I hear the 2 new whale sharks
- Thread starter washowi
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How many can fit into that tank? Watch out for the ReefCentral Tang Police! LOL 
It was built for 6, and this will be 5 (and probably no more - Taiwan placed a ban this year (good news - they won't be eaten anymore). Now they have to breed them.
You can watch the exhibit for a long time and not see them - it is a lot less crowded than people think.
You can watch the exhibit for a long time and not see them - it is a lot less crowded than people think.
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Perhaps someone who has in there can answer this- they dont have a holding or quarantine- they just dump them in, right?
it takes about 2 hours to acclimate them. there is a small holding pool at the back of the ocean voyager, but i believe the whale sharks are too big for that and with the help of a crane put them directly into ocean voyager (the back shallow part by the ballroom)
FYI:
As part of its continuing efforts to promote aquatic wildlife conservation, the Georgia Aquarium welcomed two new whale sharks to the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager exhibit today. The whale sharks, both males, were given the Taiwanese names Yushan (pronounced U-Seeyan) and Taroko, to honor their country of origin. Yushan means ‘the jade mountain’ and is the name of a national park in Taiwan. Taroko means ‘the magnificent and splendid’ and is the landmark gorge of the Taroko National Park.
“While the Georgia Aquarium has become one of Atlanta’s most popular travel destinations, with more than five million visitors over the last 18 months, conservation remains one of our main goals,†said Jeff Swanagan, president and executive director, the Georgia Aquarium. “We are thrilled to expand the Aquarium’s commitment to research and education by bringing Yushan and Taroko to our facility and we hope to continue making a positive difference in the health and well-being of aquatic life from around the world.â€
Yushan, 13 feet 7 inches long, and Taroko, 15 feet and 4 inches long, were flown more than 8,000 miles on a specially configured 747 freighter aircraft from Taipei, Taiwan, through Anchorage, Alaska, to Atlanta. Both whale sharks were under the care and supervision of Georgia Aquarium professional staff and maintained through a highly advanced marine life support system. Yushan and Taroko are the latest in the Georgia Aquarium’s 4R Program (Rehabilitation, Relocation, Rescue and Research), a strategy designed to make a positive difference in the health and well-being of aquatic life from around the world.
“The Georgia Aquarium is advancing scientific understanding of the whale shark species by combining field research with in-house study through our 4R Program,†Swanagan added. “We will release results later this summer from research conducted in Mexico and Taiwan which we hope will help the world gain a better understanding of the migration patterns, feeding habits and current population of whale sharks in their native habitats.â€
The Georgia Aquarium is the first facility of its kind outside of Asia to house whale sharks. The Aquarium partnered with Taiwan to bring all the whale sharks – Yushan, Taroko, Norton, Alice and Trixie – to the facility’s Ocean Voyager exhibit, a habitat specially designed to house up to six full grown whale sharks. Georgia Aquarium and the government of Taiwan, including the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta, partnered on this project to take steps toward long-term management of the worldwide whale shark population. Taiwan reduced their whale shark fishing quota from 60 in 2006 to 30 in 2007 to zero in 2008 and beyond, showing the country’s commitment to fishery conservation. The Georgia Aquarium hopes such positive practices will encourage other countries to adopt sustainable seafood practices and educate the public on the subject of aquatic conservation.
As part of its continuing efforts to promote aquatic wildlife conservation, the Georgia Aquarium welcomed two new whale sharks to the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager exhibit today. The whale sharks, both males, were given the Taiwanese names Yushan (pronounced U-Seeyan) and Taroko, to honor their country of origin. Yushan means ‘the jade mountain’ and is the name of a national park in Taiwan. Taroko means ‘the magnificent and splendid’ and is the landmark gorge of the Taroko National Park.
“While the Georgia Aquarium has become one of Atlanta’s most popular travel destinations, with more than five million visitors over the last 18 months, conservation remains one of our main goals,†said Jeff Swanagan, president and executive director, the Georgia Aquarium. “We are thrilled to expand the Aquarium’s commitment to research and education by bringing Yushan and Taroko to our facility and we hope to continue making a positive difference in the health and well-being of aquatic life from around the world.â€
Yushan, 13 feet 7 inches long, and Taroko, 15 feet and 4 inches long, were flown more than 8,000 miles on a specially configured 747 freighter aircraft from Taipei, Taiwan, through Anchorage, Alaska, to Atlanta. Both whale sharks were under the care and supervision of Georgia Aquarium professional staff and maintained through a highly advanced marine life support system. Yushan and Taroko are the latest in the Georgia Aquarium’s 4R Program (Rehabilitation, Relocation, Rescue and Research), a strategy designed to make a positive difference in the health and well-being of aquatic life from around the world.
“The Georgia Aquarium is advancing scientific understanding of the whale shark species by combining field research with in-house study through our 4R Program,†Swanagan added. “We will release results later this summer from research conducted in Mexico and Taiwan which we hope will help the world gain a better understanding of the migration patterns, feeding habits and current population of whale sharks in their native habitats.â€
The Georgia Aquarium is the first facility of its kind outside of Asia to house whale sharks. The Aquarium partnered with Taiwan to bring all the whale sharks – Yushan, Taroko, Norton, Alice and Trixie – to the facility’s Ocean Voyager exhibit, a habitat specially designed to house up to six full grown whale sharks. Georgia Aquarium and the government of Taiwan, including the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta, partnered on this project to take steps toward long-term management of the worldwide whale shark population. Taiwan reduced their whale shark fishing quota from 60 in 2006 to 30 in 2007 to zero in 2008 and beyond, showing the country’s commitment to fishery conservation. The Georgia Aquarium hopes such positive practices will encourage other countries to adopt sustainable seafood practices and educate the public on the subject of aquatic conservation.
