A visit to the Monaco Aquarium

OB

Colossal Squid
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So, as I was celebrating the umpteenth anniversary of my cooking club in an undisclosed location between Cannes and Grasse, we deemed it logical to spend a leisurely afternoon in Monaco, but obviously not without a visit to its aquarium. Yes, there were cephs at hand!

Albeit not too many...

And some of them not at all in shape :sad:

I think keeping Nautilus should probably be banned, bar research purposes? Look at this sad excuse for a shelled ceph, floating at the surface, its buoyancy obviously not in shape at all, shell all blackened. Very low light, and I didn't want to startle, so no flash and thus motion blur.

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There were also some Sepia officinalis, quite happy after enjoying their latest supper, here's one.

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So, as could be expected, O. vulgaris was there, appearing at ease in its tank, but where were the toys??!!

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Mixed feelings about the whole deal, glad to have seen how things can be a lot better at i.e. the Steinhart or the NEAQ. One thing worth looking up for at the associated museum was the suspended model of Architeuthis dux, sans tentacules, flanked by a model GPO.

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As always, one exits the museum/aquarium via the shop, time for hamming action by my friend Peter :smile:

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Outside, another fairly large octo showed itself in the failing light of late afternoon.... Epic proportions, can you say "monsterquest"? :wink:

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Had a nice afternoon, but can't help feeling a bit awkward about conditions in the tanks versus average Monegascan yearly income.

Still, can't pass up a good aquarium, when I see one!
 
I remember it as a nice aquarium, but it's been so many years since I've been there (25 years, I think) that I can't remember what they had. That's a pretty sad looking nautilus.
 
Not quite, Lance, it's a small city state on the mediterranean coast, cradled by the alpes maritimes, bordering on Italy and France on either side. It's also a tax evader's paradise, but that was, alas, not the reason of my visit :wink:
 
Nice pics, I wish I didn't despise aquariums so much. Beautiful sculpture, though.
 
Jean;131511 said:

Nothing personal, Jean. It is just that after working in the trade for so many years, I have a real issue with most of them.

I agree, the public needs to see animals in captivity in order to relate to them, but most of the organizations that exist out here are purely corrupt, and don't have keepers of your quality. My mistake for making such a sweeping statement, but the last experience with the local aquarium made me want to gag.
 
cthulhu77;131517 said:
Nothing personal, Jean. It is just that after working in the trade for so many years, I have a real issue with most of them.

I agree, the public needs to see animals in captivity in order to relate to them, but most of the organizations that exist out here are purely corrupt, and don't have keepers of your quality. My mistake for making such a sweeping statement, but the last experience with the local aquarium made me want to gag.

That's OK I didn't really take offense :biggrin2: We jump through hoops for our ethics committee but I do understand that other facilities are not so well controlled!

J
 
Monaco :Monaco - Wikipedia

Monaco is not a a part of France but is not fully independent ( it's a little bit special)

This museum and aquarium are parts of the Albert the First fondation : Albert I, Prince of Monaco - Wikipedia


He was only 22 years old when he began to develop an interest in the then relatively new science of oceanography. After several years of study, Albert showed his ingenuity by devising a number of techniques and instruments used for measurement and exploration. Accompanied by some of the world's leading marine scientists, he recorded numerous oceanographic studies, maps and charts. He then founded what would become the world renowned "Oceanographic Institute" in Monaco that included an aquarium, a museum, and a library plus research facilities in Paris. He also discovered the Princess Alice Bank of the Azores in 1896 on an oceanographic survey of the area.

This museum and aquarium is very interesting. The aquarium is not the biggest near the French Coast, but the museum is very attractive, it contains samples found with oceanographic survey of the Azores ( and not only of this times). This include partial or full deep sea ceph samples.

The fondation lead the Paris oceanographic institute ( library and research facilities). There are public meeting about oceanographic themes at this institute. The next one will talk about life in abyss ( November 18 ).
 
With all the new trickery, I am with Monty, don't hesitate just remove and ban. If we make a mistake and there was actually an interest, they can complain to the captain.
 

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