Sea Life

For similarly named sea-themed tourist attractions, see Sea World (disambiguation).

Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. As of April 2017^[update] there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the world. The chain is owned by the British company Merlin Entertainments.

Sea Life logo, Helsinki

History

Some of the aquariums now called Sea Life predate this rebrand and existed under different designations prior to their consolidation. The original named attraction was Sea Life Centre in Oban, Scotland, which opened in 1979. By 1992, nine other Sea Life units were opened.^[1]

Locations

Asia

• Sea Life Bangkok, Thailand
• Sea Life Busan, South Korea
• Sea Life Nagoya, Japan
• Sea Life Malaysia, Malaysia
• Sea Life Shanghai, China
• Sea Life Sichuan, China (expected opening in 2024, as of 2021)^[2]

In November 2015, Merlin Entertainments announced that over the next 10 years it would invest £50 million in India, some of which will be used to open Sea Life centres.^[3] 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.^[4]

Europe

Germany

Sea Life centre in Königswinter, Germany

• Sea Life Berlin, Berlin
• Sea Life Hanover, Hanover
• Sea Life Konstanz, Konstanz
• Sea Life Munich, Munich
• Sea Life Oberhausen, Oberhausen, This is the largest Sea Life Centre in Germany. This was the home of Paul, the octopus who correctly predicted the German national football team's results at the world cup of 2010,^[5] until his death in October 2010.
• Sea Life Speyer, Speyer
• Sea Life Timmendorfer Strand, Timmendorfer Strand

United Kingdom

Birmingham

Blackpool

Brighton

Great Yarmouth

Gweek

Hunstanton

Loch Lomond

London

Manchester

Scarborough

Weymouth

Locations of Sea Life centres in the United Kingdom (excluding those at resort theme parks)

National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham

Scarborough Sea Life centre

• Alton Towers Resort, Staffordshire, England - Sharkbait Reef by Sea Life
• Chessington World of Adventures, England - Chessington Sea Life Centre
• Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Gweek, England
• Legoland Windsor Resort, England - Atlantis Submarine Voyage
• National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham, England
• Sea Life Blackpool, Blackpool, England
• Sea Life Brighton, Brighton, England
• Sea Life Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth, England
• Sea Life Hunstanton, Hunstanton, England
• Sea Life Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond, Scotland
• Sea Life London Aquarium, London, England
• Sea Life Manchester, Manchester, England
• Sea Life Scarborough, Scarborough, England
• Sea Life Weymouth, Weymouth, England

Others

• Gardaland, Italy
• Legoland Billund, Billund, Denmark
• Sea Life Benalmádena, Benalmádena, Spain
• Sea Life Blankenberge, Blankenberge, Belgium
• Sea Life Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
• Sea Life Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
• Sea Life Paris, Paris, France
• Sea Life Porto, Porto, Portugal
• Sea Life Scheveningen, The Hague, Netherlands

Former sites

• Cuxhaven
• Hastings, England - Sea Life Hastings - sold and now belongs to the Blue Reef Aquarium chain
• Jesolo Sea Life
• Oban, Scotland - Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary - closed in October 2018^[6]
• St. Andrews, Scotland - sold and now operates as the St. Andrews Aquarium
• Königswinter, Germany - closed in December 2022
• Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom - sold to SeaQuarium Ltd which operated it until its closure in 2019
• Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland - closed in December 2023^[7]
• Manly, Australia - Manly Sea Life Sanctuary - Closed in January 2018

North America

United States

• Sea Life Legoland California
• Sea Life Arizona
• Sea Life at Mall of America
• Sea Life Caverns at Marine Life
• Sea Life Charlotte-Concord
• Sea Life Grapevine
• Sea Life Kansas City
• Sea Life Michigan
• Sea Life New Jersey
• Sea Life Orlando
• Sea Life San Antonio

Oceania

• Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, Auckland, New Zealand^[8]
• Sea Life Melbourne, Australia^[9]
• Sea Life Sunshine Coast, Australia^[9]
• Sea Life Sydney, Australia^[10]

Controversies

Sea Life centres have been criticised over animal welfare, with the Marine Conservation Society calling a 30% per annum mortality rate "disturbing."^[11] The charity Freedom for Animals has criticised Sea Life over their conservation claims and also for the presence of Beluga whales at attractions.^[12][13]

References

1. "Interview: Merlin and the money men". Leisuremanagement.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
2. "Merlin Entertainments announces world's first standalone Peppa Pig Resort in Sichuan, China". Merlinentertainments.biz. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
3. "Madame Tussauds' wax museum to open in Delhi". Thehindu.com. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
4. Agarwal, Sapna (17 January 2017). "After Madame Tussauds, Merlin set to bring Legoland, Sea Life to India". Livemint.com/. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
5. "German 'psychic' octopus predicts victory for Spain". BBC News. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
6. "Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary to close at the end of October". BBC News. 6 September 2018.
7. "After careful consideration, we have taken the difficult decision to close SEA LIFE Bray towards the end of this year. Please see more information below". Visit Sea Life. 30 October 2023.
8. 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.
9. "Locations". Merlin Entertainments. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
10. "Merlin Entertainments Group Announces $10 Million Sydney Aquarium Refurbishment". ausleisure.com.au. Australian Leisure Management. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
11. "Sea Life centre sees a third of animals die in a year". Bbc.co.uk. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
12. "Conservation claims of Sea Life centres don't stand up to scrutiny". Freedomforanimals.org.uk. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
13. "Jun Jun the beluga whale dies under the care of Merlin Entertainments". Freedomforanimals.org.uk. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2021.

External links

• Media related to Sea Life at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website