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68-717: The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium ( 沖縄美ら海水族館 , Okinawa Churaumi Suizokukan ) , formerly known as the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium , is a public aquarium located within the Ocean Expo Park in Okinawa, Japan . The aquarium's Kuroshio sea tank was the largest aquarium tank in the world until it was surpassed by the Georgia Aquarium in 2005. The aquarium has the exhibit, "Encounter the Okinawan Sea", which reproduces

136-592: A 2021 joint study with the National Museum of the Philippines , it was revealed that 43.48% of humpback whales around the Philippines were the same individuals confirmed in Okinawa and were moving between the two waters, revealing the migration route of humpback whales between Okinawa and the Philippines from the previously unknown Russia feeding ground. A paper on the diurnal variation of humpback whale sounds in Okinawa

204-558: A day, but gave greater emphasis to groundbreaking scientific research . The aquarium also captured other orcas, belugas , narwhals and dolphins . The Monterey Bay Aquarium was the first public aquarium to display a great white shark . Beginning in September 2004, the Outer Bay exhibit (now the Open Sea galleries) was the home to the first in a series of great white sharks. The shark was at

272-620: A female all black body manta ray kept in the Kuroshio tank gave birth. This is the first time in 11 years that a manta ray has birth, and the first case of all black body manta ray birth in the world. The pups were born black all over like their mother, 1.6 metres (5 ft) wide, and weighed 42 kilograms (93 lb). Okinawa Churaumi is trying to breed whale sharks in captivity, which has never been achieved by an aquarium. Their oldest male reached sexual maturity around 2012 and began to show an interest in females in 2014. The exhibited until 2021 female

340-572: A multiple-story Atlantic Coral Reef. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a shallow tank filled with common types of rays which visitors are encouraged to touch. The South Carolina Aquarium lets visitors feed the rays in their Saltmarsh Aviary exhibit. The largest public aquarium is the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park, opened in 2014 in Hengqin , Zhuhai , with a total of 48.75 million litres (12.87 million US gal) of water. The second largest

408-419: A net, and threaded through a rope into a spiracle , which severely damaged it. Despite its injuries, the aquarium managed to transport it alive to a tank, where it recognized the tank walls, swam to avoid them, and ultimately survived for 4 days. The second manta ray was brought in in 1985, but died on the same day. The third manta ray brought in was the first to be successfully kept for a long period of time, and

476-482: A park which utilized a monorail train to move tourists to each exhibit. Its most popular exhibit was the Japanese Floating City; similar to an oil rig , the city floated on large pontoons which allowed it to be moved. If the city was threatened with a typhoon, it would move close to shore, fill the pontoons with sea water and sit on the ocean floor for more stability. The city was self sufficient , and used

544-523: A plan to build a new aquarium was proposed. The Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium was closed in August 2002 due to facility deterioration, and the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium was opened on 1 November 2002, with a new facility designed by Yukifusa Kokuba(1939–2016) is an architect from Okinawa. The number of visitors in the year before the old aquarium closed was about 430,000, but the number of visitors in

612-423: A pregnant tiger shark and succeeded in giving birth in a shark research lab tank. Most of the deep-sea organisms at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium were collected from depths greater than 300 m (980 ft) around Okinawa. Because many deep-sea species are undiscovered, rare species, including new species and species recorded for the first time, are often exhibited, and the actual deep-sea environment observed by

680-415: A principal researcher who specializes in shark and ray research and has authored several papers through his work at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The aquarium collects blood from wild whale sharks, measures the total length and circumference of the body, collects tissues for DNA analysis and chemical analysis, and observes behavior in the natural sea using electronic labels to obtain important information on

748-431: A thickness of 60 centimetres (2 ft), the largest such panel in the world when the aquarium was opened. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept alongside many other fish species in the main tank. Four species of mobula are kept at the aquarium, including the manta ray. Since 2015, the aquarium has also had a reef manta ray with a all black body. Since 2018 they also keep giant oceanic manta ray . This species and

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816-575: Is abundant throughout the year; the wettest month is August and the driest month is December. Nago Castle was built in the 14th century and served as the home of the Aji of Nago Magiri . Nago had always been one of the major settlements in Northern Okinawa, and a major port along with Unten. Nago Magiri became Nago town in 1907. Nago was upgraded to city status on August 1, 1970 with the merger of nine smaller towns and villages. Nago hosted Expo '75 in

