Seaworld provides costly education and recreation

Seaworld provides costly education and recreation

Text by Rita A. Widiadana photos by Mulkan Salmona

JAKARTA (JP): Aquarium mania hit Jakartans when Seaworld, the first real marine aquarium in the country, opened last year.

Compared to Japan and our nearest neighbor Singapore, Indonesia is quite late introducing its abundant marine life to the public. This is despite the fact that it is widely recognized as one of the world's largest maritime countries.

Better late than never, implores the proverb.

"This is a project that requires a large amount of investment as well as technology. Therefore, implementing such a project is quite difficult and timely," said Seaworld's president director Rudi T. Bacrie.

The Rp 30 billion Seaworld project, completed in May l994, involved Lippo Group and some foreign business partners.

Seaworld Indonesia is far more than simply a place to see fish and other marine creatures, Rudi adds.

"We offer something new to the public. There are many different ways to enjoy the marine or freshwater creatures in the aquariums. We would like to see people make more of an effort to understand the facility's theme and observe individual fish. They should talk to our tour guides and ask them questions," he remarked.

Kusmono Kusno, a visitor, said Seaworld is an educational recreation park. Unfortunately only a few Indonesians can afford to enjoy its facilities. It costs Rp 10,000 a person from Monday to Friday. On weekends, the rate goes up to Rp 12,000. Infants (under 2 years old) are let in free.

"It is nothing more than other aquariums, the tickets are too expensive," says another guest.

Some 1 million people have visited the aquarium since it opened.

To improve the Seaworld's facilities Lippo plans to expand Seaworld, currently built on the 7,000 square meter plot of land the drive-in theater at the Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta use to occupy.

The expansion project, which will cost upwards of US$ 100 million, will take over the aging Gelanggang Samudra (oceanarium). Construction is scheduled to start in four to six months.

Adventure

Seaworld is housed in a building that looks like a huge circus tent. The peach walls supposedly symbolize waves and it is decorated by a relief of various marine fish. The front door bears the Seaworld logo, a red shark -- a curious choice for a logo.

Once inside, you can take your time because Seaworld is open between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. However most Indonesians rush through it.

"We get lots of visitors, but they stay, on average, no more than a hour," explained the president.

There are several rules that have to be followed before starting your underwater adventure. No food or beverages are allowed in the display rooms. There is no smoking allowed either. The strict rules are to protect the marine creatures from environmental hazards. And, no doubt, to keep the place from falling prey to litter happy Jakartans.

The adventure starts at a display of Indonesian river life. Old Beatles' songs, for some reason, emanate from the building's sound system. A beautiful relief portraying Indonesia's ancient maritime community is very eye catching. The relief is inspired by a relief from the 8th century Buddhist temple of Borobudur.

A big freshwater aquarium is the first stop. The area portrays the life in the upper course of a river. The aquarium is home to various freshwater creatures including a rare fish called Ikan Dewa, (God fish). People from Kuningan in West Java consider the fish sacred. Marine experts believe the fish belongs to the gold fish family.

The villagers of Cigugur and Cibulan don't dare catch or eat this sacred fish. The fish is believed to be an incarnation of God. So far, the villagers have adhered to their tradition. The ban can be seen as a community's faithful effort to preserve nature.

Reports say that Seaworld's management had to carry out a special ritual before taking the fish from its original habitat to their aquarium. It is the first time that this has been done. Hopefully, it won't disturb the environmental balance around the village.

Mangrove

The journey continues in a mangrove forest -- a cylindrical aquarium. Four river crocodiles occupy the aquarium.

Passing the mangrove, your underwater trip begins in a microworld. Equipped with sophisticated cameras, visitors are able to watch wonderful life under the coral reefs. After the microworld, you can learn a lot about marine fish in several saltwater aquariums.

Another fascinating attraction is a touch pool. It allows visitors to get closer to marine life and it is certainly the children's favorite spot.

Didi Adji, a tour guide at Seaworld, explains that the touch pool is great fun for kids because they can touch a port Jackson shark, a baby turtle, a sea star and various other marine creatures.

"Children should be encouraged to learn about marine life. Many kids in Jakarta don't have the opportunity to get close to sea life. Many of them are frightened to swim or touch fish and other marine animals," says Didi, a biologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Feeding schedules are also posted, and, you can help feed the animals.

The main attraction is surely the 80-meter long tunnel called Terowongan Antasena (derived from the name of Antasena, the son of Bima from the great Hindu epic Mahabrata). The tunnel allows visitors to view fish from different angles.

The main tank, made from acrylic and measuring 23 by 37 meters, is seven meters deep and contains about five million liters of seawater. It is said to be one of the largest in the world. It is a total revamping of the old stare-at-a-tank concept, and the public love what they see.

About 5,000 fish from 300 species occupy the aquariums. The fish are mainly from around Pari and Kelapa Island in the Seribu islands. They also come from waters around Labuhan and Pelabuhan Ratu in West Java.

Lucy Ismail, Seaworld's marketing manager, told The Jakarta Post that the management is emphasizing its educational programs.

"We cannot say that we are not looking for profit, but educating the public, students in particular, is most important," Lucy states.

Seaworld has launched several programs for elementary and high school students. The management encourages students to utilize the various facilities at Seaworld to learn about marine life. A 50 percent student discount is also available.

Special programs, such as holiday and on the job training, will ensure students spend their time learning about underwater life while earning money, Lucy maintained.