Tank Security, by Dr. Adrian Lawler

Tank Security

by Dr. Adrian Lawler
(retired) Aquarium Supervisor (l984-l998) J. L. Scott Aquarium Biloxi, Ms 39530

Original to Aquarticles

Whether you have private tanks in your home, run a pet store, run an aquaculture venture, hold specimens for the live bait or live seafood business, or work at a public aquarium or laboratory you must be aware of problems that can occur regarding the security of your operation. I have worked on fish tanks/ponds for many years as a hobbyist, fish parasitologist, toxicologist, aquaculturist, and aquarium supervisor. I have either worked at, or been associated with, many types of aquarium, aquaculture, pet store, live bait, and live seafood operations over the years in several states plus heard of security problems from people from various facilities. I have seen, heard, or experienced about any sort of problem arising from an unsecured facility that can be imagined.

It is the job of aquarium/tank staff to keep specimens in a healthy state for public display, experimental use, aquaculture production, or sale as pets, live bait, or live seafood, etc. The most common threat against the tank staff and their jobs is being accused of having "sick" fish or problem tanks. It is easy for others to cause "sick" fish (in many different easy ways) and thus cause tank workers much work and worry.

Almost all of us have had an ex, a dishonest boss, a rival, a politician, etc. who wants to see us fail or replace us with their friend, and will thus do or promote sabotage, stealing, lying, etc. in order to make your life miserable, or make you gone from your position, or to steal your ideas or credit, etc. The public exposure of people working at a public aquarium leads to others wanting to take credit for your work or ideas/inventions or publicity so they can get in the limelight, or "steal your thunder."

Then there are the usually well-meaning, but inexperienced or possibly mentally-challenged, co-workers or volunteers that can cause you severe problems by over-feeding your organisms, or doing other things (sometimes wrong) to "help." There are others that think their ideas and procedures are better than yours, and then practice their ideas on your tanks, sometimes causing havoc.

The main reasons to secure the tank work area are: (1) to protect tank specimens, (2) to protect the unknowing public from dangers they are not aware of, and thus then protect the facility from potential liability lawsuits, and (3) to protect tank workers and the facility from problems of mistakes, set-ups, sabotage, theft, etc.

The area around tanks should be secured so only the tank staff has access to the tank work area in order to prevent, for example:

1. removal of specimens for personal use in private tanks, or for eating.

2. feeding of specimens, which could lead to overfeeding, and/or tank fouling (People throw food into tanks because they like to see specimens eat, or they think specimens are hungry.).

3. theft of fish food (frozen shrimp, oysters, crabs, etc.) for use as food for private tanks or people.

4. addition of specimens to tanks without quarantine or treatment (or moving specimens to another tank).

5. sudden vibrations around tanks so fish do not get panicked and injure themselves or jump out of tank (People bang on tanks to get movement from tank occupants.).

6. diving, jumping, swimming, or playing in tanks after working hours.

7. loss of specimens in outside tanks due to predation by birds, snakes, etc.

8. cross-contamination of tanks by various diseases/parasites being carried on/in the bodies of various predatory birds, snakes, etc, and by various tank equipment, as nets, etc.

9. alteration of tank chemistry by addition of water, food, medications (human or specimen), body lotions, scents, etc. from people playing in tanks.

10. liability problems if someone gets an infection from micro-organisms in a fish tank, slips on wet surfaces, or gets otherwise injured.

11. accidental or deliberate contamination of tanks by aerosol sprays or other toxins (caused by pest control, specimen over-medication, support equipment lubrication, etc.).

12. deliberate tank sabotage by those who want you to fail or be stressed, or want your job, or want you gone.

13. people from turning off, adjusting, or otherwise messing with support equipment possibly leading to the death of specimens. (Turning the air off in order to see the specimens better from above, and then forgetting to turn it back on is a fairly common problem.)

14. people from going through your tank logs and either stealing ideas, new techniques, or findings, or altering the logs.

15. pictures or videos being taken showing others in your work area, or around a special project, and subsequent false publicity going out crediting others for your work, ideas, inventions, etc. so they can benefit from your labors, or so you are denied credit, and publicity, for your own work (some bad bosses do this).

16. stealing of findings, ideas, inventions by others so they can publish or release publicity and get credit/honor/awards for your work.

Tank records

Document everything done to your tanks and everyday observations in order to protect yourself. Keep such records where they cannot be accessed by others, or altered, stolen, erased, etc. Keep computer files as a backup on your home computer, on discs, or someplace else secure.

Paper tank logs should be kept in a secured place (so you have unaltered proof of original logs) in case computer logs get modified or deleted in order to disparage you or your work. Computer logs should be password protected with only the trusted tank staff with access to the password.

Other staff

It is not unusual for dishonest bosses to steal ideas/findings and inventions from their students or workers because they hold the power of controlling the future (higher degrees or jobs) of the students or workers. (The victim gets things stolen from him, and usually does nothing in order to get his degree or keep his job.) I know of some "scientists" who have become famous by taking ideas, findings, inventions, pictures, etc. from their students and workers and either claiming it as their own or putting their name on their underlings' publications and then later getting honored for "achievement" or being "prolific scientists." This theft might go back to the olden times school of thought where anything done by an apprentice belonged to the master. And since those with many publications usually get more grants, more salary, and more "awards," the present scientific reward system continually (but maybe unintentionally) tempts some bosses to steal from their underlings (so they will have many publications, etc.), leading to a more and more (as seen by me and others) dishonest "scientific" community (Those that would steal from others probably would not be against "cooking the books," and reporting false experimental results to bolster the experimental answer they want, etc.).

