Two years ago, "Shark City" in Pfungstadt became history. At that time, we harboured a faint hope that the chapter of "constructing new large-scale aquariums" in Germany would remain closed once and for all. In times of climate change and species extinction, no one surely would be so audacious as to plan such an insane project for Germany ever again. Far from it! Of all places, this is precisely what is currently taking place in the capital. "Coral World" is the name of the construction project in Berlin, with terrifying parallels to "Shark City". An Israeli investor, who already operates several large-scale aquariums, has been planning a "family water park" in Rummelsburger Bucht (a bay on the River Spree in the borough of Lichtenberg) since around 2015. The purchase of the site was initiated and planning began, with completing expected in 2019. Over the years, however, the plans changed - and to date, not a single shovel of earth has been turned. According to current planning, a purely large-scale aquarium is to be built there - without the family park, but now with a hotel. This change of plan has now also alerted local politicians - initial objections emerged. And then, virtually in the neighbourhood, the AquaDom in the Radisson Blu burst in December 2022: 1 million litres of water, various fragments of debris and 1,500 dead fish in the hotel lobby and three basement levels. This accident clearly demonstrated the technical risks of such a facility. As a result, local authorities have tightened the requirements, demanding double glazing and partitioning for the new aquariums. Renowned aquarium experts contradict this approach ("complete nonsense") as it is structurally not feasible and moreover useless: if the first pane breaks and falls into the second one, that one will break too. Interesting details regarding the planned construction of "Coral World" are now emerging. Contrary to grand statements that they would under no circumstances plan anything like the AquaDom, a nine-metre-high cylinder is to be built in "Coral World"; certainly not nearly as large as the ruptured AquaDom, but nevertheless a circular construction with all the inherent weaknesses of just such a design. In addition, an 840 m² tank is planned. Even if it were only four metres deep (which is unlikely), it would already hold 3.3 million litres of water. A water depth of five metres already results in 4.2 million litres of water, and with the actually probable tank depth of six metres, around 5 million litres of water are needed to fill it. Water that constantly evaporates and must be replenished. Water that must be permanently kept tempered (heated) to around 25°C. Would you like another calculation? With open-top tanks (which is certainly to be assumed for this size), average evaporation of 7 litres of water per square metre per hour is to be expected even at a water temperature of 24°C. For this tank size, this multiplies to almost 6,000 litres per day or over 150,000 litres of water per month. Mind you, our calculation has an error: in coral tanks, the water is heated up to 29°C, and evaporates significantly faster, meaning even more water per hour, per week, per month... It goes without saying that such a tank cannot function without large panoramic panes for the paying public. In an accident like that of the AquaDom, 5 million litres of saltwater could pour into the Spree. Another parallel to previous large-scale aquarium plans is the operator's continued refusal to publish the stocking list: which animals from which origin are actually supposed to swim among the corals? Logically, and appealing to the expected audience, would be some large fish such as rays and sharks alongside colourful coral fish and mackerel. The planners of "Coral World" are, however, not releasing this stocking list. In response to her inquiry to the Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection, parliamentarian Hendrikje Klein (Die Linke) received the reply: "In the view of CWB Coral-World Berlin mbH, these lists represent a protected interest. Current publication has been objected to by CWB Coral-World Berlin mbH." (Source). This means: the capital's authorities are aware of the planned stocking list, but are not allowed to publish it, as the company considers the information a "protected interest". Parliamentarian Hendrikje Klein considers this secrecy over the animal list unacceptable: "The public interest in knowing which fish are to be displayed there and in what numbers clearly outweighs the private law interest. As long as it is not clear what caused the disaster at the AquaDom, no new large-scale aquariums may be approved or built, in the interest of animals and humans alike." The origin of the fish is also undisclosed by both the planners and the administration. In any crime thriller, the investigator would now ask: "What does the suspect have to hide?" In reality, too, such silence always carries the stale aftertaste of concealment. We can only speculate, but for us, the situation (also based on our experience with "Shark City") appears that a majority of the planned marine life will consist of wild-caught specimens. With very few exceptions, such as blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and oviparous (egg-laying) shark species, large sharks cannot be bred for such an aquarium; they must therefore be wild-caught. This especially concerns sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus), which are very popular to exhibit in such aquariums. An important aspect: from November 2023, the listing of all requiem sharks (family Carcharhinidae) on Appendix II of the CITES convention comes into force. Consequently, these species are ruled out for aquarium custody, at least if everything is done by the book. This affects, among others, species such as bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) and whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus). That the wild populations of these shark species are threatened is evident from their listing on CITES Appendix II. This rules out any wild capture for display purposes! Meaning: there are no captive breedings of "interesting" shark species, and there must not be any wild-caught specimens. If, as an operator, one still wishes to exhibit such species, one has a crystal-clear motive to tell no one and keep all records under lock and key. The past has shown that animals are sometimes already "hoarded" for such projects. In the case of "Shark City", along with various other fish, there were two bull sharks that vegetated in their far too small tanks and ultimately died after two years. Summary of all our objections: - An aquarium of superlatives is being planned. - Extreme energy resources are being wasted for a large-scale aquarium in times of climate change. - In times of increasing water scarcity and sinking groundwater tables, massive volumes of water are permanently required for ongoing operations. - Many fish (in addition to coral fish, presumably also sharks and rays as wild-caught specimens) are transported over long distances with high mortality rates to be shipped to an aquarium. - Wild specimens are taken from the ocean, where they are urgently needed to maintain the ecosystem. - It is impossible to house sharks, rays, or bony fish under species-appropriate conditions in an aquarium. - It is impossible to house sharks with passive respiration, such as blacktip sharks, under species-appropriate conditions in an aquarium, as these animals must constantly swim in order to avoid suffocation. - Touch pools and diving are advertised, even though this practice is highly controversial and subjects the animals to permanent, ongoing stress. - Completely unrealistic visitor numbers of 500,000 visitors per year are advertised. - The veterinary office is linked to "experts" who are themselves aquarium operators, e.g. the Berlin Zoological Garden. A personal interest cannot be ruled out here. - Education is advertised, which in the context of such large-scale aquariums is highly controversial and often represents only an alibi for a business model. ...and finally, in the event of an accident, far greater damage to the environment and potentially to persons would occur than at the Radisson Blu. We already pointed out these matters to the district government on 21 September 2021, with no discernable response. Let us not kid ourselves: this is not about a love of animals by aquarists. This is about a business on the backs (or rather, on the fins) of bony fish and Elasmobranchii (the subclass of cartilaginous fish comprising rays and sharks), who must spend their usually very short lives there. We will tackle this duplication of events to "Shark City" in exactly the same way! [Note: We had a calculation error in the text, which we have corrected.]
#MeerSchutzDurchWissen #CoralWorld #Rummelsburger #Berlin
