Guest Post: Night at the Aquarium - Oceana USA
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July 28, 2009

Guest Post: Night at the Aquarium

DC Wavemaker Jon Blashford attended last Friday’s event at the aquarium, and he kindly wrote up a review of it for us. A big fan of Discovery Channel’s upcoming Shark Week (starting Aug 2), he said he’s been interested in shark finning since he traveled to Asia and saw shark fin soup on a restaurant menu. Thanks for writing, Jon!

On Friday, July 24, The National Aquarium and Oceana hosted “An Evening for Shark Conservation.” Held at the National Aquarium in Washington DC, the evening featured the aquarium’s new and improved aquatic displays of everything from alligators and salamanders to gars and sharks.In addition to the fine displays of marine life, the fine wines, and fine company, the evening’s true purpose was to bring awareness to the perilously low population levels many shark species find themselves because of overfishing and shark finning. The final feature of the evening was a demonstration by the acclaimed cartoonist and shark conservationist, Jim Toomey. Toomey’s comic strip “Sherman’s Lagoon” follows the life of a plump, lazy and not-so-bright shark named Sherman and his underwater friends. He has used his internationally syndicated strip to spread awareness of shark conservation. Toomey displayed a series of strips where Sherman has his fins removed and then is able to buy them back on the internet. He gave a short, funny demonstration describing the making of his strip.On the way out of the aquarium, we were given the opportunity to sign a petition featuring Sherman supporting the Shark Conservation Act. Keep your eyes peeled for this legislation over the next few weeks.What a great way to get ready for Shark Week!