More than six years after shuttering a decades-old aquarium, SeaWorld is reviving the aquatic habitat with new species of fish and a conservation campaign aimed at educating the public about illegal trafficking of animals.
The refurbished Bayside Aquarium, which will make its debut on Friday, replaces the former Marine Aquarium, which originally opened in 1965 — a year after the park opened on Mission Bay. At the time the former aquarium closed in 2019, the park offered little explanation as to why, other than to say that SeaWorld regularly refreshes different areas of its park.
SeaWorld spokesperson Tracy Spahr said Tuesday that the main reason for the closure was to “consolidate aquarium efforts.”
The good news, says SeaWorld’s zoological curator, is the revived attraction will feature a number of different species distinct from the previous aquarium, among them the critically endangered axolotl, a unique amphibian native to lakes near Mexico City. The refurbished aquarium, which is basically composed of six separate glass aquariums, will feature at least 10 aquatic species, said Danielle Castillo, curator of zoological operations.
The previous aquarium, she said, tended to focus more on cephalapods like octopuses, nautiluses and cuttlefish.
“This time around, we’re bringing the aquarium back as a way to focus on our conservation efforts and give guests an up-close look at very unique animals,” Castillo explained. “We also have a pilot program called Wildlife Confiscation Network, which is from the Wildlife Trafficking Alliance that we just started in the past few years. What that network allows us to do is have a strong network of facilities — from universities to other accredited zoos and aquariums — that will help wildlife enforcement with being able to find a home for illegally trafficked animals so they can thrive.”
Among the aquatic species featured in the updated aquarium are a range of freshwater and saltwater species, including the camouflaged wobbegong shark, a California two-spot octopus, brown-banded bamboo sharks, coral cat sharks and reef fish. While each of the individual six aquariums will be dedicated to different species, the reef fish will be seen in more than one tank.
Castillo is especially excited about the axolotl and she expects children will be as well.
“They’re very interesting,” she said. “They can regenerate limbs, and their gills are on the outside of their heads. But it’s also important to us to get the messaging out about the illegal trafficking and also educate people on why it’s important to take care of their natural environment and be responsible pet owners.”
Located beneath the park’s Bayside Amphitheater, the 458-square-foot aquarium holds 2,000 gallons of water, and part of the reimagined attraction includes new interior habitats for each of the six aquariums. There is also a lot more signage and information designed around the exhibit’s educational messaging, SeaWorld says.
Among the park’s eight aquariums, Bayside is one of the smallest, but it also provides the public with one of the more close-up, intimate experiences in terms of seeing the fish inside, Castillo said.
The new inhabitants, she said, come from a variety of sources, like other aquariums and from rescues. And the brown banded bamboo sharks were born in the park.