Nordsøen Oceanarium

Last updated
Nordsøen Oceanarium
Nordsomuseet in Hirtshals, Denmark.jpg
Date opened 1998
Location Hirtshals, Denmark
Coordinates 57°35′12″N9°58′48″E / 57.5866°N 9.9800°E / 57.5866; 9.9800 Coordinates: 57°35′12″N9°58′48″E / 57.5866°N 9.9800°E / 57.5866; 9.9800
No. of species 70 (fish only, not counting mammals and invertebrates) [1]
Volume of largest tank 4,500,000 litres (1,200,000 US gal) [2]
Website en.nordsoenoceanarium.dk

Nordsøen Oceanarium is a public aquarium and museum that opened in 1998 on the shores of the North Sea in Hirtshals, north Jutland, Denmark. Their main tank, which holds 4,500,000 litres (1,200,000 US gal), is the largest in Northern Europe, [2] but the Oceanarium also has several smaller habitat aquariums and an exhibit with seals. Species displayed are native to the oceans around Denmark.

Public aquarium facility with large tanks for water-dwelling species

A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks. Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular and their numbers have increased. Most modern accredited aquariums stress conservation issues and educating the public.

Museum institution that holds artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, historical, or other importance

A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these items available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. The largest museums are located in major cities throughout the world, while thousands of local museums exist in smaller cities, towns and rural areas. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public.

North Sea marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean

The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).

Contents

The Oceanarium is part of the Nordsøcentre, which also houses a conference centre.

History

The Oceanarium was opened in 1998. It was destroyed by fire in December 2003 and reopened in July 2005.

Exhibits

The centre tank in the oceanarium Nordsoemuseet.jpg
The centre tank in the oceanarium

The centre tank

The large elliptical tank in the centre of the museum's old building measures 22 by 33 metres (72 by 108 ft) and holds 4,500,000 litres (1,200,000 US gal) of water. [2] The centre tank was designed to resemble the open sea in the North Sea, and specially to hold schooling, pelagic fish. [2] It is also a "show-room" for displaying large specimens of some of the species which are also seen in the habitat tanks – for example cod, saithe, turbot and sea-bass. Other large species in the tank are spiny dogfish, skates, and ocean sunfish. In total, there are about 2–3000 fish in this tank. [2]

Shoaling and schooling

In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling, and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling. In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one quarter of fish species shoal all their lives, and about one half shoal for part of their lives.

Pelagic fish Fish living in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters – being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore

Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters – being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore – in contrast with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish, which are associated with coral reefs.

Atlantic cod benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae

The Atlantic cod is a benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling. Dry cod may be prepared as unsalted stockfish, as cured salt cod or clipfish.

Habitat tanks

Twelve tanks, varying in size from 4,000 to 16,000 litres (1,100 to 4,200 US gal), present different habitats from the North Sea - from the sandy bottom by the jetties to the muddy seafloor at several hundred metres in the Norwegian Trench between Denmark and Norway.

In each tank fish and other sea animals which can be found in that particular habitat are shown. The oceanarium tries to make the bottom and the surroundings as authentic as possible, however with the appropriate compromises.

Theme tanks

In addition to the centre tank and habitat tanks the oceanarium has a large number of theme-tanks with fish or other marine animals, which may contain animals which are impossible to show in other tanks, or animals subject to special theme exhibitions; an example would be the exhibition "Creepy Crawlies". Here the oceanarium presents different invertebrates. With special "bio-scanners", visitors are able to see details of the animals not possible with the naked eye.

Invertebrate Animals without a vertebrate column

Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord. This includes all animals apart from the subphylum Vertebrata. Familiar examples of invertebrates include arthropods, mollusks, annelids, and cnidarians.

Other theme-tanks contain small fish found in shallow water. In the Activity area there are tanks which staff biologists use for demonstrations.

Sealarium

In the Oceanarium's large outdoor seal pool, the Sealarium, visitors can get close to the two seal species common in Danish waters – the harbour seal and the grey seal. The Sealarium contains 800,000 litres (210,000 US gal) of seawater which is continually renewed. [3]

Grey seal species of seal

The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. Its name is spelled gray seal in the US; it is also known as Atlantic seal and the horsehead seal.

Related Research Articles

Shedd Aquarium public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States that opened on May 30, 1930. The aquarium contains 32,000 animals, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 US gallons of water. Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. Located on Lake Michigan, it is located on the Museum Campus Chicago, which it shares with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. In 2015, the aquarium had 2.02 million visitors. It was the most visited aquarium in the U.S. in 2005, and in 2007, it surpassed the Field Museum as the most popular cultural attraction in Chicago. The aquarium contains 1,500 species, including fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects. The aquarium received awards for "best exhibit" from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for Seahorse Symphony in 1999, Amazon Rising in 2001, and Wild Reef in 2004. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November. The aquarium has more than 22,000 members and hosts more than 1.3 million visitors each year.

Lisbon Oceanarium oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal

The Lisbon Oceanarium is an oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. It is located in the Parque das Nações, which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is the largest indoor aquarium in Europe.

