“Are you being photographed for Euroman magazine?” a passing colleague teases. “Marine man!” Kristian Vedel Christiansen retorts.<\/p>\n
The photograph was staged, because the \u00d8resund Aquarium’s head animal keeper was not scrubbing off biofilm and feed residues from the glass in the angler aquarium when the University Post dropped by. But he could very well have been:<\/p>\n
\n
37 years old. Living in Hiller\u00f8d with his girlfriend. Has been working at the \u00d8resund Aquarium<\/strong> for 16 years, ever since he took on an internship. Is also a trained nature guide<\/strong>. His interests range from the heavens to the seas, as when he is not working, he is an amateur diver<\/strong> and astronomy enthusiast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n“Because we are so few employees, we all need to be where we are needed the most. The director also teaches first-grade classes, and I’m also in the ticket box and I clean up aquariums. And when a fisherman calls in and has caught a sunfish in the net, somebody needs to move fast. In this way, we all have to be like an octopus, multi-tasking with many arms so that the aquarium can work.”<\/p>\n
Kristian Vedel Christiansen is a trained aquarist and nature guide and has worked at the aquarium on the seaside promenade in Helsing\u00f8r all his adult life. These days he is responsible for daily planning and he loves his job.<\/p>\n
First-time visitors to the \u00d8resund Aquarium often react in the same way that they react to the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. They are disappointed with its small size, Kristian says. But this passes when the dialogue about the content of the aquaria starts:<\/p>\n
“Our strength is precisely the simple stuff: Putting a clam on a stick and spending a day at the water’s edge with the kids. The guests have gotten used to these huge ocean aquariums, but this is not us. We, on the other hand, know what we are talking about. And if a guest asks us something we cannot answer, we just go up and bring down a professor who knows everything about microorganisms,” says Kristian, who appreciates the collaboration with researchers and master\u2019s theses writers. The co-operation is of mutual benefit to the research and the aquarium visitors.<\/p>\n
The rock gunnel is the coolest<\/h3>\n
Kristian is in his element when he talks about the wildlife of the \u00d8resund waters, which are surprisingly rich \u2013 and much wilder than nature on land:<\/p>\n
“Danish waters seem to be a little bit green and boring when you snorkel, but because the \u00d8resund is connected to the Atlantic Ocean and there is plenty of food, we have seen sperm whales, humpback whales, sunfish, conger eels and even a dolphin in my time …” Kristian stops himself:<\/p>\n
“My boss says I shouldn\u2019t exaggerate, but if you have to grab the attention of the couch potato, it\u2019s no good talking about sand gobies. You need to bring people in with the net,” he says, adding that everyday life out in \u00d8resund is “exotic” enough in itself:<\/p>\n
“The blue-finned tuna has returned. It’s crawling with squids. And nothing surpasses a quiet summer night in a rubber dinghy, where you see seals and porpoises with small calves calving.”<\/p>\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n
Kristian knocks lightly on the aquarium, because he wants to show us his favourite: the rock gunnel. A small ribbon-shaped dude that\u2019s related to the eelpout. Nothing flashy, but:<\/p>\n
“Now I\u2019ll say something you are not supposed to say as an animal keeper. It has so much personality. It’s curious, active and cute. And the male is so dedicated that when the female has laid eggs, he puts himself in a protective circle around them. There he lies, fanning fresh water over the eggs with his tail. And no matter how many larger animals endanger his project, he does not flinch.”<\/p>\n
Kristian Vedel Christiansen himself is to be a father for the first time in December.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He is the aquarist, or animal keeper, at the \u00d8resund Aquarium. And he is a nature guide, ticket seller, craftsman and multi-tasking handyman at the UCPH aquarium in Helsing\u00f8r.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":59818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[953,954],"class_list":["post-59768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","tag-my-job","tag-oresund-aquarium","expression-portrait_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He is the aquarist, or animal keeper, at the \u00d8resund Aquarium. And he is a nature guide, ticket seller, craftsman and multi-tasking handyman at the UCPH aquarium in Helsing\u00f8r.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"908\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"headline\":\"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":664,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"My job\",\"\u00d8resund Aquarium\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/\",\"name\":\"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":908,\"caption\":\"Kristian Vedel Rasmussen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\",\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/gry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos","og_description":"He is the aquarist, or animal keeper, at the \u00d8resund Aquarium. And he is a nature guide, ticket seller, craftsman and multi-tasking handyman at the UCPH aquarium in Helsing\u00f8r.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":908,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/"},"author":{"name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"headline":"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos","datePublished":"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/"},"wordCount":664,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg","keywords":["My job","\u00d8resund Aquarium"],"articleSection":["Campus"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/","name":"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-28T09:23:48+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-01T12:58:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280.jpg","width":1280,"height":908,"caption":"Kristian Vedel Rasmussen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/head-aquarist-handyman-with-shark-tattoos\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Head aquarist: Octopus with shark tattoos"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe","name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/gry\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"expression":{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":800,"filter":"raw"},"enable_comments":true,"align_content":"alignleft","feature_color":"","layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":58765,"id":58765,"title":"Chefdyrepasser Kristian Vedel Christiansen","filename":"kristianvedel2red.jpg","filesize":165688,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/chefdyrepasseren-en-blaeksprutte-med-hajtatoveringer\/kristian-vedel-2-red\/","alt":"Chefdyrepasser Kristian Vedel Christiansen","author":"5","description":"Chefdyrepasser Kristian Vedel Christiansen flasher overarmens hajtatoveringer","caption":"Chefdyrepasser Kristian Vedel Christiansen","name":"kristian-vedel-2-red","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":58750,"date":"2017-11-15 09:13:50","modified":"2017-11-15 09:15:01","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1800,"height":1800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-480x480.