Nausicaá Centre National de la Mer

tank The idea for the aquarium started when Guy Lengagne, then mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, wanted to repurpose an old casino. In 1982, oceanographers Philippe Vallette, Stéphane Henard, and Christophe Liacopoulos were tasked with a preliminary study, and eventually with implementing the project. In full, the new expansion increases the size of the aquarium from to in size. Alongside this development, Nausicaa also implemented advanced technologies to improve the visitor experience, including touch screens all along the paths, and an interactive mobile app with indoor geolocation capabilities, developed in collaboration with Wezit and Accuware. This app was the first of its kind in such an environment, allowing visitors to navigate the aquarium with ease and access enriched additional content about the exhibits. Meanwhile, the original exhibits have been grouped into a gallery known as "Mankind and Shores". ==Exhibits==

s s Until the 2018 expansion, the exhibit area was about , and included the following main exhibits: • Shark Aquarium • Tropical Lagoon • Sea Lion Reserve • Tactile Pool • World Ocean • Submerged Forest • Penguin Beach With "The High Sea" expansion that opened in 2018, the exhibit area tripled in size. "The High Sea" is centered on the huge tank for large pelagic fish such as manta rays, and scalloped hammerheads. The pelagic tank measures about , has an long shark tunnel and a viewing window. ==Animal medicine==

In October 2008, Nausicaa worked with a veterinary surgeon who specialises in sharks for the first successful surgery on a grey nurse shark. On 14 November 2008, Nausicaa was awarded first prize for medical training in the care of sea lions at the IMATA (International Marine Animal Trainers Association) annual conference, which took place in Cancun, Mexico. ==Conservation==

The aquarium is part of the European “Mr Goodfish” campaign (launched in France in 2010) in association with the Acquario di Genova in Italy and the Aquarium Finisterrae in Spain, under the aegis of the World Ocean Network. This project tries to encourage people to take an active part in preserving marine resources. Several books have been published by the aquarium, including “Secrets des abysses” by Christine Causse and Philippe Vallette published by Fleurus, and “Madagascar, L’ile Océan” by Christine Causse and Philippe Vallette, photographs by Alexis Rosenfeld, published by Autrement. ==Notes==