Animal Cruelty

Sharks and stingrays will be possibly “sourced” (i.e. forcibly captured and removed) from the waters of the South Pacific, where they may be endangered. This capture will decimate wild shark populations and potentially contribute to the illegal wildlife trade. Ironically, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has a staunch anti-wildlife trafficking initiative, of which the SEA aquarium is a member. Due to many factors, the global legal and illegal shark trades are heavily intertwined; in many cases, tracking the sharks’ origins in order to make sure that they were captured or bred legally is nearly impossible.

Many sharks and stingrays either captured or bred in captivity die young because their lives are so profoundly altered from what would have been their natural habitat. For example, the bowmouth guitarfish gathers enough speed in between the ocean floor and the water’s surface that they can jump up into the air at astounding heights, likely to rid themselves of bacteria. These natural behaviors that require lots of swimming room are not possible to partake in when inside of a manufactured environment.

Climate Change

At 325,000 gallons of water, this shark tank will use huge amounts of energy in its filtration process. The shark tank is a tropical shark tank, not one that could resemble anything like what you would find here in the Puget Sound. This tropical tank will require lots of energy to heat up to an appropriate level. Water must continuously be pumped in from Elliot Bay to be heated and filtered, used, and then be re-cooled and filtered and pumped back out into the Sound. The process of heating and cooling water on a constant basis will contribute towards higher emissions.

Seattleites consider climate change a top priority; we should be spending money on projects countering its negative effects, especially for our black and brown community members. In light of this Council vote, taxpayers are left with the impression that our City Council thinks it’s okay to fund projects that significantly harm the climate, as long as its business partners and board member associates benefit from it. City Council has flagrantly tossed aside Seattle’s Climate Action plan and Green New Deal for the benefit of a few.