The new aquarium “Poema del Mar” (Poem of the Sea) being built in the port area of ​​Las Palmas is being positioned to stand as one of the most modern and spectacular aquariums in the world, with the stated aim of becoming a centre for conservation and awareness as well as a primary reference point on aquatic life.

Christoph Kiessling, Vice President of Loro Parque, laid the foundations last Friday at the port near Santa Catalina Park, where the giant aquarium is to be built.

Works began on Monday 18 May and is expected to be completed in 2017. It is thought that the new attraction will see around 500,000 visitors a year.
With a total area of 12.519 m2 of which the aquarium is going to be 8500 m2 . It will have about 350 species of fish, sharks, turtles, dolphins and amphibians in 38 different exhibitions. There will also be a small indoor tropical rainforest, garden, a technical area and other services to ensure the comfort and attention of visitors.

The aquarium will be filled with 7.509 billion of salt water and freshwater.

In addition, there are to be six special educational and informational points where you can learn about deforestation, plastic pollution, climate change, oil pollution, over fishing and shark finning, where dorsal fin is cut off to be used for food and sharks are released alive back into the sea without manoeuvrability.

The aquarium Poema del Mar is to have its own power plant, capable of generating nearly 3 megawatts of power by harnessing solar energy. The exhibition, covering over 12,500 square meters in the dock Sanapú will use photovoltaic panels.

The installation of Poem of the Sea Aquarium, at the isthmus of La Isleta, is planned to apply the latest technologies at different stages of its operation. Water resources are obtained by drilling two wells and treating sea water using a desalination plant, with electricity provided through a clean model of exploitation of natural resources.

The company aims to “contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in Gran Canaria. They will install a solar energy treatment plant, capable of managing a power nearly 3 megawatts.

Filtration systems, water purification and desalination will be “the most modern in the world”.