Joseph R. Geraci, expert in marine mammal medicine and National Aquarium official, dies

Dr. Joseph R Geraci, a scientist and veterinarian who was a leading expert in marine mammal medicine and aquatic wildlife conservation, died of cancer Thursday at his Leesburg, Va. home. The former Otterbein resident was 77.

A former official of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, he was professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology. He was proponent of teaching aquarium visitors about sea life and the issues affecting it.

In his four decades in the field, Dr. Geraci led research teams from the Arctic to the tropics to study the health of marine mammals and their environment.

Born in Lawrence, Mass., he was the son of Michael Geraci, a telephone lineman, and his wife, Josephine, a homemaker. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and master’s degree at Suffolk University and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He earned a doctorate at McGill University at its Institute of Oceanography in Montreal. He also studied ichthyology at New York University.

From 1973 to 1995 he was a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College and directed its marine mammal program. He was a clinical professor at Tufts University from 1994 to 1996..

He had advised the International Whaling Commission and government agencies in Canada, Spain, Brazil and the United States.

“He had a extraordinary compassion for the animals and the ecosystem in which they lived, but also he had an astounding compassion for those he worked with,” said Glenn Page, a friend and president of SustainaMetrix. “He had an exceedingly high expectation for everyone, including himself.

“He had a smile that inspired you,” Paige said. “It would light up the room. Behind that smile was an inspiration that would bring the very best out of you.”

In 1997 Dr. Geraci moved to Baltimore and became the National Aquarium’s deputy executive director. Baltimore Sun reporter Frank Roylance wrote in a lengthy profile that “Geraci has led investigations of marine mammal deaths in Canada, the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, including the 1987 probe of the deaths of more than 700 bottlenose dolphins along the East Coast.”

At the time of his appointment in Baltimore, Dr. Geraci said he wanted to make the aquarium’s visitors feel closer to the Chesapeake Bay.

“There’s a lot we can do, because we have such a wide audience, to expose visitors to some of the exciting things happening on the bay, and to help them understand the role we all play in the health of the bay,” he said in 1997.

Dr. Geraci was fascinated with aquariums throughout his life. He had also been curator for the New York and Montreal aquariums. He was president of the Mystic Aquarium from 2005 to 2006.

“Trim and athletic-looking, Geraci seems a bit caged in his aquarium office — a modest cubicle with a million-dollar view of the Inner Harbor,” the 1997 Sun article said.

Dr. Geraci discovered that the aquarium had some issues. “He found the seals’ health was being propped up with salt pills and antibiotics, but they still showed signs of stress,” The Sun wrote. “Geraci had the aquarium replace their pool’s fresh water with a colder synthetic sea water.”

He said in 1997, “There is no collection of seals anywhere that is in better condition.”

He also faced other issues. “In 1991, a dolphin struck one of the beluga whales, which died. Geraci encouraged the aquarium’s decision to send the belugas on permanent ‘breeding loan’ to Sea World in Texas. Beyond the risk of injury, the two species simply weren’t designed to cohabit, he said.”

Under his scientific guidance, the aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program cared for numerous stranded animals, including turtles and pygmy sperm whales. Many were returned to their natural habitats.

“While we rehabilitate them, we can use the opportunity to educate visitors and write a powerful conservation message,” he said in 1997. “One of the clearest came from Inky, a pygmy sperm whale rescued in 1994. Inky was found to have a digestive blockage caused by plastic trash and balloons it had eaten.”

Dr. Geraci called the National Aquarium in Baltimore “the biggest classroom I’ve ever taught in.” He said that while he wanted Aquarium patrons to have a pleasant visit, he also wanted them to learn something about the bay, its physics and chemistry.

He was appointed to the National Academy of Science’s Committee to study the effects on marine mammals of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Joe was a warm, down-to-earth scientist,” said Mark Donovan, a friend and colleague. “He saw the best in everyone and thought that everyone had something to offer. I recall many lively conversations with him. … He was as comfortable in the opera hall as he was aboard an ocean research vessel.”

Dr. Geraci has wrote and co-wrote more than 120 journal articles, seven books and 21 book chapters. He was the founding editor of the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Plans for a memorial service at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are incomplete.

Survivors include his wife of 10 years, Laurie Allen, a wildlife biologist; a son, Michael Geraci of Ontario, Canada; two daughters, Johanna Geraci and Karen Geraci, also of Ontario; a brother, Philip Geraci of Arizona; and six grandchildren. An earlier marriage ended in divorce.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com

Joseph R. Geraci, expert in marine mammal medicine and National Aquarium official, dies

South Norwalk Task Force looks to brighten Norwalk; official finds many burned-out street lamps

NORWALK — Members of the South Norwalk Comeback Task Force plan to meet with representatives of South Norwalk Electric and Water (SNEW) to discuss the number of street lights out in SoNo.

With the exception of some fixtures along North Water Street, most of the pole-mounted street lamps are maintained by SNEW. The city has borne the cost of their installation, according to officials.

On Tuesday, Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy T. Sheehan gave task force members his assessment of streetscape lighting during a meeting of the panel at the South Norwalk Branch Library.

“On the traffic island fronting on the (Maritime) Aquarium, all of the front lights are out,” Sheehan said. “That’s pretty consistent as you’re walking throughout the entire neighborhood, so I think the first issue is that we need to work with SNEW on is getting the lights lit that we have, and then understanding what our level of need is relative to replacement.”

Dave Sigworth, spokesman for The Maritime Aquarium, said later Tuesday that Aquarium officials believe the traffic island where the light poles are located “is the city’s, and thus those lights are serviced by SNEW.”

John M. Hiscock, SNEW general manager, expressed doubt about the magnitude of burned-out street lamps as well as who bears responsibility for the lights at the front of The Maritime Aquarium.

“There are lights out here and there,” Hiscock said. “I believe (the Aquarium lights) are not SNEW lights — they’re sort of a whiter light. I assume they’re parks and rec(reation), or The Maritime Aquarium. No one has approached us formally, but it’s my understanding those are not our lights.”

Hiscock attributed the outage of roughly a half-dozen street lamps on the north side of Washington Street to construction work related to The SoNo Pearl at 99 Washington St. He said the lights were restored with the cooperation of the contractor.

Improving street lighting is among the issues the task force has discussed since its formation by Mayor Harry W. Rilling last December.

Task force members hope to provide brighter lighting and lower the electric bill for pole-mounted street lights on SoNo arteries such as Ann, Monroe, Marshall, Washington and North and South Water streets.

As part of that discussion, they have considered replacing standard street lights with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, which emit a brighter, whitish light and use less power.

Sheehan told task force members Tuesday, however, that a lighting consultant engaged by the Redevelopment Agency determined that moving to LED light fixtures would prove costly.

“There was a recognition that there is significant cost savings that ultimately would result from the LED lights,” Sheehan said. “But the issue with that, again, is that there is a very, very significant upfront cost that would have to be borne in doing the transfer over. The initial estimate, I believe, was $1,500 a light.”

Sheehan said replacement of the lighting would require replacing not only the lamps, but also the wiring and fixtures. He said the city might wish, as an intermediate step, to replace individual street lamps with metal-halide lamps, which produce a brighter light but cost less money to install than LED fixtures.

Hiscock said SNEW would not object to installation of new lighting in SoNo. He noted that the city and SNEW worked together to incorporate LED lighting as part of the Cedar Street improvement project.

“We’re certainly willing to meet with anyone who wants to discuss the lighting situation in detail,” Hiscock said.

South Norwalk Task Force looks to brighten Norwalk; official finds many burned-out street lamps