884-443: Is bordered by the sea both on the west and the east. About 10% of the city area is occupied by U.S. military bases. The city includes fifty-six wards. About 10% of the area of Nago is occupied by U.S. military bases. Kushi Training Area 8.5ha New Henoko Base 205 ha (land reclaimed on sea: 160ha) Nago has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation

952-536: Is located on route 84. Right beside the Pineapple Park is Okinawa Fruits land. Pineapple Park is an interactive museum where visitors can see how pineapple is grown, and how pineapple wine is made. There is also a collection of thousands of seashells. Okinawa Fruits Land is a conservatory with many plants, birds and fruits. A map is provided and tourists can wander through the park as they wish. There are many types of tropical birds. The corals and seagrass beds of

1020-623: Is set on 19,000 m (200,000 sq ft) of land, with a total of 77 tanks containing 10,000 m (2,600,000 US gal) of water. Water for the saltwater exhibits is pumped into the aquarium from a source 350 m (1,150 ft) offshore, 24 hours a day. The main tank, called the Kuroshio Sea, is 35 metres (115 ft) long, 27 metres (89 ft) wide and 10 metres (33 ft) deep. It holds 7,500,000 litres (1,981,000 US gal) of water and features an acrylic glass panel measuring 8.2 by 22.5 metres (27 by 74 ft) with

1088-491: Is the Marine Life Park in southern Singapore with a total of 45 million litres (12 million US gal) of water for more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species. Most public aquariums are located close to the ocean , for a steady supply of natural seawater. An inland pioneer was Chicago's Shedd Aquarium that received seawater shipped by rail in special tank cars. The early (1911) Philadelphia Aquarium , built in

1156-599: The Florida Aquarium , have aquatic aviaries . Modern aquariums also include land animals and plants that spend time in or near the water. For marketing purposes, many aquariums promote special exhibits, in addition to their permanent collections. Some have aquatic versions of a petting zoo . The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland houses several exhibits including the Upland Tropical Rain Forest and

1224-489: The Hamburg Zoo from 1863 to 1866, served until 1874. With its emphasis on education , the public aquarium was designed like a grotto, part of it made of natural rock. The Geologische Grotte depicted "the strata of the earth 's crust ". The grotto also featured birds and pools for seals . The Aquarium Unter den Linden was a three-story building. Machinery and water tanks were on the ground floor, and aquarium basins for

1292-963: The Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris and the Viennese Aquarium Salon (both founded 1860), the Marine Aquarium Temple as part of the Zoological Garden of Hamburg in Hamburg (1864), as well as aquariums in Berlin (1869) and Brighton (1872). The old Berlin Aquarium opened in 1869. The building site was to be Unter den Linden (along a major avenue), in the centre of town, not at the Berlin Zoo . The aquarium's first director, Alfred Brehm , former director of

1360-689: The ROV is reproduced. In 2017, ROV surveys were conducted in the waters near Okinawa at a depth of around 200 m (660 ft). A total of 20 species of deep-sea invertebrates were collected and nine species, including Holothuria dura, were displayed. In the same year, also discovered areas with high densities of Lyrocteis imperatoris and Saracrinus nobilis , which are considered difficult to capture and keep in captivity. Especially for Lyrocteis imperatoris , succeeded in keeping them for more than one year, and bred individuals were kept and The breeding individuals were also exhibited. The aquarium has succeeded for

1428-633: The Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver , British Columbia , is a centre for marine research, conservation, and marine animal rehabilitation, particularly for the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. In 1964, the Vancouver Aquarium became the second aquarium to capture an orca , Moby Doll . He survived in captivity for just under three months, and the aquarium put him on display to the public for

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1496-458: The fish on the first floor. Because of Brehm's special interest in birds, a huge aviary , with cages for mammals placed around it, was located on the second floor. The facility closed in 1910. The Artis aquarium at Amsterdam Zoo was constructed inside a Victorian building in 1882, and was renovated in 1997. At the end of the 19th century the Artis aquarium was considered state-of-the-art, as it