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":480,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-1280x1280.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":1280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red.jpg","2048x2048-width":1800,"2048x2048-height":1800,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-290x290.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":290,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-700x700.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":700,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red-990x990.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":990}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Kristian has pulled on his waders and has carefully lowered himself into the anglers (three of them, each weighing 3-5 kg) large aquarium, which has been emptied and has to be thoroughly cleaned every 3 months."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"My job","text":"He is the aquarist, or animal keeper, at the \u00d8resund Aquarium. And he is a nature guide, ticket seller, craftsman and multi-tasking handyman at the UCPH aquarium in Helsing\u00f8r.","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>“Are you being photographed for Euroman magazine?” a passing colleague teases. “Marine man!” Kristian Vedel Christiansen retorts.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph was staged, because the \u00d8resund Aquarium’s head animal keeper was not scrubbing off biofilm and feed residues from the glass in the angler aquarium when the University Post dropped by. But he could very well have been:<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">KRISTIAN VEDEL CHRISTIANSEN<\/p>\n<p>37 years old. Living in Hiller\u00f8d with his girlfriend. Has been working at the <strong>\u00d8resund Aquarium<\/strong> for 16 years, ever since he took on an internship. Is also a trained <strong>nature guide<\/strong>. His interests range from the heavens to the seas, as when he is not working, he is an <strong>amateur diver<\/strong> and <strong>astronomy enthusiast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>“Because we are so few employees, we all need to be where we are needed the most. The director also teaches first-grade classes, and I’m also in the ticket box and I clean up aquariums. And when a fisherman calls in and has caught a sunfish in the net, somebody needs to move fast. In this way, we all have to be like an octopus, multi-tasking with many arms so that the aquarium can work.”<\/p>\n<p>Kristian Vedel Christiansen is a trained aquarist and nature guide and has worked at the aquarium on the seaside promenade in Helsing\u00f8r all his adult life. These days he is responsible for daily planning and he loves his job.<\/p>\n<p>First-time visitors to the \u00d8resund Aquarium often react in the same way that they react to the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. They are disappointed with its small size, Kristian says. But this passes when the dialogue about the content of the aquaria starts:<\/p>\n<p>“Our strength is precisely the simple stuff: Putting a clam on a stick and spending a day at the water’s edge with the kids. The guests have gotten used to these huge ocean aquariums, but this is not us. We, on the other hand, know what we are talking about. And if a guest asks us something we cannot answer, we just go up and bring down a professor who knows everything about microorganisms,” says Kristian, who appreciates the collaboration with researchers and master\u2019s theses writers. The co-operation is of mutual benefit to the research and the aquarium visitors.<\/p>\n<h3>The rock gunnel is the coolest<\/h3>\n<p>Kristian is in his element when he talks about the wildlife of the \u00d8resund waters, which are surprisingly rich \u2013 and much wilder than nature on land:<\/p>\n<p>“Danish waters seem to be a little bit green and boring when you snorkel, but because the \u00d8resund is connected to the Atlantic Ocean and there is plenty of food, we have seen sperm whales, humpback whales, sunfish, conger eels and even a dolphin in my time …” Kristian stops himself:<\/p>\n<p>“My boss says I shouldn\u2019t exaggerate, but if you have to grab the attention of the couch potato, it\u2019s no good talking about sand gobies. You need to bring people in with the net,” he says, adding that everyday life out in \u00d8resund is “exotic” enough in itself:<\/p>\n<p>“The blue-finned tuna has returned. It’s crawling with squids. And nothing surpasses a quiet summer night in a rubber dinghy, where you see seals and porpoises with small calves calving.”<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"All animal keepers have animal tattoos. This is more than a job.","quotee":"Kristian Vedel Christiansen","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p> <\/p>\n<p>Kristian knocks lightly on the aquarium, because he wants to show us his favourite: the rock gunnel. A small ribbon-shaped dude that\u2019s related to the eelpout. Nothing flashy, but:<\/p>\n<p>“Now I\u2019ll say something you are not supposed to say as an animal keeper. It has so much personality. It’s curious, active and cute. And the male is so dedicated that when the female has laid eggs, he puts himself in a protective circle around them. There he lies, fanning fresh water over the eggs with his tail. And no matter how many larger animals endanger his project, he does not flinch.”<\/p>\n<p>Kristian Vedel Christiansen himself is to be a father for the first time in December.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"Dansk","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Receive a weekly newsletter in your inbox","button_text":"Tilmeld nu","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":[35],"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":44,"name":"Campus","slug":"campus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":44,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1547,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":953,"name":"My job","slug":"my-job","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":953,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":954,"name":"\u00d8resund Aquarium","slug":"oresund-aquarium","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":954,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":800,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/kristianvedel2red1280x1280-1280x908.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59768"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60167,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59768\/revisions\/60167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}