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The new
popular attraction in
Manila,
the Manila Ocean Park (MOP), has been attracting huge
numbers of viewers who never mind queuing for a couple of
hours just to see the Oceanarium’s array of marine life.
But do you
know that a lot of science is used in setting up and
maintaining the 8,000-square-meter MOP—especially in
selecting and taking care of its 10,000 inhabitants from
300 marine species?
What’s
more, its use of the “dirty”
Manila
Bay
water speaks a lot of the positive possibilities, and
there is much hope ahead for this body of water.
Acquisition of species
With its
size, the Oceanarium—defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary
as a large marine aquarium—is the largest in
Asia, beating
Singapore’s Sentosa of 6,000 sq m.
A MANILA Ocean Park employee
puts the sea cucumber back in the open pond of starfishes.
-- ARVIN
GUTIERREZ
Leanna
Manubag, MOP marine biologist, told PSciJourn News Service
that about 80 percent of the Oceanarium’s marine
inhabitants are endemic, or existing only in the
Philippines.
The imported ones are mostly freshwater species.
During the
conceptualization and preparation of the project, MOP
submitted to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
a list of the species that it intends to display, and
their possible sources. Most of the fishes were acquired
from the local fishermen in
Palawan and nearby provinces like
Cavite.
“We [were
conscious of] social responsibility in the place where the
species were bought. Discussions with the fishermen were
done to enhance their methods of fishing, and they were
taught ways to keep the fishes alive without any damage
after catching. The fishermen were informed from the start
of the specific size and quantity of the fishes the
Oceanarium needs,” she said.
Interconnected bodies of water
The
Oceanarium has a total of 60 display tanks divided into
six zones or journeys: eight tanks for Agos (Flow); 45 for
Bahura (Reef); four for Laot (Fishing Ground); one for
Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean); a 25-meter, main
attraction underwater tunnel; one for Kalaliman (The
Deep); and one overhang tank that displays a variety of
rays, or pagi.
“This is
the typical setting of a marine habitat,” said Manubag.
She added
that MOP would like to inculcate to its visitors the
importance of all ecosystems, that every body of water is
interconnected. And the damage of one of its components
will affect the whole.
Use of
Manila
Bay water
Some 2,000
cubic meters of water is needed in the Oceanarium. It is
interesting to note that it uses
Manila Bay
water for its large aquariums.
With all
the pollution surrounding the bay—from the port, drainage,
sewerage and other pollutants in and on the bay water—who
could have thought among common residents that it can be
used to sustain life for the Oceanarium’s marine
inhabitants?
The
cleaning or purification of the water is machine-reliant.
Manubag explained that a lot of things have to be
considered before the water is pumped in and even more
steps have to be done before the water is used for the
aquariums.
A team of
marine specialists analyzes the water first to make sure
that it is of good quality, with the pH or the degree of
acidity and the salinity of the water are closely
monitored.
When
approved, the water is pumped into a Pressure Sand Filter
(PSF) to separate and remove solid and big particles
present before undergoing a series of filtration.
The water
is then stocked in a reservoir and bombarded with a high
dose of ozone to kill any existing bacteria. Then, the
water goes to the header tank for main biological
filtration, where nitrifying bacteria resides, before
distributed to all tanks. Each tank has a protein skimmer
that helps in the elimination of bits of foods, fats and
other particles. This series of processes is known as the
Life Support System that consumes the bulk of the
project’s budget.
Maintenance
Each
display tank is being maintained every day by the
Curatorial Department of the MOP that is composed of
aquarists and marine biologists. The department takes
charge of the cleaning, feeding, maintaining the light and
water quality, and all internal setups.
“One -ine
[series] of tanks doesn’t mean that they are using only
one filtration equipment. Every tank has its own
[filtration system],” Tina Santos, MOP marketing manager,
pointed out.
Animal
needs studied
Before the
marine species are gathered, their special needs or
conditions have been studied thoroughly. For some special
animals, chillers were installed to their tanks to
regulate and maintain water temperatures.
Examples
are the nautilus, which has to be kept in a 19°C
environment and the giant spider crabs in an even colder
place at 14°C.
Wave of
hope
Santos
said the aquariums of the Oceanarium are not just merely
for display or entertainment. Instead, it is for
“edu-tainment” (education and entertainment).
MOP aims
to educate and spread awareness on the conservation and
preservation of Philippine marine life. Interactive
displays (touch-screen) are installed within the area to
maximize the learning experience of the visitors.
The use of
Manila Bay water to sustain life for the marine species is
just one way of telling the public that there’s still hope
to make it clean,
Santos said. By setting this example, in the long run, MOP
envisions to inspire people to clean up and to have
cleaner bodies of water in the country.
“Manila
Bay is not really dead. There are lots of fish, and I mean
schools of fish, still living here. That is one notion
that we want to inform the people—that there’s still hope.
We just have to do our part in taking care of Mother
Nature,” Santos said. (PSciJourn News Service) | 
