What are the world-class aquariums of the world, and what makes one "world class"?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
This subject has probably been covered in earlier threads, but I haven't seen much recent discussion of it so I am starting a new thread.

What are the great aquariums of the world? I have some sense of the great North American aquariums, but am not at all familiar with what people consider the great aquariums of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the rest of the world.

Are there any aquariums of note in South America or Africa?

For North America, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium (Chicago), Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta), and National Aquarium (Baltimore) seem to get attention as being "world class". They all have "blockbuster" exhibits that highlight charismatic sea mammals, sharks, jellies, and other species.

What makes an aquarium "world class"? From my perspective a world-class aquarium would:
1. Immerse visitors in some aspect of ocean life that they would not be able to experience otherwise and meaningfully interpret ocean species, ecosystems, and conservation issues.
2. Be engaged in ocean life research, exploration, and/or conservation in a measurably meaningful way.
3. Provide homes for its animals that unquestionably sustain and enhance their welfare.

How would other Zoochatters define "world-class" for aquariums?
 
One way to distinguish the lesser from the best:- Does it have "Sea Life" in its name?
If the answers yes then it's not world class... ;)
 
- I truly hope that there are some replies from overseas visitors, as in North America it seems as if just about every ZooChatter is in agreement on the 4 world-class aquariums that were already mentioned. Georgia, Shedd, Monterey Bay and Baltimore are terrific, and I really think that Tennessee Aquarium should be added to round out a top 5 for the continent. Tennessee was, and perhaps still is, the largest freshwater aquarium on the planet and all of the exhibits are very impressive.

- Canada is represented by Vancouver Aquarium, which aims to be one of the best facilities on the planet when its $100 million revitilization is complete.

- In the book "The IZES Guide to British Zoos & Aquariums" there is the statement that "these islands still do not possess a world class facility of the size and calibre to be seen in countries such as Japan and the U.S.A.". A couple of hundred tiny zoos but not a world-class aquarium in Great Britain.

- Sydney Aquarium is regarded as the best in Australia, and SeaWorld on the Gold Coast (in Queensland) is also apparently very good if one were to include that facility.

- Japan is the real wild card, with Okinawa Aquarium supposedly world-class.
 
Australia doesn't really have any of the mega aquariums that are found in other countries. Melbourne and Sydney are two of the biggest that I can think of (excluding Seaworld) but I think AQWA in Western Australia is also quite big. I was more impressed by the Oceanium at Rotterdam Zoo than any stand alone aquarium that I've seen though (it's a small list).
 
PAT said:
Australia doesn't really have any of the mega aquariums that are found in other countries. Melbourne and Sydney are two of the biggest that I can think of (excluding Seaworld) but I think AQWA in Western Australia is also quite big. I was more impressed by the Oceanium at Rotterdam Zoo than any stand alone aquarium that I've seen though (it's a small list).
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Even though I have not been there, I hear Reef HQ in Cairns is a very good aquarium focusing on species from the Great Barrier Reef and has the largest GBR exhibit in the world.
 
Thanks for that. I was bound to forget a couple :) . Another one that I'd like to visit is Underwater World in Mooloolaba.
 
In Europe the best aquarium I have seen is the Oceanario in Lisboa. Next to that both Blijdorp and Burgers' aquariums would be among my favourites in Europe. Out of these 3 Lisbon really stands out.
 
In the UK I would say the best we have is The Deep at Hull,but even this isn't as good as either of the aquariums at Blijdorp and Burgers' aquariums in Holland.The best Aquariums in the UK as far as I'm concerned about are
1) The Deep at Hull
2) The National Marine Aquarium,Plymouth
3) Deep Sea World,Scotland
4) Blue Planet Aquarium
5) London or Blackpool Sealife Centre
 
I've been to fewer aquaria than zoos, and can't say I'm all too familiar with which facilities conduct meaningful research. From a visitor p.o.v. I've found most aquaria to be repetitive so I don't make them as much a priority - and still haven't been to some of the top ones here in the U.S. The Georgia Aquarium which is high on my list. I would give a mention to the aquarium in New Orleans, not mentioned above - built from the same mold as Boston or Baltimore, maybe not quite up to that level but a good facility nonetheless.