1564-610: The jaw and a twisted pylorus . In the Coral Sea tank, 450 colonies of reef-building corals of about 80 species are bred and exhibited. The tank has a capacity of 300,000 litres (79,000 US gal), no roof, a structure that allows strong sunlight to enter, and a constant supply of fresh seawater to enable large-scale breeding of coral. The Coral Sea tank is made to emulate the coral reefs in Motobu. The aquarium has confirmed simultaneous coral spawning for 22 consecutive years. In 2021,

1632-495: The "Okinawa Prefecture CO2 Absorption Certification System" for the management of a total of 380 Garcinia subelliptica , Dypsis lutescens , and other trees around the aquarium during the 2023 CO2 absorption certification period. The public aquarium is a part of the Ocean Expo Park located in Motobu, Okinawa . The aquarium is made up of four floors, with tanks containing deep sea creatures, sharks, coral, and tropical fish. The aquarium

1700-628: The Charleston harbour. In January 1985, Kelly Tarlton began construction of the first aquarium to include a large transparent acrylic tunnel, Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in Auckland , New Zealand. Construction took 10 months and cost NZ$ 3 million. The 110-metre (360 ft) tunnel was built from one- tonne (2,200-lb) slabs of German sheet plastic that were shaped locally in an oven. A moving walkway now transports visitors through, and groups of school children occasionally hold sleepovers there beneath

1768-429: The Coral Sea tank, which specializes in coral propagation. In this tank, the shallow rocky areas to the depths of the caves in the coral reefs of Okinawa are reproduced in a single tank. In 2024, the tropical fish tank was the first in the world to exhibit Pinjalo lewisi , a fish that had never been kept in captivity, alive. Sharks such as bull sharks , tiger sharks , silvertip sharks , and silky sharks are bred in

1836-572: The Japanese journal Zoological Science , was awarded the 2020 Zoological Science Award. The species is the second species in the Synactinernus genus, which was first described in 1918 with the discovery of Synactinernus flavus . Public aquarium Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular and their numbers have increased. Most modern accredited aquariums stress conservation issues and educating

1904-520: The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium was temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was confirmed that Acropora microphthalma gave spawned in the daytime for the first time. In the same zone as the Coral Sea tank is another tank called The Sea of Tropical fish tank. This tank has a capacity of 700,000 litres (185,000 US gal) liters of water and In addition to coral houses 180 species of fish, including large fish that are difficult to breed in

1972-794: The Shedd Aquarium was the largest in the United States until the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta opened in 2005. Entertainment and aquatic circus exhibits were combined as themes in Philadelphia's Aquarama Aquarium Theater of the Sea (1962–1969) and Camden 's re-invented Adventure Aquarium 2005, formerly the New Jersey State Aquarium (1992). The first Japanese public aquarium, a small freshwater aquarium called " Uonozoki " (now Tokyo Sea Life Park),

2040-661: The Sony Aquarium were brought in from the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. In 2023, he was awarded the Koga Award, the highest prize in Japan for rare species breeding, for his research activities in sea turtle breeding on the IUCN Red List and Appendix I of CITES , for his ecological and conservation research through captive breeding of sea turtles and breeding over two generations. The Okinawa Churashima Foundation has been certified under

2108-596: The animals and watch the show's performance for free. There is also a dolphin contact facility called Dolphin Lagoon, which houses several species of dolphin. The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin named Okichan has been owned since the opening of the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium and has been bred for 48 years as of 2024. In 2003, the bottlenose dolphin named Fuji's caudal fin was 75% necrotic and had to be resected. The aquarium collaborated with Bridgestone to develop

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2176-442: The aquarium began incubating two live embryos of the deep-sea slendertail lanternshark ( Etmopterus molleri ) in the artificial uterus. After five months, the two embryos were successfully born in a world's first. The sharks died 4 days and 25 days post-birth respectively, likely due to failure in adapting to the post-birth seawater environment. From 2021 to 2022, the aquarium further introduced 30 slendertail lanternshark embryos into

2244-469: The aquarium for 198 days (the previous record was 16 days). The shark was released on 31 March 2005. The Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey has hippos . The Aquarium du Québec houses polar bears . Nago Nago ( 名護市 , Nago-shi , Okinawan : ナグ Nagu , Kunigami : ナグー Naguu ) is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture , Japan . As of December 2012,

