Cretaquarium

Cretaquarium
Cretaquarium
	Gournes, Crete, Greece
Land area	1.600 m2
No. of animals	2,500
No. of species	250
Total volume of tanks	1,700,000 lt
Website	www.cretaquarium.gr

Cretaquarium (

Gournes in Crete, Greece, 15 km east of the city of Heraklion

.

History

The Cretaquarium project was conceived by employees of the former Institute of Marine Biology of Crete (IMBC) to create the first large aquarium in Greece, as part of a marine park for research, education, culture and recreation. Its construction was co-financed by the

Gournes

in December 2005 and underwent a major expansion during the winter of 2008–9, when 25 new tanks were installed.

The aquarium is currently operated by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, a public research institution. Its exhibits focus on the marine fauna of the Mediterranean region and include sea organisms from over 250 species in more than 60 tanks.