Since its founding, ElasmOcean has campaigned against commercial show aquariums—for conservation reasons backed by scientific evidence. Large aquariums only remain commercially viable by displaying a high volume of spectacular fish. For many popular species, sustainable captive breeding on-site is not viable, meaning the livestock must be stocked and replenished through wild-caught individuals. These animals are removed from the ecosystem and are subsequently lost to their natural habitat.
"Shark City" (initially planned for Sinsheim, then Pfungstadt) was intended to be such a show aquarium; it failed in the market, partly due to immense opposition from species conservation organizations (in which our representatives played a leading role). At the Rummelsburger Bucht in Berlin, "Ocean Berlin" (Coral World) is currently under construction, facing fierce resistance that has not yet relented. The AquaDom at the Radisson Hotel ruptured almost two years ago and will not be rebuilt.
And now, adjacent to the former AquaDom, "Sea Life Berlin" is set to close before Christmas. The operator, Merlin Entertainments, recently cited economic reasons for this decision, stating that the "desired target audience" is "no longer being sufficiently reached". Two years ago, the sister aquarium Sea Life Königswinter on the Rhine closed for the same reasons.
While we regret the impact on the staff (currently 60 employees) who undoubtedly cared for the fish in a welfare-oriented manner within the scope of their employment contracts, the fact that commercial show aquariums are becoming economically unviable is not bad news, but positive news for conservation.
