Marinekeeping: an underground aquarist

Today, 21-year-old Jenna Van Ginkel is one of the 15-strong team of aquarists at SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s whose responsibilities include caring for the diverse underground marine environments and all their inhabitants.

Having graduated with a degree in marine biology from Auckland University, and with a deeply engrained passion for the ocean, Jenna landed her dream job at the aquarium a year ago.

“I have been fascinated by the sea for as long as I remember,” Jenna says. “I grew up in Singapore which doesn’t have such an accessible marine environment as Auckland, so moving to New Zealand six years ago it was all suddenly at my front door. I can go snorkelling at any beach and see so many things, which I think a lot of New Zealanders take for granted.

As an aquarist, Jenna’s job is to look after all the species of marine life in the aquarium. “We’re in charge of maintaining water quality for all the different environments,” Jenna explains. “Just like any other animal, we have to feed them and look after their environments, but we’re also in charge of the air that they breathe, essentially.

“In a way, having an underground aquarium makes things easier because we can manipulate everything. But it also makes things quite challenging because we have to manipulate everything!” she laughs.

Every day Jenna and the team dive in the tanks to feed the fish, sharks and rays. “The eagle rays and the sharks are my favourites. They all have their own distinctive personalities. When I first started working here, I wondered how I would tell them apart, but once you get to know them you can understand their quirks and personality traits.

“Rua is the biggest Sand Tiger shark that we have, and the only female. From outside the tank, the glass makes her look almost 30% smaller than she really is. So, when she first came towards me and I was holding fish it was a little daunting! But she was so gentle. She was the first shark that I fed in the big tank.”

“We’re one of the only aquariums in New Zealand that hand-feeds sharks. It’s beneficial as it provides stimulation for them – they can choose whether they come to us or leave us alone if they’re full. If we just throw food into the water, we can’t see who’s eating what and it can also make the water dirty. Plus, because we’re underground there’s not much space for other ways of feeding.”

Accessing the shark tanks is just one component of the complicated logistics that come with operating in an underground space. Everything from building materials and café supplies to giant sharks has to come in either through the trap door on the Tāmaki Drive footpath, or via a hydraulic hoist that descends into the aquarium space.

The aquarium also has to bring in all of the water required to create each individual marine environment – from the 25°C tropical tanks to the chilly 12°C needed for deep water species. For this, the waterfront location certainly has its benefits. “There’s a pump under Ōrakei Wharf which brings water into our building,” Jenna explains. “We replace all the water in the tanks every day. Once it has been in the tanks, we re-filter it before pumping it back into the ocean.”

Behind the scenes, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s has massive water treatment tanks, filtering and preparing seawater for each unique environment; 450 litres of water move around the building every second.

As well as daily housekeeping, including cleaning glass and vacuuming the tanks, Jenna’s role involves interacting with the various marine species on site. The giant crayfish in the Sea Cave Adventure zone are as friendly as dogs, she says – they’ll climb on top of her when she’s in the tank. As do the short tail stingrays – Penny, Barbara and Molly. “Whenever we go into feed them, they bowl into us and almost topple us over,” she laughs.

“I’m constantly learning things here – every day. We’re continually evolving and upgrading. It really is my dream job!”