Aquarium Coming To Woodbridge Center Mall

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — You may have heard the rumors, but now it's confirmed as true: An aquarium will open this fall at the Woodbridge Center Mall.

The aquarium is called SeaQuest and they promise a fall 2019 opening at Woodbridge Center, but did not specify a month yet. The company operates at least nine small aquariums across the country, with locations in Las Vegas, Colorado, Utah and Florida. They are usually located inside malls and other shopping areas.

The Woodbridge location will be their first foray into New Jersey. Small aquariums opening inside malls seems to be a trendy concept of late: A different company, SeaLife, will operate an aquarium at AmericanDream mall, scheduled to open later this year in the Meadowlands.

SeaQuest's troubling history

The company is not without some criticism, however: Residents in Lynchburg, Virginia are trying to prevent a SeaQuest from opening in a mall there due to claims of animal abuse and exploitation. Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition called "Stop SeaQuest Aquarium in Lynchburg."

In Las Vegas, one of their original locations, a former SeaQuest employee told the local newspaper that hundreds of animals died while the site was opening. The Idaho Statesmen reports that one of the company's founding partners, Ammon Covino, was sentenced in Florida federal court in 2013 for conspiring to bring illegally harvested rays and lemon sharks into the state of Florida.

Covino was involved in the founding of SeaQuest in Las Vegas and Utah. His brother, Vince Covino, is listed as the CEO of the SeaQuest Adventures, the newspaper reports.

And their Littleton, Colorado location failed two animal safety inspections by the state, according to news reports.

"They had multiple backrooms where they were keeping birds and animals that had unsealed concrete floors, as well as areas where Macaws were tearing into drywall. All three Macaws were in makeshift cages that all had violations...," wrote a state inspector, according to a FOX news affiliate station. "I have concerns regarding the parakeet/lorikeet/finch enclosures as they lend themselves to potentially dangerous situations for birds."

The TV news station investigated the facility and found that they allowed for so many birds out to be fed at once that many small birds were in danger of being stepped on by packs of children and parents. They also found an escaped lizard running loose on the floor. One visitor to the aquarium told the news outlet that SeaQuest had mall security kick her out after she told the staff she noticed the python needed water.

"SeaQuest is not the type of attraction that Lynchburg needs or wants," read the Virginia petition. "Animals should not be held in captivity for our entertainment or education. Seaquest does not care about animals or education. Tell the owners of the River Ridge Mall that we do not want SeaQuest here."

What's planned for the Woodbridge Center Mall location?

In Woodbridge, SeaQuest will have marine life such as sting rays and sharks, and visitors will be able to feed the rays and sharks, the company says. But SeaQuest is not just for fish: They will also have reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, otters, tortoises and large exotic birds species.

SeaQuest's other locations feature walk-in aviaries, feeding caiman or snorkeling with reef sharks, stingrays and hundreds of tropical fish. The Woodbridge location promises to have several different themed rooms. Some of them are:

Amazon Rainforest: Where visitors can experience animals that live in rain forest trees, such as iguanas, and see fish that live in Amazon rivers.

California Coast: Observe tide pool creatures just like you would find on California’s Pacific coastline including crabs, snails, sea stars and more. You’ll also discover other cold-water crustaceans from the world below the ocean’s surface.

Fantasy Caves of New Zealand: Marvel at one of the most amazing natural phenomena in the world, bioluminescence. Many of the creatures in this room glow under different spectrums of light. Explore an exciting collection of scorpions, coral and other kinds of glowing life.

Shark Lagoon: You’ll find several different species of sharks of various shapes and sizes. If you’re brave enough, you can even hand feed the sharks! "These sharks are not dangerous and are well-adjusted to hand feedings," the company said.

Mayan Jungle: Home to one of their most popular attractions, the aviaries. Here you can make friends with flocks of brightly colored lorikeets and parakeets and even get a chance to feed them.

The Woodbridge location is having a pre-opening sale now, where you can save up to 50 percent on annual passport passes. That sale ends April 30. Learn more here: https://woodbridge.visitseaquest.com/

The company also hosts school field trips, birthday parties and private events.