2312-399: The aquarium had a water volume of 1,100,000 litres (291,000 US gal), which was the largest in the world. The Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium is one of the first public aquariums in the world that breeds large sharks and rays such as whale sharks and manta rays . The captivity of manta ray dates back to at least 1978. The first individual was captured by fishermen, entangled in

2380-619: The aquarium has opened its offshore research facility to the public by OKINAWA SAKANA CAMPANY. In 2020, the number of tourists in Okinawa Prefecture decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The aquarium supervised the Sony aquarium  [ ja ] , which was held at the Ginza Sony Building every summer until 2019 before the COVID-19 disaster. The fish once displayed at

2448-468: The artificial uterus, of which 6 were ultimately successfully born. One shark incubated for roughly a year and born in April 2023 continued to grow stably after birth and later turned one year old. The shark has been exhibited in the aquarium since 25 April 2024. The aquarium conducts surveys of humpback whales to study their ecology and conditions. Humpback whales are known to seasonally migrate , feeding in

2516-591: The base to a new site adjacent to or within Camp Schwab, most recently in April 2013. The January 19, 2014 mayoral election in Nago became a de facto referendum on the April 2013 relocation plan, with incumbent mayor Susumu Inamine opposing the plan and his challenger, former Vice Mayor Bunshin Suematsu, supporting the plan. Nago is a tourist town. The many beaches draw Okinawans, mainland Japanese, Americans and other tourists to

2584-561: The breeding award from the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) for 26 kinds of animals, such as the reef manta ray and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin . In particular, it is characterized by the large breeding of large sharks and rays, which are rare in other locations. Many researchers are located at the Okinawa Churashima Foundation Research Center, including Keiichi Sato ( 佐藤圭一 ) ,

2652-420: The breeding habits and ecology of whale sharks. It also conducts tests for future breeding, such as monitoring the behavior of whale sharks during breeding and the concentration of hormones in the blood obtained by blood sampling. Aiming to achieve ex situ conservation of rare sharks, the aquarium's research institute began developing an artificial uterus apparatus for shark embryos in 2017. In October 2020,

2720-518: The cherry blossom festival every year in January. Nago established itself as a tax haven for financial companies in 2002, following the example of Dublin, Ireland . The Nago Multimedia Building was established as the core of this zone, with various subsidies for foreign financial firms to establish offices there. Orion Breweries has its factory in Nago. The city is also noted for the production of cement, rice, sugarcane, and pineapples. Founded as

2788-413: The city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 293 persons per km . Its total area is 210.30 km . Nago City is located in the northern part of Okinawa Island and with an area of 210.33 km², it represents 9.2% of Okinawa Island’s surface, coming third behind Taketomi (334.02 km²) and Ishigaki (229.00 km²) in Okinawa Prefecture, but first on Okinawa Island. The city

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2856-430: The city's disused water works , had to switch to treated city water when the nearby river became too contaminated. Similarly, the recently opened Georgia Aquarium filled its tanks with fresh water from the city water system and salinated its saltwater exhibits using the same commercial salt and mineral additives available to home aquarists. The South Carolina Aquarium pulls the salt water for their exhibits right out of

2924-528: The cold waters near Russia and Alaska during the summer, and breeding and raising their young in the warmer waters near Hawaii, Mexico, and Okinawa during the winter. As of 2023, the aquarium been involved in such research for more than 30 years, and has identified approximately 1,900 humpback whales near the Kerama Islands and the Motobu Peninsula via the unique patterns on the whales' tail flukes . In

2992-555: The east coast of Nago are home to the last remaining population of dugong in Japan. Nago also hosts the international bicycle race known as the Tour de Okinawa, which is usually held in November. Since 1959, Nago has hosted the Nago 1/2 marathon race in February. Because of Nago's sub tropical environment, cherry blossoms bloom early in the year. Nago is always one of the first cities to host

3060-467: The end of January 2007 and have all been removed. Since 2007, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium has been conducting an annual learning program for elementary schools in Motobu-cho and Nago city, "Environmental Learning from Sea Turtles," which is an educational activity about ecology and the natural environment through the breeding of sea turtles. In 2012, a general rest area (Churaumi Plaza) opened. Since 2018,

