Found this site that lists the attempts that have been made, and why they failed.
Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) in Captivity
Georgia Aquarium Georgia Aquarium News
- Thread starter Zebraduiker
- Start date
Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) in Captivity
imaginarius
Well-Known Member
Blue sharks, mako sharks, thresher sharks, and great white sharks are all ocean-going, pelagic species that swim thousands of miles every year. Keeping them in tanks, even enormous ones, is almost impossible because they swim very fast, bump into the glass, and quickly die of stress. That’s also why it’s incredibly difficult to keep things like blue marlins, bluefin tuna, and swordfish in captivity (although some facilities have had limited success). Goblin sharks, megamouth sharks, and Greenland sharks are all deep-sea-dwelling species, and incredibly hard to even find in the ocean. And honestly, aquaria don’t know enough yet to successfully exhibit most small benthic fish, let alone huge ones. Greenland sharks also can live for 500+ years — the longest-living vertebrate. Imagine having to ensure your aquarium will still be standing in the year 2500!
https://twitter.com/georgiaaquarium/status/1314564628706471937?s=21
Posting from their Twitter, indicating that Sharks! Predators of the Deep opens on October 23rd. This, along with Houston Zoo’s Pantanal exhibit, are going to be blockbuster hits in a much needed time and good way to end the year. Can’t wait to visit, I hope a fellow Zoochatter can give us the personal scoop on their experience when it opens
Posting from their Twitter, indicating that Sharks! Predators of the Deep opens on October 23rd. This, along with Houston Zoo’s Pantanal exhibit, are going to be blockbuster hits in a much needed time and good way to end the year. Can’t wait to visit, I hope a fellow Zoochatter can give us the personal scoop on their experience when it opens
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No but Alaska Sea life center has successfully held Pacific Sleeper sharks which are similar
Do we know the species that will be kept in the exhibit yet. I know tiger sharks but I was wondering what else because in the trailer I thought I saw a Great Hammerhead
The species list is complete regarding the sharks. The schooling fish in the tank are False Pilchards
Here is another video of Shark Exhibit. Its public Dropbox - SharkBroll_Final.mp4 - Simplify your life
The Monterey Aquarium tried to keep a blue shark in its Outer Bay exhibit before it opened and i
The one at Monterey was in the Outer Bay exhibit before it opened to the public in 1996. It was never actually on public exhibit before its unfortunate death.
I believe you can add round ribbontail rays to the species list, according to what I found on their website.
Sharks! Predators of the Deep opened on October 23, and I visited on November 2. I am happy to report that the exhibit is an excellent addition to the facility, surpassing in quality all the other additions to the aquarium since I last visited in 2009.
The aquarium had to relocate its main entrance to make room for this addition, which now occupies most of the front facade facing Centennial Olympic Park, where a tall curved pointed canopy topped with the facility name used to soar over the streetscape. The new entrance is less dramatic, located closer to the middle of the building facing Pemberton Park (the greenspace that the aquarium shares with the World of Coca Cola attraction as well as the museum called the National Center for Civil and Human Rights). The building forms a deep recessed canopy over most of the new entrance area so that the queue is protected and shaded before entry. Once inside, a dark hallway has some 'welcome" graphics and is dominated by the largest and longest moon jelly exhibit I have ever seen, along one wall. Previously, the entry feature exhibit had been a wall tank on each side with jacks swimming against an artificial current to create an exciting kinetic display, but this newer exhibit is still an engaging introduction.
