Not sure how we all missed this, but apparently Merlin bought out the parent company that runs both aquariums as well as other assets such as the Otway and Illawarra Fly attractions. As long ago as December, in fact.
Coupled with Sydney Aquarium and Oceanworld Manly, it means that AQWA and Sea World are the only remaining major aquariums here that are not owned by the company, which is better known in the northern hemisphere for its Sea Life chain.
I guess this has its good and bad points. On the one hand the company might have the ability to coordinate collection planning and do some good things for species like grey nurse sharks which are conservation-dependent. On the other hand, there is now virtually no competition between major facilities in this country and no good reason to expect excellence from a company which is, frankly, not known for it overseas.
I last visited Sydney Aquarium in February and was upset with some of the very "Sea Life" developments - notably the "Claws" exhibit. One strong point of Sydney Aquarium used to be its near absolute focus on Australian species. The result is that there are many native species displayed there that cannot be seen elsewhere. "Claws" put the first chink in that policy and I fear more will follow. There were also ridiculous Lego statues everywhere (Legoland being a brand owned by Merlin that I'm sure will turn up in Australia at some point), detracting I felt from what traditionally was a mature presentation style at Sydney.
I can also now see, I suspect, Merlin's hand in the Easter period promotion at Melbourne Aquarium "Dance of the Rays". Yes, it featured a small school of juvenile rays but the main focus was headphones for children that played music in a certain part of the Aquarium, which in turn was used as a dance floor. I'm not averse to institutions having activities for kids (something has to pay the bills) but the live animal component of the promotion was very tokenistic. More than ever, in fact.
What are everyone's thoughts? For better or worse, probably two-thirds of the Australian aquarium industry is now in the hands of Merlin Entertainments. Is my dissatisfaction with that unfounded?
Coupled with Sydney Aquarium and Oceanworld Manly, it means that AQWA and Sea World are the only remaining major aquariums here that are not owned by the company, which is better known in the northern hemisphere for its Sea Life chain.
I guess this has its good and bad points. On the one hand the company might have the ability to coordinate collection planning and do some good things for species like grey nurse sharks which are conservation-dependent. On the other hand, there is now virtually no competition between major facilities in this country and no good reason to expect excellence from a company which is, frankly, not known for it overseas.
I last visited Sydney Aquarium in February and was upset with some of the very "Sea Life" developments - notably the "Claws" exhibit. One strong point of Sydney Aquarium used to be its near absolute focus on Australian species. The result is that there are many native species displayed there that cannot be seen elsewhere. "Claws" put the first chink in that policy and I fear more will follow. There were also ridiculous Lego statues everywhere (Legoland being a brand owned by Merlin that I'm sure will turn up in Australia at some point), detracting I felt from what traditionally was a mature presentation style at Sydney.
I can also now see, I suspect, Merlin's hand in the Easter period promotion at Melbourne Aquarium "Dance of the Rays". Yes, it featured a small school of juvenile rays but the main focus was headphones for children that played music in a certain part of the Aquarium, which in turn was used as a dance floor. I'm not averse to institutions having activities for kids (something has to pay the bills) but the live animal component of the promotion was very tokenistic. More than ever, in fact.
What are everyone's thoughts? For better or worse, probably two-thirds of the Australian aquarium industry is now in the hands of Merlin Entertainments. Is my dissatisfaction with that unfounded?
