Mevagissey Aquarium

Fantastic experience: Beautiful harbour and lovely little aquarium

Negative experience: I've come down to Cornwall and visited Mevagissey regularly since I was a kid, however when I came down for the week and decided to visit the aquarium, I was extremely disappointed with the treatment of the fish. Animals torn from the sea and put in this aquarium for years, into extremely small and tight tanks and dirty water. They look neglected and depressed. I can't say I'll be returning here, and I honestly think the place needs shutting down.

Positive experience: It is what it is. But the kids loved it as they were so close to the marine life on show. I saw a crab hustle its way to the top of a rock. It looked like the king of the world when it made it - no one can take that away from me or it. Lovely staff.

Positive experience: Lovely little aquarium to visit if you are in the harbour area. It’s small but free although they do welcome a small donation.

Positive experience: A small time killer. Was nice to see all the types of fish up and close. However the tanks are a bit small for the size and quantity of fish. Free entry - voluntary donation only.

Negative experience: Very Disappointing The tanks were dirty and overcrowded, with large fish clearly stressed in cramped spaces. I also noticed what looked like fish eggs, which suggests some were captured while pregnant, incredibly upsetting. This place does not seem to prioritise animal welfare, and I wouldn’t recommend visiting, it should be shut down.

Fantastic experience: Donation only. Super lovely staff - low pressure and down to earth. Such a lovely collection aquarists would love to have a set up like this. Sharks, fish, a huge eel, mermaids purses, crabs, lobsters. Information posters and signs too. Really fab cherry for any visit. Suitable all ages.

Negative experience: Patchy information sheets Staff v grumpy Tanks too small, especially when there's a whole ocean outside... why are these fish in here?!

Negative experience: Poor conditions and grumpy staff. Tanks are far too small and fish obviously unhappy. Would not recommend.

Fantastic experience: Small aquarium with informative displays about local fish and sealife. No entry charge but donations welcome.

Positive experience: Small attraction on the harbour wall, housed in the former lifeboat station, so very compact! 7 tanks with selection of local aquatic life, from fish to crabs, lobster to starfish and a good selection of dogfish. No charge to enter but donations are appreciated.

Positive experience: Donation only for entry. Small little nice aquarium. Some of the species have too small enclosures, especially the sharks and conger eel. Was cool to see the underside of the polychaetes home on the glass.

Fantastic experience: Nice little aquarium showcasing a variety of local specimens. Lady at the door very friendly and informative about the displays. Entry is free but they do welcome donations but there is no pressure to do so. worth a visit, left donation.

Positive experience: Small aquarium that showcases tge interesting life to be found in tge local sea.

Negative experience: tanks far too small for any of the wildlife. Incredibly cruel and depressing to visit.

Negative experience: Absolutely disgusting, place should be shut down and these poor animals placed somewhere that cares for them. The tanks are so tiny for very large fish, the water was also filthy and the tanks were dirty. These poor animals are being so horribly mistreated. Only absolutely horrible humans would keep animals like this. Disgusting.

Positive experience: An interesting little aquarium located on the quayside, just outside the inner harbour. It's free to go inside, but you can drop a donation into a bucket at the entrance. The aquarium is only small - took me just 15 minutes to see it all. The fish and crustaceans displayed in the tanks were caught by local fishermen in Cornish waters. Printed info and wall charts give some idea of the variety of marine life found around these coasts. A lot of families here, and the kids obviously loved it! There's a little beach close by, and the opportunity for them to fish for their own crabs in the harbour. Worth a visit.

Negative experience: Horrible. There were way too many fish in each tank. The tanks were unclean, and some fish had missing limbs. This needs to be shut down for good.

Negative experience: I wish i could give 0 stars the place was miserable, very dirty tanks too many fish in one tank and dead crabs in tanks, i don’t recommend the place should be closed down.