3128-529: The first time in captive breeding of salamander sharks , which live at depths of around 600 m (2,000 ft) in the seas around Japan. They are oviparous, and the eggs were echogenically examined regularly for 18 months until they hatched. The aquarium also saw sharks give birth in 2014 and 2017. Near the aquarium is the Dolphin Show Stadium, called the Okichan Theater, where viewers can touch

3196-429: The initial difficulties in maintaining the species had been resolved, some have survived long-term in captivity. The record for a whale shark in captivity is an individual that, as of 2024, has lived for more than 29 years in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium from Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium. At a symposium held in Baltimore in 1985, the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium was rated to have the most advanced breeding technology in

3264-408: The northern part of the island. The main beach, known as Nago beach, is located on highway 58 in 21st Century Park. The facilities have showers, washrooms, and vending machines, and sites can be rented for picnics or barbecues. There is a lifeguard on duty and a net in the water to prevent harmful sea creatures from entering the swimming area. A popular tourist destination is the Pineapple Park which

3332-456: The ocean floor for cultivating seaweed and other edible plants. Nago also hosted the 26th G8 summit in 2000. Nago is the site of Camp Schwab , a United States Marine Corps base established in 1956. It has gained national attention in Japan due to the controversy surrounding the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan , as there have been proposals at various times to relocate

3400-587: The past 1990, 2001, and 2021, and a male manatee named "Yucatan" had a total of 6 times Involved in childbirth with several females until his death in 2019 at age 42. The Churaumi Aquarium conducts research on the diversity of marine life found around Okinawa, and is engaged in activities that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of the natural environment. At the aquarium, the Okinawa Churashima Foundation supervises conservation activities and conducts animal research. The aquarium has won

3468-841: The public. The first public aquarium was opened in London Zoo in May 1853; the Fish House , as it came to be known, was constructed much like a greenhouse . P.T. Barnum quickly followed in 1856 with the first American aquarium as part of his established Barnum's American Museum , which was located on Broadway in New York City before it burned down. In 1859, the Aquarial Gardens were founded in Boston . A number of aquariums then opened in Europe, such as

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3536-402: The reef manta ray were only recognized as separate species in 2009; they were both classified as Manta birostris until then. The world's first birth of a manta ray in captivity was at the aquarium in 2007. By the time the mother died in 2013, seven puppies were born and four survived. The disc width of the largest pup born at aquarium was about 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in). In August 2024,

3604-589: The sea of Okinawa and most of the creatures that live in it. Churaumi was selected as the name of the aquarium by public vote amongst Japanese people: chura means "beautiful" or "graceful" in the Okinawan language , and umi means "ocean" in Japanese. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA), the aquarium is accredited as a Registered Museum by the Museum Act from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology . Expo '75

3672-409: The shark research lab tank. Some bull sharks kept in aquariums have lived for more than 45 years as of 2024. The lab also displays many skeletal and fetal specimens of sharks. In 2016, the aquarium showed an attempt to raise an adult great white shark . The great white shark exhibit was successful, but it died three days later, leading to criticism from animal rights groups. In 2019, aquariums captured

3740-475: The species lived in the deep sea at depths below 247 m (810 ft). In January 2019, the aquarium began exhibiting an individual of the species for the first time in the world. In February 2019, the aquarium described Eumunida balteipes as a new deep-sea species of the squat lobster , in collaboration with the Estuary Research Center of Shimane University . The name " balteipes " refer to

3808-463: The stripes on the species' legs, which is a key feature of the species. The aquarium had exhibited individuals of the species for over 10 years by then, but they were believed to be part of the Eumunida pacifica species instead. The species is extremely rare and its sighting has not been reported outside of Okinawa's Kume Island as of 2021. The aquarium successfully bred the species for the first time in

3876-507: The swimming sharks and rays. According to Samantha Muka, creating new public aquariums is an expensive process, that can become so expensive as to render the project economically unsustainable, due to the logistical demands of creating environments in which aquatic animals can survive. Public aquariums are often affiliated with oceanographic research institutions or conduct their research programs, and sometimes specialise in species and ecosystems that can be found in local waters. For example,

