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South Pacific Aquarium

Temporarily Closed

Reopening in Spring 2024.

The South Pacific Aquarium is temporarily closed for restoration and repair of critical animal-care structures, habitats and life-support systems. Our goal is to extend the life of this aging, saltwater aquarium for another two decades and care for ocean animals into the future. Read more here.

Massive sharks. A blue hole with divers’-eye-view. Cage dives. A tropical lagoon, a stingray cove. The South Pacific Aquarium is an oasis of warm-water marine beauty, with vibrant fish, inspiring sharks and stingrays. Dive in.

(NOTE: We also have a Pacific Seas Aquarium, home to turtles and eagle rays.)

 

Discover the South Pacific

Find it
in the zoo.
Follow the one-way arrows from the entry plaza down to the top entrance.
Restoring
The Aquarium
The South Pacific Aquarium needs some love. The aquarium is temporarily closed for repair of critical animal-care structures, habitats and life support systems, to reopen in 2024 with exciting new species, upgraded systems and immersive South Pacific-themed art.
RESTORING THE SOUTH PACIFIC AQUARIUM

Aquarium Habitats

Outer Reef - Temporarily Closed
Lagoon- Temporarily Closed
Stingray Cove- Temporarily Closed
Feeding sharks
(Carefully.)
Feeding time in the Outer Reef is a complex dance. Above the surface are half-a-dozen aquarists, each with a different kind of feeding pole and fish.
The cheeky crevalle jack are distracted while the nurse sharks get just the right amount. Finally, everyone’s happy.
Cleaning
underwater.
How do you clean a shark tank? You get trained divers on your team and set them to work.
While one diver watches the sharks around them, the other scrubs windows and rockwork. And aquarium visitors get to watch it all!
Science
behind the scenes
Behind the scenes at the South Pacific Aquarium is a complex network of pipes, filters, temporary habitats and more.
Water is pumped up from Puget Sound, filtered and warmed, then treated again after it leaves the aquarium so it’s clean for the local environment.

Protecting The Ocean

It takes everyone.

THE THREAT: Ocean animals are in danger – from humans. Our plastic chokes and starves them. Our oil spills engulf them. Our boats and nets shrink their populations. And our carbon dioxide is warming their world.

TAKE ACTION: Choose reusable items over single-use plastic. Drive less, recycle more. Pick up pet poop and avoid pesticides. Eat sustainable seafood. And speak up. Together we can protect the ocean.

Aquarium Stories

Saving Puget Sound’s Underwater Forests

An underwater crisis is happening, and there isn’t one apparent reason. Since the 1870s, South Puget Sound’s shorelines have lost about two-thirds of their bull kelp forests, according to a … Continued

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Leopard Eel Receives a CT Scan

Larry Gordon, a 30-year-old leopard eel, recently traveled from his home at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to Summit Veterinary Hospital to receive a CT scan. In April, Zoo Associate … Continued

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Happy Zookeeper Week

National Zookeeper Week takes place July 17-23 this year. The week is devoted to sharing the passion and dedication of keepers. Our zookeepers and aquarists are a dedicated group of … Continued

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Our other aquarium!
Looking for more ocean animals? Come visit green sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays and more in our Pacific Seas Aquarium!