In one of the other threads listing which zoos we’d been to in 2012, one of the places CGSwans said he had visited was the Australian Shark and Ray Centre. Having never heard of it I checked out its website and found there were two centres, one in Melbourne (presumably the one CGSwans visited) and another at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle in NSW. A couple of weeks later, just before the end of the year, I drove up to check it out. The building the centre is in is basically one large, old warehouse. Inside are a number of pools deep enough for wading (up to waist deep) and some shallower pools only 12-18 inches or so deep. In these shallower pools are predominantly Stingarees, Shovelnosed Rays and Eastern Fiddler Rays but they also have a few small Port Jackson Sharks, a Blue-spotted Fantail Ray, a Blind Shark, a couple of Tawny Nurse Sharks, a pair of Butterfly Rays, a pair of Leopard Rays, some Epaulette Sharks and some Cat Sharks. Another small pool has some young Eagle and Fiddler Rays. The two very large pools have adult Eagle Rays, Gummy Sharks, Port Jackson Sharks, Stingarees and Black Stingrays. The largest is a big Black Stingray weighing more than 300kg (or so the advertising says). There’s also a shallow pool with an eel and some other fish (catfish I think) and an enclosure for Bluetongue Skinks – I counted eight. http://www.zoochat.com/1857/entrance-303305/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/view-half-complex-303287/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/overview-smaller-tanks-pools-303288/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/fiddler-ray-303307/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/butterfly-rays-303286/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/stingaree-303320/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/shovelnosed-ray-303317/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/port-jackson-shark-303315/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/tawny-nurse-shark-having-feed-303322/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/cat-shark-303309/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/leopard-ray-303311/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/gummy-shark-303308/ Entry was $30 for adults, and this included a plastic drink cup half-full of squid and prawns. You are provided with a piece of wood with a plastic clothes peg attached to the end, you place the food item in the peg and use this to feed the sharks and rays (there are signs up clearly stating it is forbidden to feed with your fingers). Extra cups of food cost $3. You can feed and pat all the sharks and rays, except the young rays – their pool has a sign beside it saying not to touch. http://www.zoochat.com/1857/feeding-fiddlers-303313/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/young-rays-303295/ For an additional $15 you can go in the water. There are two options, you can don a pair of waders or you can put on a wetsuit (the Centre provides both waders and suits). With waders you can stay dry, but considering how hot it can be – it was mid-30’s this day (around 90°F) – getting wet is a good way to cool off. http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303289/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/larger-pool-303290/ http://www.zoochat.com/1857/large-pool-303291/ The roof of the warehouse had strips of clear tiles to allow in the natural light, and being a bright sunny day this caused massive reflections on the water surface making photography a challenge. I asked one of the staff if I could put my camera in the water and he said “Absolutely!” No problem with that whatsoever. So the reflections ceased to be a problem. However, most of the sharks and rays were used to being fed so they would frequently have a go at my camera or hand, but no damage was done. Labelling was minimal. There were a handful of labels listing the common things, and varying in size from B5 to A1. They looked like they were designed and printed on a personal computer (and they probably were). Many things were not labelled and I had to ask about some of the more unusual species, like the Butterfly Rays (examples of labels attached below). The warehouse itself looks old (and probably is) and the paintwork on the bottom of the pools is badly scratched. The whole place has an unmaintained feel about it (however, I am not to saying it is NOT maintained, just that’s the impression it gives). I have no idea where they get there water – I presume it is pumped in from the lagoon somewhere but I saw no inlet pipes, nor did I see any filters; probably out the back somewhere off-display. The water certainly appeared clear enough. The impression I got was of a facility where entertainment was the primary (and only) goal. As such, it certainly meets that objective as everyone, both young and old, were having a great time. But looks can be deceiving, so I found a staff member and asked them “Does the Centre conduct any research or do any conservation work, or is this mainly an edu-tainment facility?” I was being generous with the word ‘edu-tainment’, as there was minimal educational value. He replied “Yeah, the boss did a bit of research in order to make the signs. Apart from that, I guess we’re the last thing you said.” One other observation: all the staff I saw, about a dozen of them, all appeared to be 25 years old or younger. I had pretty much seen everything within 10 minutes, but I stayed for a total of an hour and 15 minutes in order to get a good feel for the place and take photos. To me, it is a water fun park with sharks and rays instead of rides. As admitted by a staff member, there is no research or conservation value at the Centre, and education is pretty minimal. The biggest educational aspect is that people are being exposed to sea creatures they normally wouldn’t see, or only see very occasionally. However, I saw no signs at all saying “Don’t do this with wild sharks and stingrays”. Finally, and what most zoochatters would be concerned about, the animal welfare aspect: all the creatures I saw (with the exceptions of the youngsters) all came up to the public to be fed and didn’t seem to object to being patted. Some Fiddler and Shovelnosed Rays would come half out of the water they were that enthusiastic. I saw a small wound that appeared to be healing on the big Black Stingray, but no other obvious injuries. The animals appeared to be well-fed; one Epaulette Shark appeared to be a little portly. I did notice that the Blue-spotted Fantail Ray had very pale blue spots – but I don’t know if this is indicative of anything. Having said that, I must admit I have little experience with sharks and rays in captivity; an expert in these matters could well have a very different view. Am I glad I went? Yes, because it is somewhere new and different. Would I go back? No. Apart from everything else, it’s a three-and-a-half hour drive from my place. As always, the above observations, views and opinions are my own, and nobody else’s. I would encourage anyone who has visited to post their impressions, especially if they are contrary to mine. I’d also be keen to hear a review of the Melbourne version from CGSwans, as I gather from the website both facilities are pretty similar. Hix
This seems like a very unusual place, in that I would have expected it to be part of a larger attraction, be it a theme park, aquarium or zoo, rather than a standalone business. For what it is, it doesn't sound like it would attract many visitors. Location-wise, the Melbourne centre doesn't appear to be likely to attract casual or impulse visitors, as it would if in a tourist area for example, is the NSW location similarly out the way? Was there a cafe or other ways to make money? Despite that, it sounds like an intriguing place to visit. Would their sharks and rays be wild caught?
