Aquarium staff have also performed other useful tasks. They've looked into damage from the oil slick dropped earlier this year by the wrecked Greek freighter, Amorgos, and investigated an instance of deformed fish spotted in the nuclear power station's run-off.
Though only as inspiring as any zoo or aquarium could possibly be, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium definitely affords a few glimpses of the undersea world that are hard to come by, even for scuba divers.
Take for example the shark tank in Hall Two, in which about 60 lemon sharks, white tip sharks and black tip sharks swirl around visitors. On our recent tour, as the tour guide Peng and I leisurely strolled through a tunnel penetrating the sharks' 3 million-gallon tank, we noticed a man in the water with an air hose, a suction device and a scrub pad. It was his job to clean the walls, and we felt kind of sorry for him -- partially because of the sharks, but also because he had a long way to go.
What: National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium
Where: Pingtung County, Checheng township, Houwan Tsuen, 2 Houwan Rd. (
Other: Tel: (08) 882-5678. Admission: NT$300, children under 110cm tall enter free. For more information on the museum, check: http://www.nmmba.gov.tw
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