Oregon Coast Aquarium Review: Oregon Coast Aquarium

Oregon Coast Aquarium’s website:

Newport, Oregon | Oregon Coast Aquarium

Oregon Coast Aquarium is located in Newport, Oregon, and it is an AZA-accredited establishment that opened in 1992. In the mid-1990’s the facility became famous for having Keiko the Orca (star of the “Free Willy” movies) but that pool was later redesigned as a series of tunnels called Passages of the Deep and there are currently about 450,000 annual visitors that admire all of the wonders of the sea. Almost all of the animals at the aquarium are found along the Oregon coastline, and there is barely any deviation from this specificity with any of the exhibits. The establishment consists of a large building with 3 main galleries (Coastal Waters, Rocky Shores & Sandy Shores) along with a temporary section that changes every few years. A separate building plays host to a series of underwater tunnels, and an outdoor zone has black gravel coating the ground and large, cave-like formations that lead the way towards a brilliant seabird aviary and a couple of marine mammal habitats.

EXHIBITS:

Seabird Aviary – This is a spectacular walk-through aviary with 6 species in residence: Horned Puffin, Tufted Puffin, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Black Oystercatcher and Rhinoceros Auklet. There are two pools in the aviary (12,000 gallons and 17,000 gallons), with a 30-foot rock cliff, very low underwater viewing windows, and the entire area is 7,850 square feet in size. Visitors are able to get extremely close to the birds with the edge of the pools being at knee-height, and there is space to fly as the center pole is 34 feet tall. It is easily one of the best seabird aviaries on the continent, and the ability to get very close to the inhabitants is what sets it apart from others of its ilk.

Marine Mammal Exhibits – A massive Sea Otter habitat has evergreen trees flanking a mock-rock wall, and large underwater viewing windows allow the otters an opportunity to interact with the public in their deep pool. There are Northern and Southern Sea Otters at the aquarium, and the species was actually hunted to extinction by 1907 off of the coast of Oregon. California Sea Lions and Harbour Seals share a 90,000 gallon pool next door with underwater viewing windows set in a darkened, cave-like environment. A new viewing deck was added in 2013 to enhance the experience, and a gravel pathway leads to a Giant Pacific Octopus tank that is set into the mock-rock backdrop near the pinnipeds and Sea Otters. There are only 3 exhibits in this area but they are all superbly designed and towering coniferous trees form a beautiful background.

Passages of the Deep – This is a separate building that used to house Keiko the Orca from the “Free Willy” films but it was converted into a trio of impressive tunnels featuring aquatic life from just off the coast of Oregon. It begins in the Orford Reef tunnel, goes through Halibut Flats, and Open Sea is the name of the third and longest underwater tunnel. The final tank has predatory sharks circling overhead and thus is the most popular, but all three have spectacular up-close viewing of sea life.

Orford Reef species list: Leopard Shark, Wolf Eel, Quillback Rockfish, China Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, Copper Rockfish, Tiger Rockfish, Vermilion Rockfish, Blue Rockfish, Black Rockfish, Yellowtail Rockfish, Kelp Bass, Kelp Greenling, Pile Perch, Silver Perch, Walleye Perch, Striped Perch and various anemones.

Halibut Flats species list: Sturgeon, Halibut, Starry Flounder, Starry Skate, Big Skate, Long-nose Skate, Lingcod, Cabezon, Blue Rockfish, Black Rockfish, Yelloweye Rockfish, Tiger Rockfish, Yellowtail Rockfish, Canary Rockfish and Boccacio Rockfish.

Open Sea species list: Sevengill Shark, Soupfin Shark, Spiny Dogfish Shark, Leopard Shark, Brown Smooth-hound Shark, Bat Ray, Chinook Salmon, Pacific Mackerel and Northern Anchovy.

Coastal Waters – This is a single room inside the main building and it has 2 impressive ceiling-to-floor tanks that are set against two of the walls and amongst a total of 16 exhibits. A 35,000 gallon tank called “At the Jetty” showcases large fish such as Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon and White Sturgeon and it offers up a terrific viewing experience. A 5,000 gallon Kelp Forest tank is alongside one side of the room; a 9,100 gallon Coastal Reef tank is also spectacular; a circular Moon Jellyfish tank is near the center of the room; Japanese Spider Crabs occupy a ceiling-to-floor tank; and a number of smaller, basic tanks take up an entire wall. Species in the room include: Bat Star, California Moray Eel, Blacksmith, Boccacio Rockfish, Filetail Catshark, Horn Shark, Spotted Ratfish, Pacific Hagfish, Spot Prawn, Garibaldi Damselfish, Sunflower Star and Leather Star.