The Lisbon Aquarium is a standout for me in terms of an innovative design for the visitor, and therefore my favorite to this point. Also, I visited the aquarium in Genoa a few years ago which I think would also qualify as a "world-class" aquarium in Europe. Not particularly unique in design, but quite large in terms of number of exhibits. As a visitor, it was so incredibly crowded it was a bit difficult to really enjoy.

In Asia, I've been to aquaria in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, both of which are relatively new and modern, but located inside of malls, overpriced, and I didn't either were particularly special. Ironically, the Beijing Aquarium (which is inside the zoo but has a separate entrance fee) is relatively new, quite large, and surprisingly enjoyable. Of particular note is an exhibit filled with many very large sturgeon, something you don't see too often. "World class" might be a bit of a stretch but it's pretty darned good - probably need to look to Japan in Asia.

I personally found the Sydney aquarium to be a disappointment, I much preferred the aquarium in Melbourne, which at the time had a couple of sevengill sharks, which were quite special. When Sea World Gold Coast opened up the shark bay exhibit with tiger sharks (not sand tiger sharks) it was amongt the most impressive and vibrant aquatic exhibits I'd ever seen. Unfortunately I think it's design may have been too ambitious as all of the tiger sharks were gone when I was there a year or two ago, and the remaining sharks looked unhealthy. Not sure what the deal is there.
 
DavidBrown said:
Are there any aquariums of note in South America or Africa?
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Several aquariums, including quite a few that are decent and worth a visit if you're in the region, but few of them are noteworthy when compared to aquariums on a worldwide basis. The South American aquarium that I most have enjoyed is in Temaiken Zoo in Argentina. Although they have some very interesting exhibits and show many southern South American marine fish that are rare or absent in aquariums elsewhere in the world, overall the aquarium doesn't match the top aquariums in the world. Their broadnose sevengills are also worth a mention, though kept at a few other aquariums too.

In Africa, the only that I am familiar with that are notable are both in South Africa: uShaka Marine World and Two Oceans Aquarium. uSkaka is a nice aquarium but I've never been a big fan of the amusement park approach and prefer Two Oceans. Among others, Two Oceans has the only kelp forest tank that IMO approaches the quality of the one at Monterey Bay Aq. It's not quite as big (800,000 vs. 1,250,000 liter) but still big enough to be a remarkable sight. The inhabitants are obviously quite different because both tanks focus on local species, e.g. California is a world center for rockfish diversity and has the leopard shark, while South Africa is the center for sea bream diversity and has the pyjama shark. Not much difference to most people I guess, but if you're a fish fan;)

snowleopard said:
Japan is the real wild card, with Okinawa Aquarium supposedly world-class
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Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is easily among the best aquariums in the world and not the only noteworthy aquariums either: Toba Aq. (though some of their marine mammals are kept in exhibits that definitely aren't world class), Osaka Aq. and Tokyo Sea Life Park are also in the top. If only compared to top British aquariums, the Japanese list of top aquariums would be much longer. Compared to its population, I'm sure Japan has more public aquariums than any other country in the world.

The big unknown to me are the Chinese aquariums: Shanghai Aq. and others might be worthy of mention?
 
DavidBrown said:
What makes an aquarium "world class"? From my perspective a world-class aquarium would:
1. Immerse visitors in some aspect of ocean life that they would not be able to experience otherwise and meaningfully interpret ocean species, ecosystems, and conservation issues.
2. Be engaged in ocean life research, exploration, and/or conservation in a measurably meaningful way.
3. Provide homes for its animals that unquestionably sustain and enhance their welfare.

How would other Zoochatters define "world-class" for aquariums?
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Replace the word 'ocean' with the word 'aquatic' and you are closer to the mark: I can't imagine a world-class aquarium that did not include coastal, brackish and freshwater displays.

