The Marine Pond

The marine pond is home to white-spotted dog sharks, draughtboard sharks, long nosed skates, stripey trumpeter, Tasmanian giant crabs and many more! Visitors are welcome to gently pat the sharks and skates.

Seahorse Tank

The Marine Discovery Centre houses a number of graceful big-bellied seahorses. These delicate creatures share their home with Shaw's cowfish and Tasmanian blennies. 

 

 

Sponge Garden Tank

Sponge gardens are as colourful as a coral reef and are found on the deeper reefs of Tasmania. Plate sponges, pumpkin sponges and finger sponges create a spectacular sight at the Marine Discovery Centre.  They also provide habitat for creatures such as elephant snails and nudibranchs.

 

Jetty Fish Tank

Jetty pilons offer a relatively sheltered habitat on and around which a diverse range of animals and plants may live.  At the Marine Discovery Centre you will see octopus, leatherjacket, weed fish and a large number of other animals found around our local jetties.

Touch Tanks

There are two touch tanks at the Marine Discovery Centre. Here you can pat hermit crabs, sea stars, sea snails, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Watch out for the scallops - they have been known to squirt the unsuspecting visitor!

The Nursery

Currently our nursery accommodates three baby whitefin swell sharks hatched at the Centre in 2009.  These little cuties will change the way you think about sharks!  Also in the nursery are a  baby draughtboard shark and several shark eggs. 

 

Rock Lobster Tank

The Centre houses numerous southern rock lobster, or crayfish as they are also known. With a carapace of only 5cm in length, the babies have a long way to go to match the size of the 20cm adults!  Of special interest is the eastern rock lobster also in residence, not commonly seen in southern Tasmania.