Today was another special day at the Aquarium since I would get to dive in one of the most well known exhibits, the Giant Ocean Tank (GOT)! Before we got to that however, there was work to be done and things to see. I started off by observing and helping with the food prep for the GOT, This was similar to other departments food preps, however we got to make a few unique things such as squid tacos! While they didn’t really look like tacos, it was a fun way to pack squid full of fish and make the meal more nutritious for the animals! Once the food prep was done, myself and another intern at the aquarium were given an amazing tour of the exhibits life support systems, including how the GOT’s chemistry and cleanliness are maintained. It was super impressive to see such a massive life support system in action, and it was eye opening to see how much effort goes into maintaining such large scale plumbing!
After an amazing tour, I was given the amazing opportunity to help feed Myrtle. Myrtle is a green sea turtle who has been living in the GOT for over 50 years! Everyday she eats over 6lbs of food to maintain her weight of around 550lbs. Feeding her was super fun as she came right up and loved to interact with people; we made sure she ate her share of veggies along with fish and squid for protein. Myrtle ate up her food for the day, and then it was time to get ready for our dive!
My dive for there day would be led by Ashley, the aquarium’s dive safety officer! We put together the gear, using the aquariums gear to keep everything sanitary, and then I prepped my camera since I would get another unique experience to practice photography. It was super interesting to see how most of the aquariums divers set up their gear while, especially their methods of proper weighting so that they do not need to dive with a wing for any additional buoyancy control! Ashley, Dan and I all got suited up and then headed to the tank, we got in nice and slow as to not startle any of the animals, and then we began our dive! Ashley and I was for a nice tour around the exhibit, highlighting some key features and areas to be aware of, and then I got some time to explore! It was crazy being able to swim so close to such massive sea turtles, and it was just as fun to interact with people outside of the exhibit. Thanks to Dan, I was lucky enough to get some photos of myself as well! We swam around for a bit longer, gave Myrtle some scratches and love, and then exited the exhibit. Once we were out, we cleaned up our gear with fresh water, put it all away, and then we were done for the day!
Diving in the GOT, and being able to observe all of the facets of its care was another once in a lifetime experience, and I’d like to thank all of the members of the GOT team, as well as Ashley for making it an amazing day!
Another huge thank you as well to Backscatter Photo and Video for providing an amazing setup that allows me to document an amazing dive.