Sea Life Sunshine Coast

Sea Life Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia is a marine mammal park, oceanarium and wildlife sanctuary. Sea Life Sunshine Coast is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA). The attraction is a Sea Life Centre owned by Merlin Entertainments, and is globally referred to as Sea Life Sunshine Coast by the firm. It was formerly known as UnderWater World.

Sea Life Sunshine Coast
Entrance to Sea Life Sunshine Coast
26°40′58.25″S 153°07′16.6″E
Location	Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Volume of largest tank	2,500,000 L (660,000 US gal)[1]
Memberships	ZAA[2]
Website	www.sealifesunshinecoast.com.au

History

UnderWater World officially opened in 1989.^[3]

Several scenes in the Jackie Chan 1996 film Police Story 4: First Strike were shot in the park,^[4] including a scene in the main aquarium. In one of the scenes, a tourist family is visible in the reflection on one of the tanks.

During the period of Christmas on 2006 UnderWater World had a giant squid preserved in a block of ice on display.^[5]

In July 2013, UnderWater World's owners, Merlin Entertainments, announced that they would be spending $6.5 million on the refurbishment of the facilities. As part of the process, the aquarium was rebranded as a Sea Life Centre and relaunched in December 2013.^[6][7][8]

Exhibits

Some examples of the largest exhibits at the aquarium include:

Ocean Tunnel

There was a moving walkway in an 80-metre (260 ft) shark tunnel under the 2,500,000-litre (660,000 US gal) oceanariumwhich took visitors past several viewing windows, with fish swimming all around the walkway. This is now a carpeted walkway without the travelator. The exhibit includes three separate habitats: coral reef, cave and open ocean. Its residents include grey nurse sharks, tawny nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, leopard sharks, ornate wobbegongs, rays, giant groupers, potato cods, snappers and trevallies. One resident, a brown whipray has lived at the aquarium since 1989.^[1]

In November 2011, the shark tank and moving walkway were closed for an upgrade.^[9][10]

Seal Island

There are six seals at Sea Life Sunshine Coast: Long-nosed fur seals Birubi, Moana, Saturday and Sly; Subantarctic fur seal Nelson and Australian sea lion Teiko, who are the residents of the main Seal Island exhibit.^[11]

Little penguins are a recent addition to the aquarium, with a specially built exhibit constructed for a family of them.

Other exhibits

include: Bay of Rays, Billabong, Coastal Wrecks, Coral Kingdom, Freshwater Streams, Frogs, Jellyfish Kingdom, Seahorse Sanctuary and Tidal Touchpools.

Shows and talks

Sea Life Sunshine Coast presents seal shows and wildlife information talks, and has hands-on marine displays. Shows at the park include:

• Seal Shows in the Seal Stadium
• Stingray Reef talks
• Ocean Tunnel Tours
• Touch Pool
• Jellyfish Tours
• Behind the Scenes Tours

Conservation

Sea Life Sunshine Coast is a rehabilitation centre for turtles, seals, and other marine animals.