Sea Life Sunshine Coast

Sea Life Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia is a marine mammal park, oceanarium and wildlife sanctuary. Sea Life Sunshine Coast is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA). The attraction is a Sea Life Centre owned by Merlin Entertainments, and is globally referred to as Sea Life Sunshine Coast by the firm. It was formerly known as UnderWater World.

Underwater World, Singapore

Underwater World, also known as Underwater World Singapore Pte Ltd, was a former oceanarium located on the offshore Singaporean island of Sentosa.

Kelly Tarltons Sea Life Aquarium public aquarium in New Zealand

Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium is a public aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand that was opened in 1985. Located at 23 Tamaki Drive, it was the brainchild of New Zealand marine archaeologist and diver Kelly Tarlton (1937–1985).

Oceanarium

An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as MarineLand, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks.

Aquarium Barcelona aquarium located in Port Vell, a harbor in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Aquarium Barcelona is an aquarium located in Port Vell, a harbor in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium aquarium in Sydney, Australia

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium contains 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 water habitats. Additionally, the aquarium features 14 themed zones including Jurassic Seas, Discovery Rockpool, Shark Walk, and the world’s largest Great Barrier Reef display. Along the way, visitors encounter animals unique to each habitat, including one of only four dugongs on display in the world, sharks, stingrays, penguins and tropical fish, among others.

National Aquarium Denmark aquarium in Kastrup, Denmark

National Aquarium Denmark, Den Blå Planet is a public aquarium in Denmark. The original aquarium was located in Charlottenlund, but this facility closed in 2012 and most of the animal collection was relocated to the new and much larger aquarium Den Blå Planet in Kastrup, a suburb of Copenhagen. The National Aquarium Denmark, Den Blå Planet opened to the public in March 2013 and is the largest aquarium in Northern Europe.

LOceanogràfic aquarium in Valencia, Spain

L'Oceanogràfic is an oceanarium situated in the east of the city of Valencia, Spain, where different marine habitats are represented. It was designed by the architect Félix Candela and the structural engineers Alberto Domingo and Carlos Lázaro. It is integrated inside the cultural complex known as the Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències. It was opened on 14 February 2003.

Nausicaä Centre National de la Mer aquarium in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France

Nausicaā Centre National de la Mer is a public aquarium located in Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. It is the largest public aquarium of Europe.

Deep Sea World aquarium in Fife, Scotland

Deep Sea World is an aquarium located in the village of North Queensferry, in Fife, Scotland. It is host to a collection of large sand tiger sharks, also known as ragged toothed sharks or grey nurse sharks, and various other species of shark.

Aquarium transparent tank of water for fish and water-dwelling species

An aquarium is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles such as turtles, and aquatic plants. The term "aquarium", coined by English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, combines the Latin root aqua, meaning water, with the suffix -arium, meaning "a place for relating to". The aquarium principle was fully developed in 1850 by the chemist Robert Warington, who explained that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as the numbers of animals did not grow too large. The aquarium craze was launched in early Victorian England by Gosse, who created and stocked the first public aquarium at the London Zoo in 1853, and published the first manual, The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea in 1854. An aquarium is a water-filled tank in which fish swim about. Small aquariums are kept in the home by hobbyists. There are larger public aquariums in many cities. This kind of aquarium is a building with fish and other aquatic animals in large tanks. A large aquarium may have otters, turtles, dolphins, and other sea animals. Most aquarium tanks also have plants.

Great Aquarium Saint-Malo aquarium in Saint-Malo, France

The Great Aquarium – Saint-Malo is an aquarium in Saint-Malo, France. It opened in 1996 and now belongs to the group Compagnie des Alpes, which also owns many other parks in France and Europe. The aquarium houses 11,000 marine animals representing 600 species. It covers 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) and holds 2,500,000 litres (660,000 US gal) of water . 360,000 people visit this site each year making it the second most visited tourist site in Brittany.

North Carolina Aquariums

North Carolina Aquariums is a system of three public aquariums located in Kure Beach, Roanoke Island and Pine Knoll Shores. All are operated by the Aquariums Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources since 1976 and are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. All three aquariums feature dive shows, live animal encounters, and feeding programs.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park situated in Hengqin, Zhuhai, China

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a theme park situated in Hengqin, Zhuhai, People's Republic of China. It is designed by PGAV Destinations. The park broke ground on 28 November 2010 and soft-opened on 28 January 2014. The grand opening occurred on 29 March 2014. The first phase of the park cost RMB 10 billion to build. It is part of the Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort, which aims to become the "Orlando of China". According to TEA and AECOM, it is the 11th most visited theme park in the world in 2017, with over 9.7 million visitors.

Coral World Underwater Observatory Eilat si beautiful

Eilat's Coral World Underwater Observatory is a public aquarium, park and conservation center located in Eilat, Israel. It is the biggest public aquarium in Israel, and it hosts over 800 species. It was founded in 1974 and was the first of its kind. The park and aquarium is located to the south of Eilat's Coral Beach nature reserve.

Kattegatcentret is a public aquarium in Grenå, Denmark. Its name refers to the Kattegat sea.

References

  1. ↑ Nordjyllands Trafikselskab: Nordsøen Oceanarium. Retrieved 8 December 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Nordsøen Oceanarium: The Open Sea. Archived 2015-07-05 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Nordsøen Oceanarium: Seal Colony Limfjorden. Retrieved 8 December 2012.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.