| Sea Life Sydney Aquarium | |
|---|---|
 Main entrance | |
 | |
| 33°52′10″S151°12′07″E / 33.8694°S 151.2019°E /-33.8694; 151.2019 | |
| Date opened | 1988; 37 years ago (1988) |
| Location | Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| No. of animals | 13,000 |
| No. of species | 700 |
| Volume of largest tank | 2,000,000 litres (440,000 imp gal; 530,000 US gal) |
| Annual visitors | Over 1.2 million |
| Memberships | ZAA,[1]WAZA[2] |
| Major exhibits | Day and Night on the Reef, Dugong Island, Shark Valley, Penguin Expedition, Discovery Rockpool, Sydney Harbour, South Coat Shipwreck |
| Website | visitsealife |
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (formerlySydney Aquarium) is apublic aquarium inSydney, Australia. Opened in 1988, it features a large variety of Australian aquatic life, displaying more than 700 species comprising more than 13,000 individual fish and other sea and water creatures from most of Australia's waterhabitats.
The aquarium features themed zones, including Jurassic Seas, Discovery Rockpool, Shark Walk, and the world's largestGreat Barrier Reef display. Along the way, visitors encounter animals unique to each habitat, including one of only fourdugongs on display in the world,sharks,stingrays,penguins, andtropical fish, among others.
The aquarium is located on the eastern (city) side ofDarling Harbour to the north of thePyrmont Bridge. It is a full institutional member of theZoo and Aquarium Association and theWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
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The aquarium was designed by Australianarchitects[who?] to resemble a largewave, to complement the underwater theme of an aquarium and themaritime theme of Darling Harbour. It took nearly two years to build, opening in 1988.
In December 1991, the first Seal Sanctuary was opened. A new, upgraded oceanarium to house seals opened in September 2003. The Seal Sanctuary featuresAustralian sea lions,Australian fur seals,subantarctic fur seals, andNew Zealand fur seals. In this floating oceanarium, the seals can be seen below the water's surface from underwater viewing tunnels, and from above on an open-air deck. The Seal Sanctuary is incorporated into the Southern Oceans exhibit, which also featureslittle penguins, the Open Ocean Oceanarium, and Sydney Harbour displays.
In October 1998, theGreat Barrier Reef complex opened, comprising a tropical touch pool, a live coral cave, coralatoll, two circular gateway displays, and a large Great Barrier Reef oceanarium. Over 6,000 animals are housed[when?] in the oceanarium, which contains 2.6 million litres (572,000 imp gal, 687,000 U.S. gal)[citation needed] of water pumped from Darling Harbour,filtered and heated before it flows into the oceanarium and adjoining display tanks. The water is kept at a constant temperature of 25 °C (77 °F). The Oceanarium is 33 metres (108 ft) long and 13 metres (43 ft) wide, with a total area of about 370 square metres (4,000 sq ft) and a water depth of 3.5 metres (11 ft).[citation needed] The final exhibit is a reef theatre, where activity in a coral canyon can be observed through a window 7 by 4 metres (23 by 13 ft) and 26 centimetres (10 in) in thickness.
In 2006,Wild Life Sydney opened next to Sydney Aquarium, which is also owned byMerlin Entertainments.
On 20 December 2007 a glass-bottomed boat began operating, giving visitors a tour of the Great Barrier Reef tank. Acrocodile exhibit was added in 2008.
In 2008 the Seal Sanctuary was closed, and the seals were sent toSea World on theGold Coast. It was renovated, and reopened as Dugong Island in December 2008, with two dugongs, Wuru and Pig, transferred there from the Gold Coast, also in 2008. Wuru died in 2018.[3] The remaining dugong, Pig, is the only captive dugong in Australia.[when?] Dugong Island has above-water viewing areas as well as underwater viewing tunnels.
Other animals kept in the oceanarium include ashark ray,shovelnose rays,zebra sharks,eagle rays, and dozens of different species of fish.
In March 2012, Merlin Entertainments announced that they would be spending $10 million refurbishing the aquarium facilities. As part of the process, the aquarium was rebranded as aSea Life Centre and was relaunched on 24 September 2012.[4][5]
The SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has distinctly Australian themes and exhibits, which take visitors through thecontinent's waterways and marineecosystems. Exhibits cover the rivers of Australia, exploring the Southern and Northern River habitats, as well as the oceans of Australia, through the Southern and Northern Ocean habitats. The complex and fragile nature of Australia's very different and unique aquatic environments is emphasized.
Some of the displays are housed in the main exhibit hall and others are housed in floating oceanariums. Dugong Island and Shark Valley comprise two massive oceanariums, amongst the largest in the world, and have underwater tunnels allowing visitors to examine marine life at close quarters. In the Shark Valley Oceanarium, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium houses a large collection of sharks including Lemon Sharks and Grey Nurse Sharks. Some of the sharks weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 lb) and are over 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length.
The SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is split into the following exhibit areas and highlights:
The SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium has provided facilities and/or assistance to research institutions including theUniversity of Sydney, theUniversity of New South Wales, theLa Trobe University,Indiana University, theAustralian Museum, theQueensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, and theNew South Wales Fisheries Research Institute.
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and its conservation charity SEA LIFE Trust has assisted by providing holding facilities for animals used in many research projects carried out by these organisations. In recent years, the aquarium has been involved in thetagging ofsea turtles and sharks, collections for research and the holding ofinvertebrates for research. Other projects include the effects ofheavy metalcontamination in marine environments and fish tag longevity onrays, endangered seahorse breeding program, consisting of 'seahorse hotels',[6] and other local and global conservation projects
The aquarium also shares conservation information to visitors through its program ″Breed, Rescue, Protect″.
Media related toSydney Aquarium at Wikimedia Commons
