Monterey
Bay Aquarium
MONTEREY: A POEM, A DREAM
by
Bruce Burnett
Cannery
Row in Monterey in California
is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality
of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.
Fortunately
John Steinbeck lived long enough (he died in 1968) to witness the disappearance
of the stink and grating noise and to see the quality of light, poem
and dream remain. However as Steinbeck himself pointed out in his later
best seller, Travels with Charley, if Doc and Mack and the boys
returned to Monterey today, they couldn't afford to live there.
Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row - the opening lines of which are
quoted above - was first published in 1945. Coincidentally this was
the year of the record sardine catch of 235,000 tons. Only seven years
later in 1952 the sardine catch had dwindled to nothing - primarily
because of over fishing - and the stink and grating noise of the canneries
began to fade.
The largest and most tenacious cannery, the Hovden Cannery, which had
anchored the industry in Monterey since 1914, finally closed its doors
in 1972.
Six years later biologists at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine station
next door proposed that the old Hovden Cannery be utilized as a giant
aquarium devoted solely to the rich marine life of Monterey Bay.
Their dream opened its doors in October, 1984 and bills itself as the
world's largest aquarium, with 83 habitat tanks containing more than
6,500 specimens representing over 525 species of fish, mammals, birds,
invertebrates and plants found in Monterey Bay.
The most popular exhibits are the two-story Sea Otter Exhibit, the towering
Kelp Forest Exhibit and the 27 meter (90 feet) Monterey Bay Habitats
Exhibit. This one and a half million liter (336,000 gallons) tank is
hour-glassed shaped to facilitate continuous swimming for the sharks.
The reason Monterey Bay is one of the richest and most varied environments
along the Pacific Coast is the presence of Monterey Canyon. This is
a 112 kilometer (70 miles) long trench off the coast that plunges to
a depth of more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).
From late April through to August northwesterly winds create an upwelling
that draws cold, nutrient rich waters from the canyon depths to the
surface. The giant kelp is now growing at a rate of more than 25 centimeters
(10 inches) a day. The result is a feeding chain culminating in the
marine birds and animals that delight the visitor. The beautiful and
graceful brown pelican will fill you with awe as it skims the ocean,
its undulations in perfect symmetry with the waves. Elephant seals,
Steller and California sea lions and harbor porpoises abound. Point
Pinos in Pacific Grove, immediately adjacent to Monterey, is an ideal
place to spot migrating gray whales in the spring and fall. But the
most endearing creature of all can be seen right off the shore in Monterey.
This is the sea otter. Only now returning from the brink of extinction,
this intelligent and playful animal will convert a hardened cynic into
an environmentalist.
A superb way to get close to the animals and see Monterey Bay is to
go sea-kayaking. Guided tours are available at reasonable cost and 15
minutes' instruction will turn a novice into an expert kayaker.
But there's more to the Monterey Peninsula than the bay and aquarium.
For Steinbeck aficionados his ghost is everywhere. Dora Flood's bordello
in Cannery Row is now the Cannery Row Antique Warehouse. "Doc"
Ricketts' lab at 800 Cannery Row is now a private club. Lee Chong's
Heavenly Flower Grocery at 835 Cannery Row is now The Old General Store.
Steinbeck fans should drive the few kilometers inland to the author's
birthplace in Salinas. The Steinbeck family home is now a restaurant
serving superb lunches and teas at ridiculously low prices. It's run
by volunteers and profits go to maintaining the house, which has been
renovated with authentic Victorian furnishings.
MONTEREY:
A POEM, A DREAM
was first published in United Express magazine
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