After entering the grand lobby from which all the themed exhibit complexes radiate, Sharks! Predator of the Deep is announced by two modern graphic signs facing the lobby, the first of which is a video screen with animations of the "Sharks!" word. The "Predators of the Deep" sign is a static backlit letters sign and is surrounded by several video signs with animated shark projections. For orientation for those familiar with the lobby, this new exhibit entrance is located between the gift shop and the Pier 225 (California sea lion) exhibit. The one-way hallway journey then proceeds, into what will be a spacious wide path wisely designed with crowds in mind. I arrived first thing in the morning and there were only a few visitors inside so I did not see the need for so much space but of course that is a contrast from peak summer midday visitation. The hallway is very dark throughout its length, a very wise scheme since the exhibit is very darkly lit. By design the low light helps to obscure the fact that the exhibit is surrounded by 7 viewing areas and it obscures clear views of visitors across the tank. To compare, this new exhibit is darker than the larger and whale shark-inhabited Ocean Voyager tank. Dark exhibits can have challenges with glare from nearby wall graphics and path lights; fortunately the extensive excellent graphics are placed and lit with minimal distraction to the tank. The tank is 20 feet deep and holds 1.2 million gallons; the website says the length of the gallery is 185 feet, meaning that the actual length of the tank is less than half that but unspecified. The tank shape is basically a flat oval. Inside the tank, there are simulated rocky outcrops that are mostly short, with the exception of one wall on one side that rises to the top of the tank. The viewing areas in order of encounter are: a medium-sized flat wall rectangle placed high on the wall that gives a preview of the upper reaches of the habitat; a large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle: another large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle; a large viewing area at one end of the curved tank with three medium-sized flat wall rectangles and three wedge-shaped overhead panels for looking up to any surface swimmers; a large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle with a small angle at the top that allows for minimal overhead viewing; a series of three medium-sized wall panels; and finally, a large curved alcove panel with a large curved overhead panel. I applaud the designers for not throwing in a viewing tunnel in this exhibit that would be a visual distraction in the center, as so many similar habitats have featured over the years. I also commend their restraint in the sizes and shapes and configurations of the viewing windows, which are relatively uniform here compared to the rest of this aquarium's one-of-everything approach in so many of its other exhibits.
According to a docent, there are currently 20 shark inhabitants in the exhibit. Species identification graphics clearly list these four shark species:
Great Hammerhead
Sand Tiger Shark
Silvertip Shark
Tiger Shark
I can confirm seeing all four species, and it appeared to be fairly equal in number. Three of the species seemed to be using the entire habitat, while the tiger sharks seemed to be staying at the upper elevations mostly to one side of the tank. In addition, there was a large school of unidentified small fish with no signage; they were always at the center of the habitat toward the bottom.
Visible on one side of the exhibit is a small shallow access ledge at the top of the tank that adjoins an additional shallow habitat separated by a net; I could see what looked like several zebra sharks and unidentified rays. There is no signage for these animals. On the website however, it explains that there is an animal encounter program for an additional fee of $99.95, where visitors go behind-the-scenes to enter the smaller habitat to touch and feed. The website does not list the species either, but pictures clearly depict zebra sharks and some sort of ray. Starting in January there will also be a cage-diving experience in the main habitat for $233.95.
I will post photos of this exhibit soon once I edit them, although they will be dark and feature blurry sharks! I was lazy and set my camera to auto settings, which do not yield fine photography in such dark settings with fast moving great hammerheads!
The aquarium had to relocate its main entrance to make room for this addition, which now occupies most of the front facade facing Centennial Olympic Park, where a tall curved pointed canopy topped with the facility name used to soar over the streetscape. The new entrance is less dramatic, located closer to the middle of the building facing Pemberton Park (the greenspace that the aquarium shares with the World of Coca Cola attraction as well as the museum called the National Center for Civil and Human Rights). The building forms a deep recessed canopy over most of the new entrance area so that the queue is protected and shaded before entry. Once inside, a dark hallway has some 'welcome" graphics and is dominated by the largest and longest moon jelly exhibit I have ever seen, along one wall. Previously, the entry feature exhibit had been a wall tank on each side with jacks swimming against an artificial current to create an exciting kinetic display, but this newer exhibit is still an engaging introduction.
