Sea Life


Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions around the world. The chain is owned by the British company, Merlin Entertainments.

Attractions

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. Manly Sea Life Sanctuary operates in Australia. The Hunstanton facility operates otter and penguin sanctuaries as well as a seal hospital.
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

Asia

Centres are located at Sea Life Bangkok, Sea Life Busan and Sea Life Shanghai.
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. In January 2017, Merlin Entertainments Indian subsidiary stated that it was in discussion with real estate firms to open Sea Life centres in multiple cities in India.

Europe

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 correctly predicted the German national football team's results at the world cup of 2010, until his death in October 2010.

United Kingdom

A former site in St. Andrews has now been sold and is now running separately as "St. Andrews' Aquarium".
Sea Life Centres at resort theme parks:
Other European Sea Life centres are at Bray, Ireland; Helsinki, Finland; Val d'Europe, Paris, France; Porto, Portugal, and The Hague, Netherlands.
Related 'theme-park' resorts are at Billund, Denmark; Legoland Atlantis by Sea Life, Germany; Gardaland Sea Life, Italy and Jesolo Sea Life.

North America

United States

American centres are located at:
There is also a related 'theme park' at Carlsbad, California, at Legoland California Resort.

Oceania

Centres are located in Australia at Sea Life Melbourne, Sea Life Mooloolaba and Sea Life Sydney Aquarium
New Zealand has Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, Auckland.

Controversies

Sea Life centres have been criticized over animal welfare, with the Marine Conservation Society calling a 30% mortality rate "disturbing." The charity Freedom for Animals has criticized Sea Life over their conservation claims, and also for the presence of Beluga whales at attractions.