The Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is a privately owned aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 in Hillarys, Western Australia

Hillarys, Western Australia

Hillarys is a northern coastal suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Joondalup. It is part of the Whitfords precinct, and is located 21 km north-northwest of Perth's central business district via Mitchell Freeway and Hepburn...

. AQWA was Australia's largest aquarium when it opened, and remains so to this date. It is also the world's 10th largest Aquarium.

History

The aquarium opened on 13 April 1988 as Underwater World, Perth. It was acquired by the current owners, Coral World International and Morris Kahn, in 1991, and changed its name to Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) on 1 January 2001.

Exhibits

The aquarium specializes in marine animals that inhabit the 12000 kilometre Western coast of Australia.

The main tank is 40 metres (131.2 ft) long and 20 metres (65.6 ft) wide and holds 3000000 litre of seawater. It incorporates a 98 metres (322 ft) acrylic tunnel. The facility holds approximately 400 species of marine life.

The facility is host to a seal

Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

 enclosure, "Seal Island". From 1992 to 1999 the aquarium hosted a family of dolphins enclosed in a sea pen, which later died due to poisoning.

Activities

For a fee, snorkelers and qualified SCUBA divers get even closer to the fish, sharks, and turtles by joining the aquarium's dive master in exploring the main tank.