Deep Sea World is an

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

located in the village of

North Queensferry North Queensferry is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth, from Edinburgh city centre. Located on the North Queensferry Peninsula, it is the southernmost settlement in Fife. The town derives its name fro ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland. It is host to a collection of large

sand tiger shark The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), grey/gray nurse shark (in Australia), spotted ragged-tooth shark (in South Africa), or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabit ...

s, also known as ragged toothed sharks or grey nurse sharks, and various other species of shark.

History

The aquarium opened on 9 April 1993 in the site of the disused Battery Quarry, below the

Forth Rail Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Aspro Ocio Group, who also run the Blue Planet Aquarium in England and many other aquaria in Europe.

Exhibits

One of the main attractions is the long transparent acrylic underwater viewing

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, which is one of the longest of its kind in the world. The curvature of the thick acrylic causes a de-magnifying effect on all of the creatures in the exhibit—roughly one third reduction. The tank with the tunnel contains of sea water pumped in from the River Forth. This water is generally around , but varies with the season. Because of the low temperature most animals within the tunnel are from around Britain. Sand tiger sharks are generally found in warmer water, for example

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, US and South Africa. They easily adapt to the change in temperature, but the lower temperature reduces the rate of metabolism. The aquarium also displays various tanks and rock pools containing exotic fish and other sea animals. Seal pens at Deep Sea World - geograph

In 2005, the aquarium opened a new

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

enclosure which houses resident seals as well as injured ones rescued by the

SSPCA The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (also known as the Scottish SPCA and SSPCA) is a charity to promote animal welfare in Scotland. History and operations It was founded in Edinburgh in 1839 and one of its first aims ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.deepseaworld.com Tourist attractions in Fife Aquaria in the United Kingdom 1993 establishments in Scotland Aspro Parks attractions Museums established in 1993