Explore's our important relationship's with fish – past, present and future – in “Go Fish! Long Island Sound & Beyond,” a permanent new exhibit featuring live local species and interactive displays.

Centerpiece of the exhibit is a new 30,000-gallon tank stocked with cod, striped bass, Atlantic salmon, tautogs, wolffish and spiny dogfish sharks.  Soon to be added to the tank is an enormous 7-foot Atlantic halibut, the largest species of flatfish on our coast.

“Go Fish!” will drive home the connection between the fish displayed in The Maritime Aquarium and the visitors who come to see them. The exhibit will urge visitors to “respect the fish” by understanding the cultural importance of fish and fishing – both recreational and commercial – and by realizing that our actions can overwhelm – or sustain – the oceans’ bounty.

Visitors will be encouraged to participate in a “Go Fish!” version of “catch-and-release” fishing: to “catch” a laminated paper version of one of the displayed species, learn about it in the exhibit and then “release” it at the exhibit exit.  Young children can pretend in a child-scale fishing boat equipped with nets, life vests and other fishing gear, while older children can try their skills at a Nintendo Wii fishing station. 

Another fun stop will be the exhibit’s fishing videos and story wall, where area residents recount memorable and humorous stories from times spent fishing with family and friends.

The exhibit – as in real life – can’t just be all about taking fish out of the Sound. Through The Maritime Aquarium’s partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, a number of “Go Fish” components will explain what “sustainable seafood” means and how we all can support its practice.  A new Sustainable Seafood Theater will feature a 20-minute film, “Can the Oceans Keep Up with the Hunt?”  And a mock seafood café will show how we “fish eaters” can make good choices in markets and restaurants to help support healthy fish populations and smart fishing methods.

Visitors will be encouraged to pledge to “Respect the Fish” after they go home, by always making informed seafood choices, getting a fishing license and obeying fishing rules, practicing catch-and-release fishing, and helping to clean and protect the environment.

“Go Fish! Long Island Sound & Beyond” is sponsored by the Aetna Foundation.