Fish Biology Fieldtrip

Big Sur and Monterey Bay, CA (Oct 2007)- I am a TA (teaching assistant) for the fish biology course here at UCSB. Part of my responsibility as a TA is to double as a teacher and chaperon on the many fieldtrips, both mandatory and not, that we take the kiddies on throughout the quarter. So far, we've been on a trawling trip in Santa Barbara Point (I'm still trying to get the photos from a friend) and this was our second trip of four. We drove up the Big Sur coast, stopped to check out the elephant seals along the way, and camped out at the UC Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve where we went tidepooling in the pouring rain, to collect and ID fish. It was heaps of fun. On Sunday, we drove up the coast to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to get a behind-the-scenes tour and also to see their new juvenile great white shark in captivity. MBA are the first ones to successfully capture and maintain a great white shark. Guess where they got it from- right near where I live!!!