Negative experience: really depressing. loads of seemingly distressed fish crammed in really small and dirty tanks, not a single starfish had all of its limbs in tact

Positive experience: If your in Mevagissey then definitely pop to the aquarium. It is super tiny, but my daughter enjoyed looking at everything in there. They have some amazing lobsters for you to see. It is free, but we gave a donation on our way out.

Fantastic experience: Visited on the 9th July, what really made the visit for us was the young man who was working at the counter, when we asked about one of the fish, he walked us around the small aquarium telling us all about the various fish, crustaceans and eels...he was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and made the short visit far more interesting . This place is definitely worth a visit if your in the harbour also it's free so don't forget to put something in the bucket on your way out !

Negative experience: Was looking forward to visiting, but upon entry quickly changed my mind. The majority of the fish are way too big for those tanks, the tanks look unclean, and with it being on the coast you can assume they’re all wild caught. What got me was the dogfish(?) eggs in one of the tanks. As there is only one dogfish, I assume she was caught while pregnant and had to lay her eggs in the tank. These tanks are very obviously not built to sustain any kind of breeding program. We were going to leave a donation but changed our minds because of all this. On the walk back to the town we saw plenty of fish and jellyfish in their natural habitat, a much better viewing experience than this aquarium. Probably technically wheelchair accessible, but the entrance and walkway are narrow and it gets busy. Not worth the effort.

Positive experience: Very small but lovely little aquarium full of fish and crustaceans that are caught by the fishermen. Free to enter and donations welcome. Although you couldn’t plan a whole day trip just to the aquarium, it is a good place to stop whilst exploring the harbour town of Mevagissey. You walk in and it’s a small path with 4 or 5 tanks each side. And a large one at the end. Each has fish and other creatures in and is great for kids. There’s a video showing the history of the village and a nice relaxing atmosphere. Easy to access with wheelchairs and disabilities. Overall a very interesting visit

Positive experience: Fantastic little aquarium, free entry. However donations gratefully received. Please support this great establishment if you are in the area. Keep up the great work

Fantastic experience: Brilliant little aquarium, free entry. However, donations are happily accepted. Perfect for a quick visit. Multiple tanks and posters that display which animals are in what tank and all sort of information about them - they are very easy to read. Large array of fish and crabs and lobster, many of which are found in the local area. Essential place to visit if you are already in the village.

Negative experience: Very sad to see these poor fish stuck in tiny tanks, particularly as they weren't born in captivity and have been caught in the ocean. Awful place, should be closed down.

Fantastic experience: Lovely place to go with and without children You never know what you will see. Cafe for tea. A stroll along the harbour AND the Aquarium WHAT A GREAT DAY OUT .Please support this lovely FREE! Donation only venue. I LOVE IT !! Check to make sure its open

Negative experience: Extremely inhumane. Tiny tanks for massive fish all swimming to the filters. Tanks need cleaning more regularly, more stimulation for animals. Heartbreaking visit nearly left in tears, can’t imagine how this is not breaking some kinda animal welfare rules.

Negative experience: Very bad place forcing massive wild caught fish into small aquariums. This poor eel and many other fish in there are in pure misery. This place should be closed down and reported for endangerment and abuse.

Negative experience: Thought it'd be nice, but to see fish crammed in to tanks is so disheartening. They had an eal which looks as though it was stuck, the fish looked depressed. That isn't an aquarium, it's a place we're you can take a photo and say you've seen some lobsters, I came out of there feeling awful, tanks are so small, some didn't seem to have enough room to turn around. Didn't donated as it was cruel, would be nice to have some nice natural vegetation, not just the logs, the fish were just there to be looked at.. what a shame

Fantastic experience: Staff are lovely! This is a small but realistic insight into the area.

Positive experience: Lovely lady at the entrance. Pretty small, but for free more than ok

Fantastic experience: Has lots of fish some crabs and lobster

Positive experience: It's ok, no national marine aquarium but good to the the old lifeboat hut going to use & not falling into decay? Just got some examples of local species in tanks, it is free & asking for donations.