Alan
 
Bear in mind that currently Sydney Aquarium, Underwater World and Oceanworld Manly are currently being completely redeveloped and re-named (perhaps rather disappointingly) 'Sea Life' (in terms of Sydney and Oceanworld). Sydney Aquarium is completely re-designing the dug on, shark and GBR tanks as well as all of the smaller exhibitions. There will be around seven in total. Hopefully this new branding might make Sydney the best in Australia.
 
2 Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town really is a nice place to visit, with a strong focuss on education and native species. It is the only place I have been to with a whole wall with only aquariums for invertebrates, also inpopular ones like worms! Apart from that their collection is also really good with some nice shark species, african oystercatcher and more.

In Netherlands, both Diergaarde Blijdorp and Burgers Zoo have good aquaria Oceanium and Burgers Ocean.
 
gentle lemur said:
Replace the word 'ocean' with the word 'aquatic' and you are closer to the mark: I can't imagine a world-class aquarium that did not include coastal, brackish and freshwater displays.

Alan
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Yes, absolutely agree with you about "aquatic". Thanks for expanding that definition. Aquariums usually seem to deal with mangroves, saltwater marshes, and other ecosystems that many zoos do not, so that definitely fills a needed educational niche for these vital ecosystems.
 
gerenuk said:
aquariums in France
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I think Oceanopolis in Brest is one of the best aquariums in Europe and they match all three requirements mentioned in the first post of this thread.

An aquarium in USA that people rarely mention, perhaps because it isn't on the US mainland, is Waikiki Aq. It is smaller than most of the aquariums mentioned previously in this thread but they have played and continue to play a major role in marine science, perhaps the single most important institute in the central Pacific (in association with the Bishop Museum and Hawaii Institure of Marine Biology; the aquarium is managed by the University of Hawaii so all are closely connected). Among smaller coral reef fish, they have also had many species that never have been kept in public aquariums elsewhere. If just limiting it to two popular families, butterflyfish and angelfish, species they have kept that no other public aquarium has kept include orangemargin butterflyfish (in the nice NW Hawaii aquarium), Smith´s butterflyfish, masked angelfish (in the nice NW Hawaii aquarium), Nahackyi´s angelfish (not kept currently), Abe´s angelfish and peppermint angelfish. The last two share an aquarium and gained some publicity because rich Japanese collectors called the aquarium offering 30000 US$ for the peppermint angelfish!! This is a fish that only reaches 7 cm or 2½ inches; probably the most valuable animal compared to its size (at least if discouting dead, aberrant birdwing butterflies that can reach crazy prices). For people with a preference for larger animals Waikiki has Hawaiian monk seal.
 
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gerenuk said:
What about the aquariums in France and the Valencia Oceanarium?
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The Valencia Oceanografic is certainly the best aquarium/marine park I have visited, it has many interesting species, which include animals from all aquatic ecosystems and many major taxa. I think the aquariums' scale and design impressed me the most, I'm not really a fan of fish themselves. It definitely meets requirement 1, and I presume 2, but it might fall down on 3, would be better to merge walrus and beluga exhibits and just display one of these species. I would nominate this as world-class though.

Sea World Gold Coast is also very good, with generally excellent outdoor attractions. I don't remember the aquarium itself as being particularly inspired however.

New Zealand has no aquariums which would come anywhere near world-class, although there are a few world-class exhibits scattered around the country.
 
zooboy28 said:
New Zealand has no aquariums which would come anywhere near world-class, although there are a few world-class exhibits scattered around the country.
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really? Where and what would they be? I can't think of any exhibits in NZ aquariums that could be considered world-class.
 
Chlidonias said:
really? Where and what would they be? I can't think of any exhibits in NZ aquariums that could be considered world-class.
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Well, I would say the National Trout Centre has absolutely brilliant set-up for native fish and Auckland Zoo's seal/sea lion enclosure is near perfect (the best I have seen in any zoo). Nothing else springs to mind however.
 
Everyone seems to be calling up their favorite "World Class Aquarium" but what David asked is what MAKES an aquarium "World Class"... This is a question that I have been talking about with my design team quite a bit since David's post and I think it is a difficult question to answer - especially if you look at the varied examples that everyone has posted. Most people can easily say which aquariums are considered World Class but the definition is elusive. What do you all think?
 
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