Aquarium of Western Australia
Entrance area of AQWA
The AQWA (acronym for The Aquarium of Western Australia ) is the largest marine aquarium in Australia. It is situated in Hillarys on the Sunset Coast about 25 km north of the city of Perth in the State of Western Australia.
Company History
Forerunner of today's AQWA was the Marine Aquarium Perth Underwater World, built in the years 1986-1987 at the current location in the port of Hillarys of the company Underwater World International, initially to 40% of the federal Development Corporation Western Australian Development Corporation ( WADC ) and 60 % of private Australian company group to Laurie Wilson belonged; both partners no longer exist in this form. The company was able to maintain the aquarium opened on April 13, 1988 just three years. First, the Development Corporation took over all the shares of non-performing become Wilson Group, in September 1991 was the complex with loss on sale.
Buyer was the Coral World International Ltd. ; behind this company is Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn, who had founded in the mid-1970s, together with the out of Jacob Levinson American-Israeli company Ampal. Morris Kahn's investments are actually in the software, media and telecommunications industries, but it was the entrepreneur at a young age an avid scuba diver, and his business idea to make a chain of marine aquarium world was as far as personally motivated. Similar facilities in Perth are available in Eilat, on the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, in Manly and Hawaii.
Coral World in Perth initially retained the name of the precursor at; In January 2001, the complex was, however, renamed after the renovations in its present name AQWA.
The current web site ( as of 2007), which does not list the history, suggests to the reader, the success of the company with 5 million visitors in 19 years of company history was based solely on the personality of Morris Kahn. However, already the precursor was 1988-1991 with three prizes awarded by the Tourism Authority.
The Aquarium
In the Western Australia AQWA Underwater World is documented to 12,000 km of coastline length in five sections / climates with 400 species:
As representatives of the cool - temperate zone with a variety of Antarctic currents Strahlenflossern are presented. From the context of the sea dragons, which occurs only here falls.
The waters of the Sunset Coast in 1987 furnished protects 10,000 acres of Marmion Marine Park. Small species of shark, skate, snake eels, moray eels, rainbow fish, wrasse, box fish and butterfly fish are typical species that inhabit the area.
From the field of Batavia Coast are the most spectacular of the featured animals of the large sand tiger shark, the loggerhead turtle and eagle rays.
Corals in various types and colorful fish species are the subject of the subtropical zone. The whale shark, which can not be maintained in the aquarium is declared as king of the ocean to Exmouth on the basis of documentation panels.
For the tropical far north some highly toxic species are explained in a special danger zone. Stingrays and Samtfische are examples. One can also see small crocodiles.
Concept
To keep the people captive - not the animals is the motto of the company in his self-presentation on the web page. By 3 million liters of water comprehensive central aquarium on 800 m² of floor space, in which every day takes place a fresh water exchange by means of filtered sea water, leading a 98 -m-long acrylic tunnel, the visitor crosses with the feeling of being in the middle of the underwater world. In addition to its counterpart in Eilat, this is the longest of its kind in the world.
Around this central aquarium there are a number of exhibition spaces with smaller tanks. An area for sea lions is designed so that the animals can move freely between a large basin and a rocky open area outdoors. There are also some pools where starfish, sea urchins, crabs and clams may be touched are ( touching pool ), which is an attraction for families with children.
Coral World claims to be an animal welfare in their aquariums, but of course - in contrast for example to the European sea-life concept - not as an active animal welfare program. Coral World has made it possible to keep larger species of shark in the aquarium, what Merlin Entertainment explicitly rejects for his sea-life facilities. However, the dimensions are not comparable; so, for example, the acrylic glass tunnel in the Sea Life Sea Life with 10 m length, only 1/10 as large as that of the AQWA in Perth.
The museum also has a restaurant and a book and gift shop.