NATURE: Oceans In Glass: Behind The Scenes Of The Monterey Bay Aquarium

NATURE reveals the secrets of underwater magic in "Oceans In Glass: Behind The Scenes Of The Monterey Bay Aquarium."

Imagine standing on the bottom of the ocean and looking up into a glittering kelp forest alive with darting fish, or watching five-foot-long sharks and giant tuna whiz by at arm’s length, or being surrounded by elegant, lacy white jellyfish as they soar, pulsing, through the water. Visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on the coast of Northern California experience all this… and more.

For more than 20 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has entertained, educated, and fascinated its nearly two million annual visitors with pioneering displays of realistic undersea environments.

Now NATURE gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s leading centers for marine research and conservation — a marvel of engineering and biology that, literally, captures "Oceans in Glass."

How Your Seafood Choices Affect Ocean Life:

Do you know how that tuna landed on your plate? With nearly three quarters of the world’s fish and seafood stocks now fully exploited or overfished, it’s increasingly important for consumers to understand how their seafood dinner can contribute to the health — or degradation — of the ocean.

To help consumers make informed decisions, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has started the Seafood Watch program. It offers consumers tips on buying environmentally friendly seafood through a Web site and easy-to-carry pocket guides. “It’s been a staggeringly popular program,” says the aquarium’s Dr. Randy Kochevar. “We just passed the 5 million mark of people downloading the guides, and studies show that people do carry and use them.”