Aquarium emerges revamped
It may have taken an ocean beating, but the East London Aquarium is officially open to the public again following the well-supported Fine & Fishy Re-opening on Saturday September 29.
Visitors enjoyed all the aquarium has to offer such as the ever-popular seal show, along with a market organised especially for the day.
The aquarium was put out of commission back in August 2017 when high seas damaged large portions of the facility including the main sea pool, balustrade, the rehabilitation pool and the main viewing deck.
The final cost of the repairs came to about R2.8m.
According to Samkelo Ngwenya, who spoke on behalf of the aquarium, the almost year-long process focused mainly on replacing what had been lost.
However, he said, “we took the opportunity to do further maintenance on the facility while we were closed to the public for the main repairs”.
Sam Ramsay, from the Fine & Fabulous Market, helped organise the day’s events.
“I was approached by Tamarin [Freeman-Elliot] of the Ocean Lifeline Project.
“I came on board and helped organise the market aspect and the awareness for the event,” Ramsay said.
The Ocean Lifeline Project is an organisation dedicated to providing assistance and rehabilitation to marine animals which are founded stranded or harmed along the coast.