Sea Life Centres

Sea Life logo, Helsinki

Sea Life Centres are a chain of commercial sealife-themed attractions. As of December 2013 there were about 50 centres located around the world, with others under construction. The chain is owned by the British company, Merlin Entertainments.

Attractions

Paul the Octopus

Sea Life Centres aim to combine modern display technology, biological expertise, and entertainment to provide themed journeys through European and tropical waters. This often provides close encounters with sealife, from shrimps and starfish to seahorses, sharks and stingrays.

Sea Life Centres also claim to champion the cause of marine conservation through education, awareness and, wherever possible, direct action.

Sanctuaries

Sea Life Sanctuaries and Seal Sanctuaries operate from three centres in the United Kingdom as well as one location in Australia. The United Kingdom locations include the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall; the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary in Norfolk; and the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Oban.[1] Manly Sea Life Sanctuary (formerly Oceanworld Manly) operates in Australia.[2] The Hunstanton facility operates otter and penguin sanctuaries as well as a seal hospital.[3]

Since 2001 all Sea Life Centre conservation, rescue, and campaigning work has come under the SOS scheme, an acronym for "Save Our Seas." SOS supports the work of wildlife charities and campaign groups including Greenpeace, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. Each centre also has a headline campaign which changes periodically. Past campaigns have advocated increased protection for loggerhead sea turtles, and restrictions on the practice of shark finning.

Locations

Europe

Germany

Sea Life Centre in Königswinter, Germany

Centres are located in Germany at Berlin, Cuxhaven, Königswinter, Konstanz, Munich, Nuremberg, Speyer, Timmendorfer Strand, and Hanover. The largest Sea Life Centre of Germany is at the CentrO park in Oberhausen - it was the home of Paul, the psychic octopus who correclty predicted the German national football team's results at the world cup of 2010,[4] until his death in October 2010.

United Kingdom

National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom
Scarborough Sea Life centre

Other centres are located at Blackpool, Brighton, Great Yarmouth, Trafford Centre Manchester, Weymouth and Balloch, Loch Lomond (Glasgow), Scotland.

Sea Life Centres at resort theme parks:

Others

Other European Sea Life Centres are at Blankenberge, Belgium; Bray, Ireland; Helsinki, Finland; Val d'Europe, Paris, France; The Hague, Netherlands; Benalmádena, Spain; Porto, Portugal; and Jesolo, Italy.

Related 'theme-park' resorts are at Billund, Denmark; Legoland Atlantis by Sea Life, German; and Gardaland Sea Life, Italy

United States

Centres are located at Tempe, Arizona; Bloomington, Minnesota; Grapevine, Texas; Kansas City; Charlotte, North Carolina, Auburn Hills, Michigan; and newly opened at Orlando, Florida. There is a related 'theme park' at Carlsbad, California, at Legoland California Resort.

Oceania

Centres are located in Australia at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, Sea Life Melbourne,[5] Sea Life Mooloolaba[5] and Sea Life Sydney Aquarium[6]

New Zealand has Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, Auckland.[7]

Asia

Centres are located at Sea Life Bangkok,[5] Sea Life Busan[5] and Sea Life Shanghai.[5]

In November 2015, Merlin Entertainments announced that over the next 10 years it will be investing £50 million in India, some of which will be used to open Sea Life Centres.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Seal Sanctuaries". visitsealife.com. Merlin Entertainments (Sea Life) Limited. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Eriksson, Boel (28 August 2012). "Junior oceanologists start at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary". The Manly Daily. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary". visitsealife.com. Merlin Entertainments (Sea Life) Limited. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "German 'psychic' octopus predicts victory for Spain". BBC News. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Locations". Merlin Entertainments. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "Merlin Entertainments Group Announces $10 Million Sydney Aquarium Refurbishment". ausleisure.com.au. Australian Leisure Management. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. ↑ Tasman-Jones, Jessica (17 March 2012). "Kelly Tarlton's set for $5.5m upgrade". stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  8. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/world-famous-wax-museum-madame-tussauds-to-open-in-delhi/article7872428.ece
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