The East London Aquarium has mounted a special exhibit of a man-eating fish which will be unveiled at 10am today as part of the aquarium’s dynamic conservation programme.
Buffalo City Municipality chief of marine services Siani Tinley, who was tight-lipped about the specifics of the predator, said there would be no entry fee to the Esplanade aquarium between 10am and noon.
“Entrance will be free for this short period so those who would not normally have this opportunity can make it.”
Besides the main attraction of t
he man-eating fish, visitors will also be able to view a display on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) promoting conscious and sustainable consumption of fish species.
An excited Tinley said the 84-year-old aquarium – the oldest in South Africa – was not usually in a position to exhibit large predators.
“Because we are a small aquarium, it is not that easy to display them effectively which is why this will be such a short window of display. On occasion we have had ragged-tooth, pyjama and shy sharks, but nothing more dangerous than that. This predator is more prominent and larger,” Tinley said.
“We would like to keep it as a surprise to the public. There is a lot of documented information about the danger and damage caused by predators and we wanted to highlight the impact and relevance of this predator along our coastline.”
Once visitors have observed the man-eating fish and armed themselves with information about consuming fish in a sustainable way, they can pay the charming African penguin colony a visit.
Tinley said the aquarium, which had the biggest captive breeding colony of the birds in South Africa, was now contributing to the country’s biodiversity management plan.
“We have 100 penguins with 20 eggs about to hatch and are the first captive facility in the country to have our African penguins micro-chipped and bio-banked. This means that their genetic samples are stored for future research in conservation.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
EL Aquarium’s special exhibit of ‘man eating fish’
Buffalo City Municipality chief of marine services Siani Tinley, who was tight-lipped about the specifics of the predator, said there would be no entry fee to the Esplanade aquarium between 10am and noon.
“Entrance will be free for this short period so those who would not normally have this opportunity can make it.”
Besides the main attraction of t
he man-eating fish, visitors will also be able to view a display on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) promoting conscious and sustainable consumption of fish species.
An excited Tinley said the 84-year-old aquarium – the oldest in South Africa – was not usually in a position to exhibit large predators.
“Because we are a small aquarium, it is not that easy to display them effectively which is why this will be such a short window of display. On occasion we have had ragged-tooth, pyjama and shy sharks, but nothing more dangerous than that. This predator is more prominent and larger,” Tinley said.
“We would like to keep it as a surprise to the public. There is a lot of documented information about the danger and damage caused by predators and we wanted to highlight the impact and relevance of this predator along our coastline.”
Once visitors have observed the man-eating fish and armed themselves with information about consuming fish in a sustainable way, they can pay the charming African penguin colony a visit.
Tinley said the aquarium, which had the biggest captive breeding colony of the birds in South Africa, was now contributing to the country’s biodiversity management plan.
“We have 100 penguins with 20 eggs about to hatch and are the first captive facility in the country to have our African penguins micro-chipped and bio-banked. This means that their genetic samples are stored for future research in conservation.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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