SEA LIFE centres & Sanctuaries

Sea Life Centres to hold Sea Life Shark Weeks 15th – 30th October 2011

15 – 30 October this year will see Sea Life centres hosting special Shark Weeks in an urgent bid for shark conservation.

Proudly supporting the Shark Alliance’s ‘European Shark Week’ and the Shark Trust, Sea Life will present a range of exciting, interactive family activities to raise awareness about the plight of sharks.

Activities will be hosted individually by each centre, including exciting shark quiz trails, special shark talks, amazing shark facts, shark crafts, shark competitions and more.

With alarming research showing there are fewer Great White sharks left in our seas than there are tigers on the earth, whilst tens of millions of sharks are cruelly killed every year for their fins, Sea Life centres will also be calling on visitors to sign a petition put forward by the Shark Alliance to tighten laws on shark finning.

While many nations have declared bans on shark finning, glaring loop holes allow fishermen to harvest shark fins in vast, unsustainable numbers which, unless stopped, will end in the extinction of many species.

During Shark Weeks, Sea Life will aim to collect over 100,000 signatures in support of protecting sharks from lax finning laws.

After close of European Shark Weeks on 30th October, the petitions will be used to lobby EU fisheries ministers to tighten laws on shark finning and ban the removal of shark fins at sea.

As sharks are able to detect a drop of blood in an Olympic sized swimming pool, other activities will include a smell stall where visitors will be able to smell how everyday aromas would smell to a shark, whilst other centres involved in shark training will present a special shark feeding display limited to Shark Weeks only.

With Birmingham Sea Life Centre being home to Hammerhead Sharks, visitors will also be able to experience what it is like to have 360 degree vision like a Hammerhead.

Activities and times will vary according to each centre and visitors are advised to check the Sea Life Centres’ website www.sealife.co.uk or call their local centre before visiting for further information.

Top Shark facts:

• Sharks as a species are over 400million years old, meaning this fascinating group pre-dates the Dinosaurs.
• Dr Ronald O'Dor, senior scientist at the Census of Marine life, informed scientists at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Diego that shocking research by Professor Barbara Block shows there are fewer Great Whites left in the ocean than there are Tigers on the Earth.
• A shark’s sense of smell is so good, they can detect one drop of blood in an Olympic sized swimming pool.
• Lightning is more dangerous than Sharks: More people die from lightning strikes each year than die from being attacked by a shark.
• A wasp is more dangerous than a shark: There are approximately 100 shark attacks on humans worldwide per year. Approximately five – 15 of these cases result in death. It is estimated 100 people die a year from an adverse reaction to a wasp sting.
• The Whale Shark is the biggest fish living in our oceans.
• Puffer Fish are immune to becoming shark bait – sharks cannot eat them because the Puffer can blow up in their mouths and prick them with their spiny needles.
• Sharks never get cancer, and may hold the secret to the cure .
• Lantern Sharks can glow in the dark.
• Sharks don’t have bones. Instead, their skull, spinal column and fin supports are made of cartilage like parts of human noses and ears.
• Oceanic Sharks have to keep moving to stay alive: Most oceanic sharks need to propel themselves forward in order to push water over their gills and breathe.

 

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SEA LIFE centres & Sanctuaries are Britain's best known marine wildlife attractions.

Great New Offerings at Sea Life Centres
For 2011 Season

Crocodiles, spectacular weedy seadragons, turtles and penguins…just some of the new creatures making their debuts at UK Sea Life Centres this year.

There are also a host of special events planned from a turtle festival next May, a summer focus on endangered sea creatures called Oceans 11 and a Shark Week in October.

From February and throughout the year every Sea Life and Sanctuary will have a particular emphasis on turtle conservation as they strive to raise funds to complete a new turtle rescue centre on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

 

National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham

Brand new for 2011, the National Sea Life Centre will be welcoming a rare Bowmouth Shark.The first Hammerhead sharks in Europe are already appearing here and spearheading a major shark conservation drive by the Centre. The Centre also houses more than 40 spectacular display tanks featuring everything from sea turtles and rays to seahorses and Asian short-clawed otters.
The Waters Edge, Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HL.

 

Blackpool Sea Life Centre

New for 2011, Blackpool Sea Life Centre will be unveiling ‘Claws,’ a collection of amazing crabs, lobsters and other crazy crustaceans from around the world. Already home to one of the world’s biggest tropical shark collections, the centre recently welcomed an extraordinary bowmouth shark. Dozens of other displays house more than 100 other species of sea creature, including weird Isopods and others in a special Scary Monsters exhibition.
Promenade, Blackpool, Lancs FY1 5AA.

 

Brighton Sea Life Centre

Closed from 31st October until the New Year for restoration works and 2 new features.

A Giant Pacific Octopus and a Coconut Crab will be among the residents in a new Superheroes exhibition opening in Brighton this Easter.
The UK aquarium world’s first glass-bottomed boat has also been floated atop the Centre’s huge ocean tank providing aerial views of sea turtles Lulu and Jersey, a host of tropical sharks and shoals of colourful reef fish. You can also find an incredible range of both freshwater and marine fish here in the UK’s oldest aquarium.
Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1TB.

