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INTERVIEW

"Our goal is for the Aquarium to generate excitement from the public"

Amalia Martínez de Murguía, environmental biologist and lover of marine life, saw her dream come true in 1993 when she came to work at the Aquarium. Since that time the San Sebastián native has been at the helm of the Biology Department, in charge of making sure that all of the animals at the Aquarium enjoy the best possible living conditions.

Her most recent challenge has been a jellyfish reproduction project and the jellyfish exhibit put together by the eight-person team she heads.

Since you've been here the Aquarium has been expanded and modernized, hasn't it?
Yes, some major changes have been made. To begin with, when I came only the original building existed, so all of our tanks were there, on the lower floor. Now, in addition to having a greater number and variety of tanks, we also have the oceanarium. All of this opens up a lot of possibilities for exhibitions.

The systems you work with have also changed I imagine.
Oh, yes. The differences are huge. Over the years we've gone from working with absolutely rudimentary to the finest state-of-the-art systems Plus, I was the only biologist back than and now we've got a team of eight people.

What are the main functions of the Aquarium's Department of Biology?
Our primary mission is to tend to all of the flora and fauna in the various tanks. In other words, keep our collection of invertebrates and other species alive and well. We make sure the conditions are optimum and work on constantly improving our exhibits.

Feeding and hygiene are at the centre of our work

But I understand there's a lot of laboratory work too.
Yes, because we're also involved in marine life research, mainly two areas. The first is trying to reproduce species at the Aquarium in an effort to make ourselves self-sufficient. Our ultimate goal is to put on display only animals that are actually born here. That way we wouldn't have to take them out of their natural environment.

Give us an example of an endangered species.
The seahorse. Their populations have diminished spectacularly in recent years. Plus, seahorses are very unusual creatures that tend to attract people's attention.

What about your other area of work?
The other focus is learning about species we don't know very much about. There are a number of projects going on now. One example is the pelagic fish study, aimed at providing fisheries with as much up-to-date information as possible. For this purpose, we've done a lot of work on pelagic species such as anchovies and sardines.

What's a typical day like at the Department of Biology?
The first thing we do is examine the different species and facilities to make sure everything is in order and, if not, we correct any abnormalities. If there's anything wrong with any of the animals, they're brought up to the quarantine tank area for treatment. Basically, we make sure everything is in proper working order and that the animals are correctly fed. One of our team members is in charge of feeding and nutrition.

Feeding the animals must be a key part of your work.
It is. It's a major concern for us. We've been awarded the ISO 9001 quality certificate, which means that all of the food that goes into every single tank is recorded and monitored to make sure that all of the animals correctly fed. All aspects have been carefully studied based on the biology of each species. In addition, every tank is equipped with filters to prevent any sort of infection.

At first sight, this seems particularly complicated in the Oceanarium, where so many different kinds of animals coexist.
Not really. The experts know what types of animals can live together. They don't eat each other because the entire habitat is very carefully controlled. Two skin divers make sure each type of species is properly fed every day. They can tell whether an animal is not eating as it should.

One of the things that draws people to the Oceanarium is watching the tank specialists go about their work underwater. What exactly do they do?
The Oceanarium is a big aquarium. They're the ones who make sure it's kept nice and clean. The basis of good fish health is proper hygiene. They're also in charge of feeding the animals from inside the tank.

Our Aquarium is a treasure and just the right size

Have any fish been particularly difficult to introduce into the Aquarium?
Yes, we've tried to bring certain fish here which we think people would be interested in seeing, but later found that they didn't adapt well in captivity. There have also been some cases, like the sunfish, where we eventually came to the conclusion that the oceanarium wasn't appropriate. Ocean sunfish require a lot of space and like to be left alone. The one we had was too skittish, so we decided not to try to introduce it into the oceanarium.

So you can't exhibit just any fish you want...
That's right. In some aquariums there are fish that last only four months. But we don't want to do that here. Our philosophy is not to have fish here that we know won't make it. We try to find a good balance between species and show only the kind of species that do well in carefully controlled captivity.

How does the Donostia-San Sebastián Aquarium compare to other aquariums?
Our aquarium is a treasure. It's just the right size for a city like ours and it contains a good representation of native Bay of Biscay fauna. We also have a good sample of the fauna found in tropical seas. There are a lot of aquariums nowadays, and some of them are very big, like the one in Valencia. We work on a different scale and strive for quality. We want people to get excited about what they see here and feel they're getting personal attention. Our facilities are the right size for a city like Donostia. We're not out to dazzle the public with large-scale shows.

What other aquariums would you recommend visiting?
The Lisbon aquarium, without a doubt. It's fantastic. Their oceanarium is wonderful, the architecture of the building itself is beautiful and the tanks are spectacular. We also have an excellent relationship with other aquariums, which we contact on a daily basis to share information and species. We belong to two associations: The Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquaria (AIZA) and the European Union of Aquarium Curators.

What would enlarging the Aquarium in the forthcoming years involve?
We'd like to reinforce this treasure to include the most interesting and beautiful species found in the world's oceans. The plans underway for future improvements will help consolidate and round out our collection.