Fellow workers may also set you up because they do not like you, or want your position, or are being rewarded (lighter work load, more salary, more praise, etc.) by a superior for spying on you, or sabotage.

Keep a daily "Memo of Record" (if you suspect a boss or co-worker, etc., is trying to get you, or your ideas/findings) of anything you think important so, if needed, you can use it in a legal battle. Record description of incident, subject, location, time, date, and witnesses in the log. Keep daily entries to the log on your body while at work, and have the total log properly secured elsewhere when not at work.

Beware of hiring "token" workers (e.g., retired military, minority, or female hired to fill a quota, as opposed to being hired because they can do the job the best). Some such people know they can leave you hanging and not do their work because they know they are the "token" worker of a quota category at your facility and unlikely to be fired. Do a thorough background check on the past work performance of anyone before hiring.

Never divulge all your procedures and operational secrets/tricks. (You want to have knowledge no one else has so you are needed; you do not want to become expendable.).

Volunteers

Beware of volunteers who say they want to help you so they can learn. The person may be a plant to sabotage you, set you up, steal your ideas, spy, etc. Or he may have his own ideas on how things should be done and REALLY mess up some tanks. Volunteers should be thoroughly trained to do whatever job you want them to do, and watched so they do not try to do something else.

Liability

A secured tank operation may protect you, or the facility, from possible liability lawsuits from water-borne disease agents, or various falls or injuries that may occur in your work area.

A very few examples of problems

One aquaculture operation was forced out of business after someone, possibly the son of the owner's fancy ex-wife, opened the drain valves on some 30,000 gallon tilapia tanks at night and the workers were greeted the next morning with thousands of dead tilapia and a HUGE loss. Lockable valves, or lock boxes around the drain valves would, at the least, have made the act of sabotage much harder.

A large gag grouper was missing from a tank one morning. It was not found dead in the tank. The previous night there was a political dinner associated with some of the facility staff. It is presumed the grouper was taken to impress and pleasure a politician's stomach.

An aggressive lemon shark, instead of being released, was killed and used in a fish fry at a local bar.

A rare octopus was missing one morning. All hiding places in the tank were examined, plus the floor and sumps near the tank. When nothing was found the tank was completely broken down to see if the octopus had gone down a standpipe and gotten under the filter. Nothing was found. It was suspected someone wanted the specimen for private display, or to cause worker stress.

The drain valve for the main tank at an aquarium was in a manhole in the outside parking lot, where anyone could have opened the valve and emptied the main tank. With the main tank empty the blower system would have directed the air to the empty tank (less resistance) so that air to other tanks would have decreased or stopped. The whole aquarium could have been lost by opening one valve.

The hard drive of a computer with tank records was formatted and all records on that computer lost.

The office area of one facility was sprayed for roaches. The pesticide spray was circulated by the building air system, and taken up by air pumps and injected into tanks via air stones, killing numerous specimens, and delaying experimental tests.

A tank room heater was moved during a cold snap. Its new position resulted in several small tanks of experimental fish being overheated and the fish "cooked."

Donated oysters and shrimp were removed from the fish food freezer.

Salvaged foam rubber was used in a filter system. The tank specimens died. It was discovered the foam rubber came from a shipyard where the foam rubber was treated with a fire retardant prior to being used as ship insulation.

Specimens in a private home tank were killed by party guests putting cigarettes and beer, etc. into the tank.

A soft-shell crab shedding facility had a problem with shell debris clogging the system. A galvanized screen was installed by a worker in the tank to retain debris. The crabs started dying while trying to shed. Zinc from the galvanized screen was toxic to the crabs.

Worker findings were claimed by a dishonest boss in a publication, resulting in boss getting the credit and honor of discovery.

An unsecured aquaculture operation was "fished" by numerous pelicans and other birds. The owners shot several pelicans to reduce their fish losses and got themselves in trouble with the law for killing protected bird species.

Summary: Tank security

---only allow tank workers access to work areas behind tanks. (Know who has keys. Know who to
     trust.)
---be observant of everything and everybody in the tank area.
---keep daily logs on everything done to tanks (and support equipment), problems seen, fixes made, etc.
---keep records (logs, findings, inventions, new techniques, ideas, etc.) where others cannot get to them,
    and have secured backup records.
---keep daily "Memo of Record" logs to protect yourself (if you suspect a bad boss or problem
    co-worker).
---lock fish food freezers, and keep keys limited to trusted people.
---use lids, covers, nets, or other ways to exclude humans or animals, or prevent specimen escape, for all
    tanks.
---secure tank support equipment so others cannot mess with them, and place them so people or various
    machines (vacuums, mowers, vehicles, etc.) cannot bump into them and damage them.
---keep all toxins away from tanks, and support equipment.
---use proper support equipment, etc., to keep harmful micro-organisms and parasites in control.
---never tell all your operational tricks or secrets.
---always check out the past work performance, and honesty, of people before you hire them.