I have no idea where the animals came from, but would be curious to know. As for business, they were very busy the day I visited. Mind you, it was the first Saturday after Christmas. However, Port Stephens is a popular tourist destination for domestic tourists. Lots of Sydneysiders and Newcastlians holiday there and I imagine many own holiday homes the too. Hix
My fiancee was in Melbourne over Xmas visiting her mother and went there - she absolutely loved it and came home with photos aplenty. From what I saw in the pics, it looks very much as you describe - very bare bones and plain, but the animals seem very keen to interact with their visitors. My main concern would be that it was in no way at all naturalistic, and there appeared to be no option for the animals to seek shelter or privacy, either from visitors or each other. I know these are animals which generally live in open water, so perhaps this isn't an issue. I'd also be interested to hear what anyone with more experience or knowledge of sharks and rays thinks about this. Also, where will these large numbers of animals go when they grow too big to hold in such volume?
The condition of a couple of the animals looks questionable. The Centre get some of their animals from other facilities and some are wild caught. As Bailey13 pointed out, there is no shelter or privacy from the public, the light or other animals. Many of these animals are benthic dwellers and bury themselves in substrate. These enclosures are horrifically barren. They are also densely stocked, which can lead to stress. There is a flow-through system for water, but no aeration seems to be provided. A high amount of food going into the enclosures requires a good biological system to maintain good water quality, which rays need. There is no doubt excess food that is left in the enclosures too. Rays have a covering of mucous, which is easily removed by handling. They are also prone to parasites and benefit from species such as cleaner wrasse. One hopes that the staff on site are educated on the behaviour and welfare of these animals, as well as adequate first aid for the visitors. I'm assuming the smooth ray was de-barbed. The only benefit I can see from such an enterprise is to put rays (and sharks) in a better light. There is still a lot of negativity about these beautiful animals. However, there are better ways to educate than this.
Thanks Gryphon. Just on the excess food point, I dodn't think there would be any food left in the pools as all the occupants were enthusiastically seeking food from anything put in the water. And I have a recollection that i saw some aeration devices. I'll have to check my photos later tonight. Hix
Sorry Hix. Just seeing this now. Melbourne sounds like a carbon copy of Point Stephens. I would say Aus Shark and Ray Centre is a fun experience, without being a quality facility. We bought extra food and very happily spent an hour feeding the sharks and days, but can see how many people would feel it wasn't value for money. Only about half the species that appeared on signs were actually present. Gummy sharks were the only shark species (apart from a juvenile Port Jackson in a small pool where feeding wasn't permitted) and there were fiddler rays, two southern stingrays, brown stingarees, eagle rays and maybe another small species of ray. I forget now. The lack of diversity was a disappointment. Some animals were more interested in food than others, but we didn't have difficulty in getting rid of our food so over-feeding wasn't an obvious problem. One juvenile fiddler ray was deceased in one pool, and going by how white it was it had definitely been there more than long enough for staff to notice. I think it's an idea ripe with potential (and could be taken much further, a facility in Melbourne that allowed visitors to snorkel over a reef-like setting would be a huge success) but it has a very low-cost, high margins feel to it.
This looks interesting: Supper with Sharks & Fun Dinner Ideas Melbourne (BTW, this is the Melbourne one).
First impressions are that it is a pretty strange idea. Why would you want that. I would definitely get indigestion with sharks sitting on my feet while I was eating. No matter how harmless they are. Also what about the sharks? People dropping food seems like it might be an issue.
But I doubt that all of what people are eating will be appropriate for sharks, bread, vegetables etc and even if the sharks and rays don't eat it, it will just foul the water.
Drove past the Melbourne centre last week and it was shuttered up with a "For Lease" sign outside. So unless it has moved I guess it has gone.
Visited the centre today. Some changes I noticed from the gallery include there are no longer any Blue Tongues instead there are a number of small tanks in a U shape with a larger tank in the middle. The middle tank had lion fish in it. in the surrounding tanks there were stone fish, three tanks for seahorses, a decorator crab and a one with plastic bags in it to teach people about the dangers of littering. Overall I enjoyed the centre and swimming with the sharks and rays in the larger pool. All the animals seemed unfazed by the petting and most of them really enjoyed it (like little puppies)
New ownership created a name change and for the past year the facility has been known as "Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters".
Hi All, Seeing this feed has made me join Zoo Chat just so I can reply! I am a conservationist/ zookeeper with over 10 years under my belt. Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters is my favourite place in the world Just wanted to clear a few things up... Since taking over they right away began all the positive changes you see today.... Naturalistic environments (sand, rocks etc) added, the big Sharks were moved to a bigger enclosure, all the animals health is of the utmost importance (they even fly a specialised fish vet over from Perth to oversee things), all the animals have retreat areas where the public is not allowed (though they always choose to play with the public), they DO NOT take any animals from the wild infect they are fighting to get the message out there that that is what happens with everybody's pet fish and they are even spending thousands releasing their babies (born in the aquarium) into the wild to help push up populations of vulnerable rays! As soon as they are able they are rebuilding the whole centre specifically for the animals environments (there was only so much naturalistic that could be added when it was already full). If you ask me this tiny small business is doing more per capita for the ocean then all the massive companies around the world and you definitely need to check it out!!!!!!
