Perhaps the survey is to help them with Planet Aquarium.
Bring it on Frontier, I will be happy to support a Planet Aquarium just as much as I've supported Planet Zoo. I've got a huge interest in marine animals, and with it extremely unlikely we get them in PZ at this point, I think a separate game is the best we can hope for. I'm also not too chuffed about the whole cetacean issue - real life I"m not for it, but it's a game, it's fine by me. They're also some of the more well known and likely candidates for marine animal inclusions, you take away all the cetaceans, sharks and other large marine animals...what do you have left to put in the game? West Indian Manatee might be a great inclusions as a singular animal but it's not going to carry the game on its own.