North Sea Oceanarium

The North Sea Oceanarium at Hirtshals is built around one very large tank: four and a half million litres of seawater behind a single curved acrylic window, holding dense shoals of herring and mackerel with cod and rays below them. Divers go in to feed several times a day and talk to the audience from inside the water. The rest of the building follows the North Sea from shore to deep water, with a wave tank, touch pools of local shore life, and displays on the fisheries that built Hirtshals. Outside, seals are kept in a large pool with underwater viewing, and the dunes and beach start just beyond the fence.

History

The Nordsøen Oceanarium opened in 1998 on the North Sea shore at Hirtshals, part of the Nordsøcentre, with a main tank of 4,500,000 litres, the largest in northern Europe, along with smaller habitat tanks and a seal exhibit, all showing species native to the waters around Denmark. A fire destroyed it in December 2003, and it reopened in July 2005 (Wikipedia, Nordsøen Oceanarium).

What you'll find

• The big tank - shoals of herring circling behind a single curved window, with diver feeds.
• The seal pool - outdoor seals with underwater viewing and scheduled feeding.
• The touch pools - crabs, starfish and flatfish from the local shore.
• The fisheries displays - how the North Sea has been fished from this coast.

When to go

Year round, and since it is the standard wet-weather answer on this coast, rainy summer days are the busiest. Diver feeding times are posted at the entrance and are the main event of the day. Weekday mornings are calm. Combine it with the beach next door if the wind allows.

Practical notes

Ticket prices are high for a couple of hours indoors, and beyond the big tank the exhibits are conventional. It fills fast when the weather turns, and the viewing window in front of the main tank ends up three deep. Hirtshals itself is a working ferry and fishing port with little charm, and the wind off the sea is constant.

Nearby

The Hirtshals lighthouse and beach are alongside; Skagen and Rubjerg Knude are along the coast.

Key facts