Manly Sea Life Sanctuary aquarium to close at the end of the year

EXCLUSIVE: Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, home for 50 years to sharks, penguins and turtles, has made the shock announcement it will close at the end of the year. But what will become of the animals?

Operations manager Ashley Hayes, and divisional director of Merlin Entertainments Australia and NZ, Rob Smith, outside the iconic Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. Picture: Troy Snook

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MANLY Sea Life Sanctuary, home for 50 years to sharks, penguins and turtles, has made the shock announcement it will close at the end of the year.

Merlin Entertainments Group, which runs the tourist attraction, told the Manly Daily the aquarium was no longer a viable business in the ageing building.

The aquarium has proven to be popular among locals.

Up to 40 staff members will be affected with the company planning to relocate those employees to “other areas of our business.”

But also looking for new homes will be 107 sharks and rays, 2000 fish, 500 invertebrates such as octopus and sea urchins, 19 penguins and 11 reptiles.

An historical shot of the building. Picture: Manly Sea Life Sanctuary

The creatures will be relocated to other Australian aquariums it owns such as Darling Harbour.

Divisional director Rob Smith said it had “not been an easy decision” to close the aquarium, but it was relative to the cost required to maintain and upgrade.

Jellyfish at the aquarium.

A shark being transported to the aquarium in 1980. Picture: Manly Sea Life Sanctuary

“As a building it’s not a viable investment to keep on running it as an aquarium,” he said.

“From 1965 (when works begun to build the first aquarium on the site) to now, it has had lots of different additions, different elements added, which has overall impacted the lifespan of the building as an aquarium.”

The site is owned by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), who wouldn’t reveal if the building would be knocked down.

The little penguins at the sanctuary. Picture: Troy Snook

“The aquarium is on a 1900sq m site and has been in Manly for about 50 years,” a spokeswoman said.

“RMS is in the process of looking at options for future use of the site.”

When the building was known as Marineland in 1964. Picture: Manly Sea Life Sanctuary

Merlin acquired the lease for the building in 2011. Mr Smith said it was a sad time for staff.

“All understand the sensitivity of it — clearly some are very emotionally attached to the animals that have been there for a long time as well,” he said.

Mr Smith said all animals would remain in the sanctuary until after it was closed to customers.

“In terms of the attraction, it will remain exactly as it is from a guest experience point of view,” he said.

Mr Smith added almost three quarters of Manly Sea Life visitors were from the northern beaches but he hoped they would appreciate the legacy left behind.