Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
Hey everybody! I wanted to at least briefly state how much fun I had at the Gran Acuario Mazatlán, which doesn’t seem to have much of a visitor presence on here just yet. It’s really a fantastic new institution! Here’s some of what I enjoyed and some mild criticisms:
Positives:
I’d absolutely love to see them experiment a little with the largest tank - it’s definitely well designed for sharks and deep enough that pelagic species like silky sharks are doing well. Bringing in some devil rays, probably the most iconic non-migratory creatures of the Sea of Cortez, would be perfect. An oceanic whitetip shark, one of the favorites of Jacques Cousteau, would be an absolute grail acquisition and I’d book flights to Mazatlán immediately.
All told, this was a truly great experience! It definitely earns the status of the biggest and best aquarium in Latin America. I’d give it a solid 93/100 if I had to grade it.
Positives:
- The architecture: This aquarium is one of the most creatively designed I’ve seen in a while, maybe ever. The whole place is meant to evoke a ruin that’s been revealed through archeological digs (almost an Atlantis vibe) and it’s done really well. The planted walls and waterfalls really nail the feel they’re going for.
- The species diversity: They were going for a complete Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California focus and they nailed that, with only a handful of iconic species not present and similarly few misappropriated species from other areas.
- The exhibit design: I can’t overstate how well they did on the grand Sea of Cortez finale tank especially. They crushed it with the multiple beautiful viewing windows and the gloriously deep and endless backdrop. The Mangrove tank and Ray Bay also look incredible though I wish there was more than one viewing area for the latter as it’s quite deep.
- The signage/educational work: At least for the Spanish language stuff, it was legitimately fantastic and detailed. Really focused on enlightening people to the Sea of Cortez and its beauties and perils faced.
- The staff: Every staff member was friendly and very easy to talk to, and many were English speakers to help out Spanish-impaired folk like myself.
- The price: $23 per person is insanely cheap.
- The sharks and rays: If you can’t tell, I’m extremely biased in this department and it didn’t at all disappoint. Great species diversity and almost all Sea of Cortez natives. Plenty of rare ones too!
- The English signage: They’re working on a QR code system to bring an English element to all their educational work, which is a great idea to be clear. But it’s not finished and it was down when I came.
- The species lists on both the website and for the aquarium staff are insanely inaccurate. They either feature species they don’t have or have never had. I was able to work out what I was looking for but that’s gotta change.
- The sea lion show was a tad circusy, though it was mostly featuring natural behaviors and was seemingly solidly educational.
I’d absolutely love to see them experiment a little with the largest tank - it’s definitely well designed for sharks and deep enough that pelagic species like silky sharks are doing well. Bringing in some devil rays, probably the most iconic non-migratory creatures of the Sea of Cortez, would be perfect. An oceanic whitetip shark, one of the favorites of Jacques Cousteau, would be an absolute grail acquisition and I’d book flights to Mazatlán immediately.
All told, this was a truly great experience! It definitely earns the status of the biggest and best aquarium in Latin America. I’d give it a solid 93/100 if I had to grade it.
