Breaking Ground

There’s been lots of excitement among the team now that ground has officially been broken on site! At the beginning of February, project contractors Ogilvie Construction Ltd took over the outside area of the aquarium as their site, to begin works on the outside path and outlook construction. Us aquarium staff have had a new update to our uniform, it’s been hard hats and hi-vis when coming in and out of the aquarium!

The first change to the area was between the seawall and carpark, this was levelled and prepared for the concrete to be poured for the new coastal path. Areas of the seawall were also excavated and removed to allow for the construction of an outlook point which will extend Northward from the coastal path, allowing for a more immersive sea view!

Once the area was prepared, it was then filled with concrete, allowing for space where seating and planters with native plant species will go. To see more footage of the steps of the construction you can head to our YouTube channel and watch out Beyond the Build vlogs, created by Chris, our Displays Officer, and Chris, our Aquarist.

All the plans that have been carefully prepared over the past year are now being put into action. The team here are excited to see the work begin to take shape! Of course we are still onsite daily to care for the animals, this includes our usual diving in the main tank.

We are monitoring the fish closely during this construction work, to assess how any noise or vibrations may affect them. So far, our fish remain healthy and happy, if missing their daily public visitors a bit!