Breeding programmes
Over the years, we have been part of various global breeding programmes, and due to our talented team, have able to receive a wide variety of Ocean animals from other aquarium collections.
Our current species protection programmes focus on elasmobranchs.
Over the years, we have been part of various global breeding programmes, and due to our talented team, have able to receive a wide variety of Ocean animals from other aquarium collections. Our current species protection programmes focus on elasmobranchs.
Breeding programmes
We are involved in the species management programmes of the following animals:
Ocellated eagle ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)
We have worked closely with Burger Zoo in the Netherlands to establish our breeding group, which has consistently produced pups since 2016. Some of our offspring have been sent to Oceanopolis and Nausica. We were the first and only aquarium in UK to breed this species, and only the second in Europe.
Cownose rays (Rhinoptera sp.)
Working with aquariums such as Oceanopolis, Rotterdam Zoo and Sealife London we have created a group of predominantly captive bred cownose rays.
Bluespot ribbontail rays (Taeniura lymma)
This species has been consistently breeding since 2018 and we have worked with Living Coasts and Burger Zoo to ensure we have a genetically diverse group of individuals. We have distributed offspring to other aquariums in the UK and Europe. We now have a female only population.
Sandtiger shark (Carcharias Taurus)
We currently house the only captive bred Sand Tiger sharks in the northern hemisphere. Bred at Ushaka Marine World in South Africa, we are hoping for further success with this species.
Undulate skate (Raja undulata)
We are also part of a Europe-wide breeding programme for this endangered species. We created a breeding pair with stock from London Sealife and have since distributed offspring to various UK aquariums.
Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
We worked with the Burj al Arab aquarium in Dubai, we had two very rare parthenogenetic females who are part of a breeding programme. These females can now be seen at Blackpool Sealife.
For more information on our breeding programmes you can email our team on enquiries@oceanconservationtrust.org
The National Marine Aquarium (NMA) is the UK’s largest aquarium, located in Britain’s Ocean City, Plymouth. It is run by the Ocean Conservation Trust, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the Ocean.
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