Conservation

Deep Sea World collaborates with the Orkney Skate Trust, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the conservation of skate species in the North Sea around the Orkney Islands. The Orkney Skate Trust focuses on research, monitoring, and habitat protection of the critically endangered flapper skate, which is the biggest skate species in the world. Once found throughout the North East Atlantic’s coastal waters, its range is now reduced as a result of trophy angling and commercial fishing in the West Coast of Scotland, Orkney and the Shetlands. This partnership underscores our commitment to marine animal conservation beyond our immediate exhibits, from collecting donations, funded field surveys and public awareness campaigns to educational programs. In May 2024, we set up our flapper skate display following an awareness weekend highlighting the importance of marine biodiversity and the challenges faced by skate populations.

Deep Sea World works closely with the Shark Trust on a number of its campaigns, collecting signatures, fundraising, and raising awareness of issues such as shark finning. We have a dedicated board displaying more information about Shark Trust’s work, where you can learn about the importance of shark conservation. In April 2024, we hosted ‘Oceanic 31’ – a shark and ray art project from the Shark’s Trust. After its UK tour, exhibit pieces will be auctioned off to fundraise for the Big Shark Pledge.

At Deep Sea World Aquarium our ‘Amazon’ display is filled with unwanted animals, from Red Tailed Catfish and Alligator Gar to Pacu. These species had all outgrown their home aquaria and were subsequently donated to us.

Our captive breeding programme aims to preserve endangered species for future generations, away from the pressures and threats to their populations in the wild. With the help of animal propagation experts, this process involves breeding our animals in controlled environments designed to see them through the gestational period and allow their young to thrive into adulthood. Ultimately, this increases populations with a view to improving their conservation status. One of our success stories from this programme is our Zoogoneticus tequila fish. Once thought to be extinct, this species has been found to thrive with the help of our experts, and with some small populations also found in the wild, they’re now classified as endangered. Our Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca) are registered in a European monitoring programme.

BIAZA’s Grab That Gap campaign encourages all its members to grab a small area of unused space within their grounds, and plant it with wildflower seeds in Spring as part of a wider effort to create homes for native species. We’ve taken on the challenge of transforming an unused area of our site near the entrance ramp into a miniature wildlife haven. An area of inaccessible land beyond our seal exhibit has also become a natural home to many animals, including herons and breeding ducks, and a diversity of plant life. We aim to support the rewilding of the area and provide wildlife with a safe and secure home nearby to our aquarium. And in an effort to continue our quest for ways we can introduce safe havens for the native species, we’ve built a bug hotel and installed bird houses.