Buying an Aquarium for a Child or Teen in Melbourne Buying an Aquarium for Child or Teen in Melbourne | Page 8

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium conducts extensive research into marine species, with the
Aquarium's conservation efforts overseen by the Turtle Rehabilitation and Conservation of
Keystone Species (T.R.A.C.K.S.) group, a subsidiary of the Sea Life Conservation Trust.
 Grey nurse sharks. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is involved in a grey nurse shark
breeding program in conjunction with Sea Life Manly Aquarium, aimed at
conserving this endangered species, which is already extinct in Victoria. The
Aquarium currently has one grey nurse shark and the program is looking at intra
vitro fertilisation (IVF) as a method of breeding.
 Bamboo sharks. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is home to the first-ever in-vitro
fertilised (IVF) shark in existence. The brown-banded bamboo shark pup was born
on March 3, 2014, ending a process which began in September when aquarists
collected a semen sample from a shark in Mooloolaba in northeastern Australia.
 Sea turtles. The aquarium is also involved in the rehabilitation of turtles washed
south into the colder Victorian waters where they cannot survive. The sea turtles
are housed at the aquarium to gain strength, at which point they are taken north to
Queensland to be released.
 Seadragons. Melbourne Aquarium is one of few worldwide to have successfully
bred the locally-endemic weedy seadragon in captivity.