#HTE

How Do You Capture and Move a Shark Using Plastic Boards?

On June 30th the New York Aquarium will open “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” This is a 57,500-square-foot, $146 million exhibit that has taken over a decade to create, as the newly-built aquarium was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Now coming into the home stretch, the aquarium employees need to get the sharks from their old tank into the new tank, which is about four blocks away. How the heck do you move a shark? The procedure, which involves plastic boards, is human-resource-intensive and seems pretty primitive:

My main design gripe is with those plastic boards, which the Times article refers to as “breaker boards:”

I can’t imagine their original commercial purpose, but Jeez Louise, with a $146 million budget I’d have liked to see something with proper handles on the non-shark side rather than finger cut-outs.

“You just have to be quick,” marine biologist and shark supervisor Hans Walters told the Times. “If they start thrashing you pull your hands away.”

I’ll never complain about transporting a dog again.