3944-691: The third generation of Hawksbill sea turtles in captivity. In 2022, a research paper on sexual maturity in Loggerhead sea turtles was published in the Herpetological Review, published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles . West Indian manatees were first exhibited in 1978 when the Mexican government gave two of them to the aquarium, and two new ones were sent in 1997. Manatees have given birth in

4012-497: The third manta ray went until from 1988 to 2000. The longest kept manta ray was a record that the male reef manta ray, which lived in captivity in 1992, lived for about 23 years. The first attempt of keeping whale sharks in an aquarium was in 1980. Most were obtained from incidental catches in coastal nets set by fishers (none after 2009), but two were strandings. Several of these were already weak from capture or stranding and some were released, but initial survival rates were low. After

4080-440: The world for long-term rearing. In 1988, the aquarium won the first Koga Award from JAZA in Japan for breeding two generations of whitetip reef sharks . From the collapse of the bubble economy , as the park lost incoming tourists, it was believed that a new aquarium would help revive the area and celebrate Okinawa's marine tradition. In addition, since the facility was built for a short-term expo, it deteriorated significantly, and

4148-727: The world in December 2021. In December 2019, the aquarium described Synactinernus churaumi as a new species of the sea anemone , in collaboration with the University of Tokyo , the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, the International Center for Island Studies at Kagoshima University , and the Natural History Museum and Institute in Chiba. The scientific paper, published in

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4216-430: The world's first artificial caudal fin to attach to Fuji. Fuji died of infectious hepatitis in 2014 at an estimated age of 45. There is a manatee pool and a sea turtle pool, Both are free and open to the public. A spawning ground dedicated to sea turtles is set up in the exhibition facility. Spawning are observed every year on the spawning grounds. The sea turtle pool was the first in the world to successfully breed

4284-415: The year after the opening of the new building increased to 2.75 million. The number of visitors has continued to increase, with the number of visitors reaching 3,784,132 in 2017 and the cumulative number of visitors reaching 50 million in 2019. The aquarium's facilities also included a dolphin studio and a sea nursery, but due to deterioration of the concrete and other factors, they have been out of use since

4352-670: Was again at the end of the 20th century. Before its closing on 30 September 2013, the oldest American aquarium was the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C. , founded in 1873. This was followed by the opening of other public aquariums: San Francisco ( Woodward's Gardens , 1873–1890), Woods Hole ( Woods Hole Science Aquarium , 1885), New York City ( New York Aquarium , 1896–present), San Diego ( Scripps , 1903), Honolulu ( Waikiki Aquarium , 1904–present), Detroit ( Belle Isle Aquarium , 1904–2005, 2012–Present), Philadelphia ( Philadelphia Aquarium , 1911–1962), San Francisco ( Steinhart Aquarium , 1923), Chicago ( Shedd Aquarium , 1929). For many years,

4420-418: Was held in Okinawa, Japan, at the Ocean Expo Park, where an aquarium centered on marine life was displayed. In 1976, the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium was established as a national park on the site of the venue. The former aquarium was designed by Fumihiko Maki . The Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium and the Okichan Theater started operations with the facilities used at the Expo. At that time, the largest main tank in

4488-465: Was on display (another is maintained away from the public) is 8 m (26 ft) long. There were three whale sharks, but they have been moved to a separate tank to make room for breeding. In 2021, a 13-year-old female whale shark that had been in captivity in the Kuroshio Sea tank was transferred to a medical treatment tank in the sea due to poor health, and later died. The cause of death is thought to be feeding difficulties from skeletal abnormalities in

4556-406: Was opened at the Ueno Zoo in 1882. Modern aquarium tanks can hold millions of litres of water and can house large species, including dolphins , sharks or beluga whales . This is accomplished through thick, clear acrylic glass windows. Aquatic and semiaquatic mammals, including otters and seals are often cared for at aquariums. Some establishments, such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium or

4624-541: Was published in the journal Marine Mammal Science and received an award as one of the most cited papers in the journal in 2021–2022. In August 2010, the aquarium described Hexagonaloides bathyalis as a new genus and species of the trapeziid crab (coral crab), in collaboration with the Natural History Museum and Institute in Chiba and the Biological Sciences Department of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona . Unlike most coral crabs, which live in shallow waters within 100 m (330 ft) of depth,

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