Sea Life

Sea Life logo, Helsinki

Sea Life Centres are a chain of sealife themed attractions.

The chain has twenty-six centres located in Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, Portugal and the USA. The chain is owned by Merlin Entertainments.

Attractions

Sea Life Centres are marketed to families seeking an easy, entertaining and educational experience. They are marketed by owners Merlin Entertainments as a "friendly and authoritative guide to the last great frontier...the seas and oceans of the world and their myriad mysterious and amazing inhabitants."

Each centre combines modern glass and display technology, biological expertise and entertainment to provide themed journeys through European and tropical waters. This often provides close encounters with sealife, from shrimps and starfish to seahorses, sharks and stingrays.

Sea Life Centres also claim to champion the cause of marine conservation, through education, awareness and, wherever possible, direct action.

Seal Sanctuaries

Seal Sanctuaries operate from three centres in the United Kingdom: the National Seal Sanctuary, Gweek in Cornwall; the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary in Norfolk; and the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Oban.

SOS campaigns

Since 2001 all Sea Life Centre conservation, rescue and campaigning work has come under the SOS scheme, an acronym for Save Our Seas.

SOS supports the work of numerous wildlife charities and campaign groups including Greenpeace, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. Each centre also has a headline campaign which change on an annual or bi-annual basis, which in the past have called for increased protection for Loggerhead Sea Turtles, and restrictions on the practice of shark-finning.

Locations

UK

National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom

• London Sea Life Aquarium, Central London
• National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham
• Blackpool
• Brighton
• Great Yarmouth
• Balloch, Loch Lomond
• Scarborough
• Yarmouth
• Weymouth
• The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, Barcaldine near Oban

UK Theme Park Resorts:

• Sea Life Chessington, Chessington World Of Adventures (Opened 2008)
• 'Sharkbait Reef' by Sea Life, Alton Towers (Opened March 2009)

Germany

Sea Life Centre in Königswinter, Germany

• Berlin
• Cuxhaven (Opened Summer 2008, previous location Dresden)
• Königswinter
• Konstanz
• Munich
• Nuremberg
• Oberhausen - home of Paul, the "psychic" octopus who predicted the German national football teams results before his assassination following Germany's defeat in the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
• Speyer
• Timmendorfer Strand
• Hanover

US

• Phoenix, Arizona

Themepark location:

• Carlsbad, California at Legoland California Resort

Under construction:

• Dallas (opening 2011)
• Minnesota (opening 2011) - currently Underwater Adventures Aquarium

Rest of Europe (Nicknamed rebels of Europe by centre managers)

• Blankenberge, Belgium
• Bray, Ireland
• Helsinki, Finland
• Val d'Europe, Paris, France
• The Hague, The Netherlands
• Sea Life Centre, Benalmádena, Málaga, Spain
• Sea Life Centre Porto, Porto, Portugal

Themepark locations:

• Legoland Atlantis by Sea Life, Billund, Denmark
• Legoland Atlantis by Sea Life, Germany
• Gardaland Sea Life, Italy

External links

• Sea Life Centres - official website
• Seal Sanctuary