Eyes of the Sea photography exhibition celebrates Far Eastern Marine Reserve anniversary
The Scientific and Educational Complex “Primorsky Aquarium” opened an exhibition featuring photographs of wild animals and unique natural landscapes of the Far Eastern Marine Reserve.
The exhibition celebrates the 45-year anniversary of the Marine Reserve. Twenty-four large format photos have been taken by staff members of the Land of the Leopard National Park. Each photo relates a story about impressive and diverse life and beautiful views of the protected area.
Olga Shevchenko, Director of the Primorsky Aquarium, stressed the significance of the event, “We have not had any mutual projects with the Land of the Leopard so far. This exhibition is our first step towards cooperation. One of the Primorsky Aquarium’s priorities is evolving partnership in environmental education and science. We combine our efforts, we share valuable experience and open up new prospects for development, which is important both for the Aquarium and for the Land of the Leopard.”
It should be reminded that Olga Shevchenko, Director of the Primorsky Aquarium, Viktor Bardyuk, Director of the Land of the Leopard National Park, and Maria Okulova, Deputy Director of Environmental Education and International Cooperation of the Land of the Leopard had a working meeting at the Aquarium on 11 May 2023 to discuss perspectives of cooperation between the two organizations.
“The first thing that unites us is the ocean. The Primorsky Aquarium uncovers secrets of the ocean to the visitors while the Marine Reserve protects marine areas in their original state. The interconnection between our organizations is reflected in the common striving to preserve our ocean and knowledge about it for future generations. Sharing our experience and materials, implementing collaborative research and other projects will definitely encourage new ideas, new dreams and new accomplishments,” added Olga Shevchenko.
The two organizations noted that projects in environmental education and tourism, as well as research projects can become important areas of collaboration.
“We would like to show the charm of the Marine Reserve’s nature as seen by our staff members. We called the exhibition Eyes of the Sea, because it showcases the pictures taken by our biologists and wildlife law enforcement officers. Many photos belong to Alexander Ratnikov who has worked on Furugelm Island for 20 years and managed to capture a lot of extraordinary images, for example, of a very rare bird, black-faced spoonbill,” explained Maria Okulova, Deputy Director of Environmental Education and International Cooperation of the Land of the Leopard, and organizer of the exhibition.
Visiting the exhibition is included with the purchase of an admission ticket to the Primorsky Aquarium. All the guests will be able to see the photos of the Marine Reserve in the Art gallery (before the entrance to the Dolphinarium) until the end of the summer.
General information:
The Far Eastern State Biosphere Marine Reserve was created on 24 March 1978. It was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2003 for its achievements in nature conservation and the significance of animal and plant species, natural communities and landscapes within its borders in the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan. In 2021, the Marine Reserve, earlier supervised by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, was placed under the Ministry of Natural Resources’ control and became a part of the Land of the Leopard National Park.