The first fish you will see when you walk through the entrance of Atlantaquaria is the Sea Bass. It is a large silver, shoaling fish which lives in shallow water round cliffs, rocky shores and surf beaches. It has fantastic eye-sight which it uses to chase prey through the foam and bubbles of waves and surf. It is a strong swimmer with a large mouth, and is able to hunt down smaller fish such as young Whiting, Cod and Pollack.
It will also crash into shoals of Sandeel, gobbling up several with each mouthful. The Sea Bass grows to nearly 10kg weight, but it takes many years to reach this size, and is susceptible to over-fishing. Strict restrictions are now in place in Ireland as to what time of year it can be fished for, and there is also a minimum landing size. This is a direct attempt to try and restore Sea Bass numbers to their previous levels.