The shock move was confirmed the morning by the aquarium’s UK headquartered owners, Merlin Entertainments.
“After careful consideration, we have taken the difficult decision,” it said.
“Sea Life Bray will be closing its doors permanently towards the end of 2023 after more than 25 years in operation.”
The centre employs 15-20 people in its seafront centre which has become a landmark in the Co Wicklow town.
It is home to a huge range of fish and marine life in exhibits and enclosures emulating habitats from across the globe.
Merlin said: “The priority now is to support our team members with advice and career opportunities in our other visitor attractions and find suitable homes for the animals we current house.”
Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore, whose own background is in marine biology, said the news would come as an awful shock to the Bray and wider Wicklow community.
“Sea Life plays such an important role in the tourism offering of the town but also, really importantly, it is an excellent education facility for anyone interested in our marine life,” she said.
“Every budding marine biologist visits Sea Life at some stage and this is a huge blow.”
Ms Whitmore said she would be in touch with Wicklow County Council to see if they could engage with the owners on any possible alternative to closure.
“To lose Sea Life from Bray would be the loss of a much-loved local and national institution,” she said.
However, it is understood that despite visitor numbers recovering well since the return to business after Covid, the owners are still unhappy with the financial performance of the centre.
Bookings for visits are still being taken for the coming weeks and the company said anyone with an annual pass that is valid beyond December would be contacted directly.
Bray Sea Life is one of just a handful of public aquariums in Ireland. Those remaining after its closure will be Dingle’s Oceanworld, Galway’s Atlantaquaria and Achill Aquarium.
Merlin Entertainments have 44 other aquariums in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and the US as well as dozens of outdoor theme parks, zoos and indoor visitor attractions, including Madame Tussauds.