Fantastic experience: Free admission, selection of fish crans and lobsters to see. Informative video to watch. Donations welcomed which I think is fair.

Negative experience: We visited the aquarium 2 days in a row with our 19 month old son. In total we gave £10 in donations across both days. Sadly, during our second visit, the lady was incredibly rude to our son. After our son's very short squeal of excitement, whilst we were already correcting him, she proceeded to tell him sternly that he would scare the fish. I spoke to the lady and explained that he is only very young and found the experience exciting to which she responded that I need to 'make him stop'. She then deliberately banged the leader next to our son whilst staring at him. Absolutely disgusted with the way that I was spoken to and hope that all holidaymakers are not treated in this way especially very young children.

Positive experience: Definitely worth a visit if you are here. It’s free (donations welcome). They take local sea life early in the year and house it here and then let it back later in the year. Although it’s small, they had all sorts of fish, crabs, lobsters and conga eels!!

Fantastic experience: Love it all especially the lack of unnecessary music and sounds, the simple, easy to read & correct information (i.e the species in tanks etc) also it is lovely to actually see the critters properly, it is all about local sealife. Love the small size and the wonderful use of an old lifeboat station! I much prefer this gem of an aquarium than any of the *big named* supposed aquariums. It doesn't have empty tanks, busy with decorative stuff tanks or any out dated signs. And it is FREE. 10/10 for everything

Fantastic experience: Awesome little aquarium, I like how they have fish that would be around the coast. They have very large bass, wrasse, pollock, edible crabs and a very large lobster.

Fantastic experience: Very interesting and informative visit to the aquarium. I was happy to wear a mask. Free to enter but I put a £1 donation in the box on the way out, well worth it.

Negative experience: Very disappointed with the person on the counter today. I've visited mevagissey since I was 6 and I'm now 29, always popped in to see what fish are there and always leave a donation, which did not happen today. The person on the counter refused entry to me and my sister as we had no mask. She didn't even ask if we were exempt which my sister is. Was going to argue with her about government guidelines as masks are not mandatory, but I didn't see the point, even the fact that she was not wearing one, so what made her exempt. The fact we are double jabbed and also had my booster before we come away, I was highly upset that we couldn't do something we have always done. Especially since this is the first year we have been back to Mevagissey without our dad who passed away in February. Customer service may need looking into

Negative experience: Visited with family and was refused entry without a mask, being exempt this was highly embarrassing and frustrating. Especially considering restrictions have been lifted for some time. Kids enjoyed going in though, which was the only saving grace. Plenty of potential.

Fantastic experience: Lovely little aquarium by the harbour- clean tanks and lots of native species to enjoy. A great and educational way to spend some time in Mevagissey (free entry but donations were gratefully received!).

Negative experience: Today in this aquarium I was met by a lady on the front counter. She asked me to wear a mask. I told her I did not have a mask and in line with government advice I did not need to wear one. She then asked me again to wear one. I explained to her that she is not asking and is in fact "telling" me to wear a mask. She then stated if I did not wear a mask she would "ask" me to leave. Again this would be telling me to leave, which I did.

Fantastic experience: Nice little aquarium, makes a great day out on those not so sunny days, interesting and educational array of marine sealife.

Positive experience: Note this place is aiming to open on the 21st June when rules are further relaxed. A shame as it looked like a good thing to do but maybe next time

Fantastic experience: I went to Mevagissy as a Trip down Memory Lane from when I was a kid of about 7 or 8 Years of Age. A lot’s probably changed since 40 Odd years ago but, still a nice quiet Fishing Town. The Beach opposite “The Rising Sun” Pub brought back Memories. Left the Car parked near the Pub and walked about 20 minutes to where the Souvenir Shops are and was exhausting going up the Hills. No wonder as, Unfortunately, I Smoke but, still enjoyed the Walk and loved the Views. Really loved being here as it’s just Sooooo quiet & peaceful compared to where I currently live.