After entering the grand lobby from which all the themed exhibit complexes radiate, Sharks! Predator of the Deep is announced by two modern graphic signs facing the lobby, the first of which is a video screen with animations of the "Sharks!" word. The "Predators of the Deep" sign is a static backlit letters sign and is surrounded by several video signs with animated shark projections. For orientation for those familiar with the lobby, this new exhibit entrance is located between the gift shop and the Pier 225 (California sea lion) exhibit. The one-way hallway journey then proceeds, into what will be a spacious wide path wisely designed with crowds in mind. I arrived first thing in the morning and there were only a few visitors inside so I did not see the need for so much space but of course that is a contrast from peak summer midday visitation. The hallway is very dark throughout its length, a very wise scheme since the exhibit is very darkly lit. By design the low light helps to obscure the fact that the exhibit is surrounded by 7 viewing areas and it obscures clear views of visitors across the tank. To compare, this new exhibit is darker than the larger and whale shark-inhabited Ocean Voyager tank. Dark exhibits can have challenges with glare from nearby wall graphics and path lights; fortunately the extensive excellent graphics are placed and lit with minimal distraction to the tank. The tank is 20 feet deep and holds 1.2 million gallons; the website says the length of the gallery is 185 feet, meaning that the actual length of the tank is less than half that but unspecified. The tank shape is basically a flat oval. Inside the tank, there are simulated rocky outcrops that are mostly short, with the exception of one wall on one side that rises to the top of the tank. The viewing areas in order of encounter are: a medium-sized flat wall rectangle placed high on the wall that gives a preview of the upper reaches of the habitat; a large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle: another large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle; a large viewing area at one end of the curved tank with three medium-sized flat wall rectangles and three wedge-shaped overhead panels for looking up to any surface swimmers; a large floor-to-ceiling flat rectangle with a small angle at the top that allows for minimal overhead viewing; a series of three medium-sized wall panels; and finally, a large curved alcove panel with a large curved overhead panel. I applaud the designers for not throwing in a viewing tunnel in this exhibit that would be a visual distraction in the center, as so many similar habitats have featured over the years. I also commend their restraint in the sizes and shapes and configurations of the viewing windows, which are relatively uniform here compared to the rest of this aquarium's one-of-everything approach in so many of its other exhibits.
According to a docent, there are currently 20 shark inhabitants in the exhibit. Species identification graphics clearly list these four shark species:
Great Hammerhead
Sand Tiger Shark
Silvertip Shark
Tiger Shark
I can confirm seeing all four species, and it appeared to be fairly equal in number. Three of the species seemed to be using the entire habitat, while the tiger sharks seemed to be staying at the upper elevations mostly to one side of the tank. In addition, there was a large school of unidentified small fish with no signage; they were always at the center of the habitat toward the bottom.
Visible on one side of the exhibit is a small shallow access ledge at the top of the tank that adjoins an additional shallow habitat separated by a net; I could see what looked like several zebra sharks and unidentified rays. There is no signage for these animals. On the website however, it explains that there is an animal encounter program for an additional fee of $99.95, where visitors go behind-the-scenes to enter the smaller habitat to touch and feed. The website does not list the species either, but pictures clearly depict zebra sharks and some sort of ray. Starting in January there will also be a cage-diving experience in the main habitat for $233.95.
I will post photos of this exhibit soon once I edit them, although they will be dark and feature blurry sharks! I was lazy and set my camera to auto settings, which do not yield fine photography in such dark settings with fast moving great hammerheads!
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Thanks for the detailed review @geomorph and the aquarium has updated its map to include Sharks! Predators of the Deep (scroll down to see Gator Crossing on the Upper Level):
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GAQ-Visual-Map.pdf
It's amazing at how comprehensive Georgia Aquarium is in comparison to the 160+ other public aquariums in the United States. Whales, dolphins, sea lions, otters, sharks, penguins, puffins, sea turtles, alligators, a big coral reef tank, etc.
Does anyone know how many gallons of water the Georgia Aquarium has these days? It must be somewhere in the neighborhood of 11.5 million gallons and far more than any other American aquarium.
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GAQ-Visual-Map.pdf
It's amazing at how comprehensive Georgia Aquarium is in comparison to the 160+ other public aquariums in the United States. Whales, dolphins, sea lions, otters, sharks, penguins, puffins, sea turtles, alligators, a big coral reef tank, etc.
Does anyone know how many gallons of water the Georgia Aquarium has these days? It must be somewhere in the neighborhood of 11.5 million gallons and far more than any other American aquarium.
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