 

Weymouth Sea Life Park

New bonnethead sharks are to be unveiled at the Park this year, along with a great new nursery attraction housing infant and juvenile sea creatures of many different species. This The Park includes a thrilling crocodile house log-flume ride, turtle and seal sanctuaries, otter and penguin enclosures, Splash Lagoon, Adventure Island and a host of diverse aquarium displays housing everything from shrimps and starfish to seahorses and stingrays. It is a perfect day out for the whole family!
Lodmoor Country Park, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 7SX.

 

Scarborough Sea Life Centre

A special new ‘crabs’ feature and new Pirate Adventure Golf course are opening at Scarborough Sea Life this year.
Incredible leafy seadragons, bizarre relatives of the seahorse, have taken centre-stage at Scarborough Sea Life Centre. Other attractions include a busy rescue and rehab’ facility for common and grey seals, ocean tank housing sea turtle Antiopi, sharks and others, Asian otters, a penguin colony, freshwater turtle sanctuary and lots more.
Scalby Mills, Scarborough, North Yorks YO12 6RP.

 

Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre

Dragon’s Den is the new attraction at Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre this year…starring spectacular weedy and leafy seadragons.
This follows an amazing new Amazon-themed attraction complete with live crocodiles and a penguin facility…already a firm favourite with visitors. The Centre’s mighty ocean tank complete with sea turtle and tropical sharks is the centrepiece of more than 30 stunning aquarium displays.
Marine Parade, Gt Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 3AH.

 

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary

A new Turtle Sanctuary for rare and endangered freshwater turtles will be the big new draw at the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary this year.
Lovingly refurbished during its 30th anniversary year in 2009…this popular attraction welcomed a Giant Pacific Octopus last year.
Situated amidst tall conifers on the edge of picturesque Loch Creran, this gorgeous facility also has a busy seal rescue and rehab’ programme; an otter enclosure that is home to North American otters Lewis and Isla and a wide array of aquarium displays featuring both native and tropical species.
Barcaldine, Connel, Oban, Argyll PA37 1SE.

 

Loch Lomond Aquarium

Loch Lomond Aquarium’s breathtaking Caribbean ocean display saw the arrival of a green sea turtle recently. This year the attraction will also welcome two spectacular weedy seadragons. Located in the renowned Drumkinnon Tower facing up Loch Lomond itself, it also houses a wide range of both freshwater and marine aquarium displays, and is home to playful otters Rona, Shona and Mona.
Drumkinnon Tower, Ben Lomond Way, Balloch G83 8QL.

The London Aquarium

Travel to the frozen extremities of the Antarctic and experience life with a family of real Gentoo penguins at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium this spring. These acrobats of the penguin world are taking up residence in ICE ADVENTURE - a brand new, major themed experience that will transport guests to a research station deep in the Antarctic.

As the temperature drops visitors will journey through an icy landscape full of fun interactive features. Look at the world through snow goggles, run your hands along a wall of real ice or dip your hands into freezing touch pools. Guests can even get a taste of polar “white out” training as they explore a recreation of a remote ice station complete with authentic equipment donated by leading science and research organisation British Antarctic Survey*. When they arrive in the penguin viewing ice cave, visitors will get a direct window into the habitat of the magical Gentoo penguin, both above and below land. As they dive beneath the water and play in their carefully created new home complete with real ice, guests will discover the challenges of life in the most inhospitable landscape on earth and the dangers its inhabitants face. They will also be able to meet some other Antarctic dwellers - a trio of Japanese Spider Crabs.

 

Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary

Cuvier’s crocodiles take centre stage at Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary this year. This popular venue is also home to a Scary Monsters attraction showcasing some of the most fearsome and frightening creatures of the depths, and a busy seal rescue and rehab’ programme, otters and penguins and a wide range of freshwater and marine aquarium displays …including an ocean tank with bonnethead, guitar and other sharks and colourful reef fish.
Southern Promenade, Hunstanton, Norfolk PE36 5BH.

 

National Sea Life Centre, Bray, Ireland

The National Sea Life centre in Bray becomes home to a pair of leafy seadragons this year.
The Centre recreates the habitats of the rivers, streams and loughs of Ireland and the dark depths of native and tropical seas. Its displays house everything from starfish to bonnethead sharks.
Strand Road, Bray, County Wicklow.

 

National Seal Sanctuary

A new resident common seal Babyface – retired from another wildlife sanctuary after losing his long-term partner – has settled in happily at the Sanctuary.
Here you can also find a small breeding colony of Humboldt penguins…part of a European Sea Life breeding programme. The attraction’s main business of rescue, rear and release for stray, sickly and abandoned grey seal pups will continue unabated however, as will the care of resident and retired seals and sea lions, not to mention a selection of rehomed farm animals…and a pair of Asian short-clawed otters.
Gweek, Cornwall.