AQUARIUM REGENERATION FOR STRANRAER (Jim Hume)

AQUARIUM REGENERATION FOR STRANRAER

May 16, 2008 12:00 AM

Jim Hume, MSP for the South of Scotland, has endorsed a proposal for a Gulf Stream Aquarium as part of the Stranraer Waterfront Development.

Jim Hume said:-

"The Galloway region is uniquely located geophysically because of the influence of the Gulf Stream. This natural asset provides an opportunity to link visitors with nature's wonders. Such a project would use the area's natural assets and would undoubtedly encourage and benefit other businesses in the region area.

"Using the existing waterfront, an aquarium could be built with three deep tanks- one for tropical climate fish and mammals, one for temperate climate, and one for cold water fish and mammals, including penguins.

The MSP continued:-

"Using modern ecologically sustainable 'heat exchanger' technology, heat and cold will be extracted to serve each appropriate pool. In the cold pool, the penguins could be provided with a permanent mound of snow and ice up which they could easily climb, and slide down at speed into the pool, under which visitors could watch inside an acrylic tunnel.

"So much cooling would be available that it would also be possible to provide a skating rink for locals and visitors alike, and at the warmer end, a bowling alley could be included. The skating rink and the bowling alley would help to make the project more financially viable, as well a providing much needed recreation facilities not yet available in Galloway.

David Weston of Friends of the Gulf Stream Aquarium added:-

"We propose that the project, as are a number of aquaria in Britain such as 'The Deep' in Hull, and the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, shall be set up as a not-for-profit trust.

"We further propose that the financial/legal structure be that of a workers' co-operative like The John Lewis Partnership. This would mean that, because the income earners would tend to live in the Galloway are, that the money would tend to stay and flow within the local economy. This is much superior to a venture like a casino, where any money earned would tend to be drawn out of the local economy to far away places."