In one of the other threads listing which zoos we’d been to in 2012, one of the places CGSwans said he had visited was the Australian Shark and Ray Centre. Having never heard of it I checked out its website and found there were two centres, one in Melbourne (presumably the one CGSwans visited) and another at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle in NSW. A couple of weeks later, just before the end of the year, I drove up to check it out.
The building the centre is in is basically one large, old warehouse. Inside are a number of pools deep enough for wading (up to waist deep) and some shallower pools only 12-18 inches or so deep. In these shallower pools are predominantly Stingarees, Shovelnosed Rays and Eastern Fiddler Rays but they also have a few small Port Jackson Sharks, a Blue-spotted Fantail Ray, a Blind Shark, a couple of Tawny Nurse Sharks, a pair of Butterfly Rays, a pair of Leopard Rays, some Epaulette Sharks and some Cat Sharks. Another small pool has some young Eagle and Fiddler Rays. The two very large pools have adult Eagle Rays, Gummy Sharks, Port Jackson Sharks, Stingarees and Black Stingrays. The largest is a big Black Stingray weighing more than 300kg (or so the advertising says). There’s also a shallow pool with an eel and some other fish (catfish I think) and an enclosure for Bluetongue Skinks – I counted eight.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/entrance-303305/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/view-half-complex-303287/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/overview-smaller-tanks-pools-303288/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/fiddler-ray-303307/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/butterfly-rays-303286/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/stingaree-303320/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/shovelnosed-ray-303317/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/port-jackson-shark-303315/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/tawny-nurse-shark-having-feed-303322/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/cat-shark-303309/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/leopard-ray-303311/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/gummy-shark-303308/
Entry was $30 for adults, and this included a plastic drink cup half-full of squid and prawns. You are provided with a piece of wood with a plastic clothes peg attached to the end, you place the food item in the peg and use this to feed the sharks and rays (there are signs up clearly stating it is forbidden to feed with your fingers). Extra cups of food cost $3. You can feed and pat all the sharks and rays, except the young rays – their pool has a sign beside it saying not to touch.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/feeding-fiddlers-303313/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/young-rays-303295/
For an additional $15 you can go in the water. There are two options, you can don a pair of waders or you can put on a wetsuit (the Centre provides both waders and suits). With waders you can stay dry, but considering how hot it can be – it was mid-30’s this day (around 90°F) – getting wet is a good way to cool off.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303289/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303290/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/large-pool-303291/
The roof of the warehouse had strips of clear tiles to allow in the natural light, and being a bright sunny day this caused massive reflections on the water surface making photography a challenge. I asked one of the staff if I could put my camera in the water and he said “Absolutely!” No problem with that whatsoever. So the reflections ceased to be a problem. However, most of the sharks and rays were used to being fed so they would frequently have a go at my camera or hand, but no damage was done.
Labelling was minimal. There were a handful of labels listing the common things, and varying in size from B5 to A1. They looked like they were designed and printed on a personal computer (and they probably were). Many things were not labelled and I had to ask about some of the more unusual species, like the Butterfly Rays (examples of labels attached below).
The warehouse itself looks old (and probably is) and the paintwork on the bottom of the pools is badly scratched. The whole place has an unmaintained feel about it (however, I am not to saying it is NOT maintained, just that’s the impression it gives). I have no idea where they get there water – I presume it is pumped in from the lagoon somewhere but I saw no inlet pipes, nor did I see any filters; probably out the back somewhere off-display. The water certainly appeared clear enough. The impression I got was of a facility where entertainment was the primary (and only) goal. As such, it certainly meets that objective as everyone, both young and old, were having a great time.
But looks can be deceiving, so I found a staff member and asked them “Does the Centre conduct any research or do any conservation work, or is this mainly an edu-tainment facility?” I was being generous with the word ‘edu-tainment’, as there was minimal educational value.
He replied “Yeah, the boss did a bit of research in order to make the signs. Apart from that, I guess we’re the last thing you said.”
One other observation: all the staff I saw, about a dozen of them, all appeared to be 25 years old or younger.
I had pretty much seen everything within 10 minutes, but I stayed for a total of an hour and 15 minutes in order to get a good feel for the place and take photos. To me, it is a water fun park with sharks and rays instead of rides. As admitted by a staff member, there is no research or conservation value at the Centre, and education is pretty minimal. The biggest educational aspect is that people are being exposed to sea creatures they normally wouldn’t see, or only see very occasionally. However, I saw no signs at all saying “Don’t do this with wild sharks and stingrays”.
Finally, and what most zoochatters would be concerned about, the animal welfare aspect: all the creatures I saw (with the exceptions of the youngsters) all came up to the public to be fed and didn’t seem to object to being patted. Some Fiddler and Shovelnosed Rays would come half out of the water they were that enthusiastic. I saw a small wound that appeared to be healing on the big Black Stingray, but no other obvious injuries. The animals appeared to be well-fed; one Epaulette Shark appeared to be a little portly. I did notice that the Blue-spotted Fantail Ray had very pale blue spots – but I don’t know if this is indicative of anything.
Having said that, I must admit I have little experience with sharks and rays in captivity; an expert in these matters could well have a very different view.
Am I glad I went? Yes, because it is somewhere new and different.
Would I go back? No. Apart from everything else, it’s a three-and-a-half hour drive from my place.
