Opportunities for Public Aquariums to Increase The Sustainability of Aquatic Animal Trade

The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the same species through the same sources. End users are also similar, as many aquarium visitors are home aquarists.

Here we posit that this overlap with the pet trade gives aquariums significant opportunity to increase the sustainability of the trade in aquarium fishes and invertebrates. Improving the sustainability ethos and practices of the aquatic pet trade can carry a conservation benefit in terms of less waste, and protection of intact functioning ecosystems, at the same time as maintaining its economic and educational benefits and impacts. The relationship would also move forward the goal of public aquariums to advance aquatic conservation in a broad sense.

For example, many public aquariums in North America have been instrumental in working with the seafood industry to enact positive change toward increased sustainability. The actions include being good consumers themselves, providing technical knowledge, and providing educational and outreach opportunities.

10 Largest Public Aquariums in the World

The most common size for a home aquarium tank is probably 29 or 30 gallon, though some aquarists have constructed aquariums of many thousands of gallons. Public aquariums can be dramatically larger than any home aquarium. But only a few public aquariums are big enough to make it to our list of largest aquariums in the world. These kinds of aquarium can hold whale sharks, and manta rays. It takes a very large tank to hold these kinds of aquatic creatures.

In order to compare these large aquariums we have looked at the size of their biggest tank (in gallons). Most aquariums have several tanks and the combined volume of water can be much larger but it is only the largest aquarium tank that is counted. So here’s a list of the largest aquariums in the world.

10

Aquarium of Western Australia (0,8 million gallons)

 

Located in a coastal suburb of Perth, the Aquarium of Western Australia, or AQWA in short, contains Australia’s largest aquarium tank. The aquarium’s main tank is 40 meters (130 ft) long and 20 meters (66 ft) wide and holds 3,000,000 liters (793,000 gallons) of seawater. It incorporates a 98 meter (322 ft) underwater tunnel. For a fee, snorkelers and divers can get even closer to the fish, sharks, and rays by joining the aquarium’s dive master in exploring the main tank.