Sydney Harbour

Also known as Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour contains over 500 gigalitres of water within its 317km of coastline. This provides for protected rocky reefs, seagrass beds and large intertidal areas that are an important breeding ground for fish, invertebrates and plankton. With over 600 species of fish inhabiting its depths, the harbour is a vital link in the ecology of the coastline.

Here, amongst the stilted piers and platform decks of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium's Sydney Harbour habitat, you'll discover many many of the fishes and invertebrates one might see while snorkelling or diving in this beautiful harbour.

Many of the fishes are so spectacularly coloured, they can easily be mistaken for tropical reef species and in-fact, because of the strong east Australian current which runs down along the coast from the north, Sydney Harbour is also home to many stray visitors that get swept down, usually as eggs or tiny babies, from the tropics. These eggs and young fish arrive in early summer and settle here while the water is still warm, so that by autumn a variety of tropical fish normally associated with the Great Barrier Reef can be seen in Sydney Harbour.

Here at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium's Sydney Harbour exhibit, you'll discover Sydney Harbour really is as beautiful below the surface as it is above. 

Sydney Harbour is one of the most stunning harbours in the world but also one of the busiest. What lies underneath may also shock you. Many of our local marine species are fatally caught in discarded fishing line or choke on discarded plastic rubbish.

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium staff regularly do clean ups but it's much easier if we can avoid the litter getting in there in the first place! Look out for the Envirobank in the Aqua Café where you can get rewards for recycling your aluminium and plastic drink containers