Almost 2 years ago Berlin woke up to an explosion in the hotel Radisson Blu, in the beating heart of the capital, with the famous Aquadom in a thousand pieces and 1500 fish of 100 different species dead in agony.
Since then it has been decided not to rebuild what was the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world until December 2022. Another piece of news has recently been added to the story. Sea Life Berlin has announced the permanent closure of its headquarters.
Nutze jetzt noch in letztes Mal die Chance, die Wunder der Unterwasserwelt in Berlin Mitte zu erleben!
Leider is…
Posted by SEA LIFE Berlin on Tuesday, November 12, 2024
This was announced by the company part of the Merlin Entertainments Group via the official website, stating that they had considered several options and, after careful evaluation, the decision to leave Berlin.
The motivation appears to be mainly economic, no longer in line with Merlin’s strategic and commercial objectives. With the loss of the Aquadom from over 14 meters in height, the Sea Life in Berlin no longer recorded the numbers it once did, becoming increasingly smaller attractive for Germans and tourists.
The episode Aquadom e the massacre of marine animals have provoked mixed reactions in the public. Many still remember the photographs of the debris and the tropical fish that died from air asphyxiation, not accepting what happened.
The Sea Life in Berlin will therefore close its doors in December, before the Christmas celebrations. The last day of activity will be December 13th. From 3.00 pm the lights in the aquarium will be turned off forever.
What will happen to the fish and all marine species in the hands of Sea Life? It’s about 3000 specimens to be relocated in the network of other Sea Life aquariums. Another possibility is to entrust them to partners outside the Merlin circuit.
We can only imagine how much stress the operations will cause to the animals transfer to a glass “house” that will never really be home.