “It’s going to make me thing what kind of fish is this. It’s not an anonymous thing.”
Will you be coming to speak in Florida anytime
@tricia The IWC has already denied Japan’s revised effort to continue whaling for “scientific research” which said with true sarcasm, furthermore most of us who fight daily for animal rights also fight for social change the concepts are not mutually exclusive ! The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way that its animals are treated. M.Gandhi
I have several concerns about this idea. If we put all the marine mammals back into the ocean, and don’t get me wrong, what are we going to do about the whaling industry, the killing of these beautiful creatures? If we put them back into the ocean after so long, will they still retain their ability to fend for themselves? If we put them back, will we have the means of replacing the species when all have been killed or captured out there on the vast ocean? My other concerns are related to our treatment of the human species. Why are we so materialistic, when we should by rights be focusing on our humanistic behaviour. We fail to treat humanity the way they should be, while trying to save the animals. Lets do both. Lets treat humans better than we have done, giving our love and attention to humanistic and spiritual concerns with equal attention. We cannot do one, without doing the other. We live in one world, and we need to act like we are one people. Before its too late. Thankyou