Summer is for the sharks! On July 14, the Oregon Coast Aquarium and other AZA facilities celebrate Shark and Ray Awareness Day (SRAD), an event created to highlight these jawsome animals.
SRAD activities are included with general admission–throughout the day, visitors can head to the Aquarium’s Gleason Event Room for hands-on fun and premium views of broadnose sevengills, leopard sharks, spiny dogfish, California bat rays, and more—the smallest the size of a dinner plate, the largest over 200 pounds and 8 feet long! Stop by the entrance of Passages of the Deep between 10:00am and 2:00pm to chat with tabling guests from the Hatfield Marine Science Center, and make way for the Pelican Stage for a 12:30pm shark dissection.
Why raise awareness? Sharks have a bad rap, fueled by long-held myths and misinformation. While some movies (we won’t say names) depict them as voracious man-hunters, sharks usually eat fish, marine mammals, crustaceans, and even plankton! Most human-shark interactions are a case of mistaken identity. Sharks lack hands, and instead rely on ‘test bites’ to learn more about objects or other animals; this is why there are more bites than fatalities.
Despite the negative PR, these animals play a critical role in coastal communities. Below the surface, they eat the sick and slow, controlling disease and shaping healthier genes in prey populations. Above water, these animals drive eco-tourism, with photographers, divers, and pelagic pundits seeking opportunities for close encounters.
An array of elasmobranchs can be seen in the Aquarium’s Passages of the Deep. In giving guests the chance to see eye-to-eye with mysterious and misunderstood species, the Aquarium aims to raise awareness and inspire ocean conservation. Read on for fin facts starring the best of the benthic!