Fantastic experience: A beautiful beju aquarium hosting all manner of local marine life... Free admission but you would have to be a miser not to donate on exit! And the local volunteers are extremely helpful

Fantastic experience: Tiny aquarium which makes it very accessible and a great 15 minute visit. Good display of sea life, though I guess maybe more descriptions would encourage people to stay longer. Very happy to donate to such a great place. Or should I say, 'plaice'.

Positive experience: Small place, interesting fish but the tanks looked like they were too small for the amount of fish in the tanks. Other than that very interesting place.

Positive experience: It's free and a good opportunity to see the local sealife.

Fantastic experience: Friendly helpful staff, identifying fish for my son; free entry well worth a visit and do leave them a donation.

Negative experience: Went there today and the fish were very lovely of course but the tanks were far too small for the size and amount of fish in them. And it seemed like they just caught them and shoved them into tanks mindlessly and want donations at their expense. It’s not like it was a sanctuary but its just very sad, they don’t look happy. I hope with the donations they invest in a glass wall that allows you to look under the sea instead so you can see them in their natural habitat without taking them from it. Like in the Falmouth Maritime Museum.

Fantastic experience: Great for the kids

Fantastic experience: Took our daughters here for a quick visit. It's only small, I believe it's based on an old lifeboat house, but houses a selection of sea life found locally. It might only be a few minutes distraction for kids (depending just how much they get into watching the sea creatures) but I don't really think you can complain when it's free to get in.

Fantastic experience: Free entry ( donations ) . really lovely little place with detailed clear explanations of exhibits and an excellent interesting video of the Mevagissey fishing industry

Positive experience: Small and interesting aquarium located in an old lifeboat station on Mevagissey Harbour, worth popping in if you're visiting.

Fantastic experience: Nice to pop in and see range of fish.

Positive experience: What can you say it's FREE! A lottery funded project. The national lottery has done more for this country 24 years than the EU has ever done!

Positive experience: Kind of dank but the captive animals look cool and its free so not a big deal. Saw a gang spiny lobster things tear up a decent size fish for dinner. There are old videos playing on murky TVs which was pretty spooky. Doubt if a lot of the little details were deliberate but it made for an odd and interest atmosphere.

Negative experience: How cruel and thoughtless to force big fish to live in tiny aquariums with no shelter from the constant attention of people. These fish appear to be wild caught and must find this life so stressful. The large eel has to bend itself in half in order to turn round in this narrow short prison. It tries desperately to hide in a small drain pipe but can only hide not even half of its length. I told the woman on the desk that I would not make a donation to somewhere that causes suffering and highlighted the plight of the eel in the ridiclously small tank only to be told "well ells live in caves". Not sure what relevance that has to anything. The whole place is old and tired and I see no value in its existence. What is it doing other than showing visitors how not to keep fish. The problem is that some people will think this is OK and it isn't. If I could award no stars I would, the place is a disgrace and should be shut down.

Positive experience: Lovely aquarium. It shows local fish only. And can get crowded.

Fantastic experience: You wouldn't think it would be much from the outside and would be easy to miss, but this is a little gem and well worth a visit. I was surprised at the size and variety of the sea creatures on display, all caught locally by local fishermen and donated to the display. The tanks look well maintained and the fish happy and healthy and the aquarium seems to be maintained in very good order. Entrance is free but a donation is suggested and well deserved.

Fantastic experience: The Aquarium is funky but small. I liked it. The fish were quite large and you only had to make a donation to get in. The people infront of us looked annoyed that it "had fish in it". But I think the sign on the side "aquarium" manages most people expectations.

Fantastic experience: This is not an all day activity, but there is a friendly conger eel called Kevin and lots of spotted dogfish. If you like conger eels and dogfish and are in Mevagissey I would recommend visiting.