As always, the above observations, views and opinions are my own, and nobody else’s. I would encourage anyone who has visited to post their impressions, especially if they are contrary to mine. I’d also be keen to hear a review of the Melbourne version from CGSwans, as I gather from the website both facilities are pretty similar.
Hix
The building the centre is in is basically one large, old warehouse. Inside are a number of pools deep enough for wading (up to waist deep) and some shallower pools only 12-18 inches or so deep. In these shallower pools are predominantly Stingarees, Shovelnosed Rays and Eastern Fiddler Rays but they also have a few small Port Jackson Sharks, a Blue-spotted Fantail Ray, a Blind Shark, a couple of Tawny Nurse Sharks, a pair of Butterfly Rays, a pair of Leopard Rays, some Epaulette Sharks and some Cat Sharks. Another small pool has some young Eagle and Fiddler Rays. The two very large pools have adult Eagle Rays, Gummy Sharks, Port Jackson Sharks, Stingarees and Black Stingrays. The largest is a big Black Stingray weighing more than 300kg (or so the advertising says). There’s also a shallow pool with an eel and some other fish (catfish I think) and an enclosure for Bluetongue Skinks – I counted eight.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/entrance-303305/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/view-half-complex-303287/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/overview-smaller-tanks-pools-303288/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/fiddler-ray-303307/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/butterfly-rays-303286/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/stingaree-303320/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/shovelnosed-ray-303317/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/port-jackson-shark-303315/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/tawny-nurse-shark-having-feed-303322/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/cat-shark-303309/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/leopard-ray-303311/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/gummy-shark-303308/
Entry was $30 for adults, and this included a plastic drink cup half-full of squid and prawns. You are provided with a piece of wood with a plastic clothes peg attached to the end, you place the food item in the peg and use this to feed the sharks and rays (there are signs up clearly stating it is forbidden to feed with your fingers). Extra cups of food cost $3. You can feed and pat all the sharks and rays, except the young rays – their pool has a sign beside it saying not to touch.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/feeding-fiddlers-303313/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/young-rays-303295/
For an additional $15 you can go in the water. There are two options, you can don a pair of waders or you can put on a wetsuit (the Centre provides both waders and suits). With waders you can stay dry, but considering how hot it can be – it was mid-30’s this day (around 90°F) – getting wet is a good way to cool off.
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303289/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303290/
http://www.zoochat.com/1857/large-pool-303291/
The roof of the warehouse had strips of clear tiles to allow in the natural light, and being a bright sunny day this caused massive reflections on the water surface making photography a challenge. I asked one of the staff if I could put my camera in the water and he said “Absolutely!” No problem with that whatsoever. So the reflections ceased to be a problem. However, most of the sharks and rays were used to being fed so they would frequently have a go at my camera or hand, but no damage was done.
Labelling was minimal. There were a handful of labels listing the common things, and varying in size from B5 to A1. They looked like they were designed and printed on a personal computer (and they probably were). Many things were not labelled and I had to ask about some of the more unusual species, like the Butterfly Rays (examples of labels attached below).
The warehouse itself looks old (and probably is) and the paintwork on the bottom of the pools is badly scratched. The whole place has an unmaintained feel about it (however, I am not to saying it is NOT maintained, just that’s the impression it gives). I have no idea where they get there water – I presume it is pumped in from the lagoon somewhere but I saw no inlet pipes, nor did I see any filters; probably out the back somewhere off-display. The water certainly appeared clear enough. The impression I got was of a facility where entertainment was the primary (and only) goal. As such, it certainly meets that objective as everyone, both young and old, were having a great time.
But looks can be deceiving, so I found a staff member and asked them “Does the Centre conduct any research or do any conservation work, or is this mainly an edu-tainment facility?” I was being generous with the word ‘edu-tainment’, as there was minimal educational value.
He replied “Yeah, the boss did a bit of research in order to make the signs. Apart from that, I guess we’re the last thing you said.”
One other observation: all the staff I saw, about a dozen of them, all appeared to be 25 years old or younger.
I had pretty much seen everything within 10 minutes, but I stayed for a total of an hour and 15 minutes in order to get a good feel for the place and take photos. To me, it is a water fun park with sharks and rays instead of rides. As admitted by a staff member, there is no research or conservation value at the Centre, and education is pretty minimal. The biggest educational aspect is that people are being exposed to sea creatures they normally wouldn’t see, or only see very occasionally. However, I saw no signs at all saying “Don’t do this with wild sharks and stingrays”.
Finally, and what most zoochatters would be concerned about, the animal welfare aspect: all the creatures I saw (with the exceptions of the youngsters) all came up to the public to be fed and didn’t seem to object to being patted. Some Fiddler and Shovelnosed Rays would come half out of the water they were that enthusiastic. I saw a small wound that appeared to be healing on the big Black Stingray, but no other obvious injuries. The animals appeared to be well-fed; one Epaulette Shark appeared to be a little portly. I did notice that the Blue-spotted Fantail Ray had very pale blue spots – but I don’t know if this is indicative of anything.
Having said that, I must admit I have little experience with sharks and rays in captivity; an expert in these matters could well have a very different view.
Am I glad I went? Yes, because it is somewhere new and different.
Would I go back? No. Apart from everything else, it’s a three-and-a-half hour drive from my place.
As always, the above observations, views and opinions are my own, and nobody else’s. I would encourage anyone who has visited to post their impressions, especially if they are contrary to mine. I’d also be keen to hear a review of the Melbourne version from CGSwans, as I gather from the website both facilities are pretty similar.
Hix
