Wabc. (2019, February 08). NY Aquarium welcomes endangered fish to educate public.

Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://abc7ny.com/society/ny-aquarium-welcomes-endangered-fish-to-educate-public-/5126574/

 

The New York Aquarium in Coney Island recently added several endangered sturgeons to its exhibits. The Atlantic Sturgeon is important in the history of New York, and once has at the core of the sizeable businesses of selling its meat and caviar. Adding the fish is supposed to increase public awareness about the fish and its endangerment, as well as encourage positive sentiments towards conservation efforts. A catch-and-release program led by Oxford University is where the fish were originally from, so no fish were taken from the wild. Educating the public about marine life and the importance of species protection is the aquarium’s priority for this exhibit.

 

I think that what the aquarium is doing is great for the public, great for the sturgeon, and great for the environment. This exemplifies a creative method of increasing public awareness and support for conservation efforts. Gaining support for different environmental projects is just as important as contributing directly to the causes. If you lead others to support causes, you can have an impact much greater than yourself. This particular addition to the aquarium did involve taking organisms from their natural habitats, and therefore only had a positive impact on the population. Endangered species can only be protected if the public as a whole is behind their protection, and is willing to be active in that protection.