Sandy Shores – The centerpiece of this room is a 4,730 gallon tank that replicates a pier pilings exhibit. The man-made structure within the habitat looks like a dock, complete with mussels and barnacles amongst the circling fish. There are 13 exhibits in the room, including an ebb-and-tide shoreline tank that has an open top and a nicely textured mock-rock backdrop. Various species found in this room include: Dungeness Crab, Helmet Crab, Bay Pipefish, Northern Anchovy, High Cockscomb, Pacific Herring, Shiner Perch, Starry Flounder and Sand Dollar.

Rocky Shores – A large touch pool is in the center of the room with the usual assortment of sea life; a long tide pool exhibit offers close-up views of many small fish and anemones in an open-topped tank; and amongst the 13 other exhibits there are species such as: Red Octopus, Wolf Eel, Box Crab, Sharp-Nosed Crab, Hairy Hermit Crab, Flat Porcelain Crab, Black Rockfish, Tiger Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, California Mussel, Lingcod, Grunt Sculpin and the superbly-named Monkeyface Prickleback.

Turkey Vulture Aviary – A sibling pair of Turkey Vultures came to the aquarium in 2009 and the large outdoor exhibit does allow for a degree of flight. While some folks might be perplexed at the addition of vultures to an aquarium, the birds are notorious for hovering around Oregon beaches and feeding on any decaying animals.

The Sea & Me – This temporary gallery is designed for children between the ages of 4-10, and it includes a yellow submarine that can be entered and played with; a boat with plenty of noisy buttons; a terraced sandbox; a raised pool to splash ones hands in; a wooden jetty overlooking a scenic tank; and a lot of smaller, colorful fish distributed in average-sized exhibits. Before “The Sea & Me” there was an Amazon-themed “Swampland” gallery but in both instances it is obvious that the structures in place are not a permanent part of the aquarium.

Estuary Trail – The aquarium sits on 40 acres but only uses a tiny fraction of that amount for its exhibits, and there is a winding trail that looks out onto Yaquina Bay. Between the aquarium and the nearby Hatfield Marine Science Center is a lot of marshy grassland, with wild animals such as Osprey, Red-Tailed Hawk, Brown Pelican, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Common Raven, Peregrine Falcon and Porcupine apparently all fairly common in the area.

OVERALL:

Oregon Coast Aquarium is a terrific facility that is arguably one of the 10 best aquariums in the United States. With a tight focus on the ecosystems of the Oregon coastline one would imagine that there would not be a lot of diversity on display. Thankfully that is not the case and the aquarium offers up a plethora of delights in every nook and cranny. There is a sense of pride in every facet of the facility, from the plentiful volunteers to the well-designed signs. There is not a false note anywhere in the aquarium, the exhibits are all quite impressive, and the only possible flaw is that it is simply not large enough and so after a couple of delightful hours an individual is dismayed to have already seen it all.

 

Thanks for the great review, snowleopard. Does the aquarium ever bring in tropical species in its temporary exhibits, or do those temporary exhibits focus on Oregon/Northern Pacific ecosystems also?

 

Japanese spider crabs (which arrived in 2007) are perhaps the only aquarium residents that are not found on the Oregon coastline.

I visited in March of 2010 and the temporary exhibit gallery was closed in preparation for "Swampland", which I toured in March of 2011. Then this month I visited the aquarium for the 3rd time and saw the children-themed "The Sea & Me". I know that "Oddwater" was around from 2008 to 2010 and that gallery had bizarre sea creatures combined with artwork and included these species: lionfish, lookdown fish, chambered nautilus, pufferfish and a stingray touch tank. Before that "Claws" made its debut in 2006 and featured many crustacean species, and as far as I know the majority of the temporary galleries have been finished in-house by the staff at the facility.

 

When and where are the filetail catsharks on display in OCA?