AQUARIUMDIVING
PHOTO : KRISTINA PEDDER
A view of Deep Sea World ’ s 4.5 million litre tank from the walkway
eating or migratory species in captivity , and it strongly encourages aquariums not to add these animals to their collections .
We should bear in mind that zoos and aquariums are regulated and licensed in the UK . They source their animals ( and their food ) responsibly and sustainably ; deliver the best possible care for all of their animals and participate in collaborative captive breeding programmes . They work to maximise educational and public engagement opportunities ; contribute to species conservation and influence positive behaviour change in their visitors and communities . Some also offer shark diving experiences .
Dive night with a difference
Just outside Edinburgh , at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry , you can book a variety of dive experiences for adults and children . No experience is necessary for the day dives , which are run as PADI Discover Diving sessions . But there is also the chance , once a month , for experienced divers to do a night dive in the massive temperate-water marine tank .
We ( my two Sports Diver offspring and I ) arrived on a dark November evening and were met by the friendly front-ofhouse staff and the dive team . After a dive briefing explaining , among other things , how to behave in the water and
44 emphasising the need to give the animals respect ( the sting rays do not have their stinging barbs removed , for example ) – plus the obligatory medical declaration paperwork – the three visiting divers were led off behind the scenes to the dedicated changing and kitting up area . Soon I spotted the divers descending the ladder into the three-metre deep waters of the underwater tunnel exhibit .
No fins are worn on the dives and , as for all aquarium dives , divers are weighted to be negatively buoyant : this was going to be more like a moonwalk than a swim . Drysuits are used by all visiting divers ; on our November visit the water was a chilly 14 º C . The visitors , led by a staff diver , began their 30 to 35-minute tour of the underwater tunnel tank , as the six resident sand tiger sharks cruised near the top of the water column and I tracked them around the longest aquarium tunnel walkway in the UK . The rear of the group is watched over by a second team diver .
The 4.5-million-litre tank , straddling the tunnel , is home to six sand tiger sharks , and 13 other species including sting rays , eagle rays , thornback rays , and shoals of decent-sized bream , bass , mullet and pollock . The sand tiger sharks ( also known as grey nurse sharks ) are stunning to see up so close , but they are given respect by the divers and behave well . They are , after all , well fed by staff divers two or
three times a week . They have a mouthful of impressive teeth , which they shed frequently ; one of the divers spotted a tooth in the sand and held it up for the spectators to see .
The rays passed close by too and there was plenty more life to see . At several points , the divers must pass by rocky outcrops and even cross over the top of the tunnel , one by one , but they are well briefed on what to do . All too soon the halfhour dive is at an end and the divers climb out of the tank into the shallow water training area , where they can dekit and chat about their experience .
It was a bit eerie to be left as the lone spectator in the gloomy lighting of the tunnel , watching the sharks and rays patrol the cool , dark waters . All the water for the aquarium ’ s exhibits is pumped in from the nearby Firth of Forth , just 200m away : nothing is brought from any further away than that . There is a continuous circulation through holding tanks ; the seawater is even desalinated on the site for the freshwater exhibits , keeping the aquarium ’ s carbon footprint down .
The shark exhibit at Deep Sea World , created in partnership with the Shark Trust , features plenty of information about the problems sharks face in the outside world . Staff also run conservation-themed events for schools at the aquarium . The local beach at North Queensferry is sadly