Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver Aquarium
Map
49°18′02″N 123°07′52″W / 49.300586°N 123.131053°W / 49.300586; -123.131053
Date openedJune 15, 1956[1]
Location845 Avison Way
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6G 3E2
Land area2.1 acres (0.85 ha)[1]
Floor space100,000 square feet (9,300 m2)[2]
No. of animals65,000[3]
Total volume of tanks9,500,000 litres (2,100,000 imp gal; 2,500,000 US gal)
MembershipsAZA,[4] CAZA,[5] WAZA,[6] AMMPA
Public transit access19 Stanley Park
Websitevanaqua.org
Beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, climate activism, [7] conservation and marine animal rehabilitation.

The Vancouver Aquarium was one of the first facilities to incorporate professional naturalists into the galleries to interpret animal behaviours.[8] Prior to this, at the London Zoo Fish House, naturalists James S. Bowerbank, Ray Lankester, David W. Mitchell and Philip H. Gosse (the creator of the word aquarium)[9] had regularly held "open house" events, but the Vancouver Aquarium was the first to employ educational naturalists on a full-time basis. Aquarium research projects extend worldwide, and include marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation.

On August 9, 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced capital funding of up to $15 million. The province would donate $10 million in funding over the next three years to help pay for a planned expansion of the 54-year-old facility, Premier Gordon Campbell said. Harper added that Ottawa would hand over up to $5 million to the aquarium for infrastructure upgrades.[10] The aquarium, however, remained nonprofit organization. The property is owned by the City of Vancouver and rented to the aquarium for $40,000 a year since 1991 (prior to which it was $1 per year).

In October 2009 the Vancouver Aquarium was designated as a Coastal America Learning Center by the US Environmental Protection Agency. As the first Learning Center in Canada, this designation is intended to strengthen the Canadian/U.S. partnership for protecting and restoring shared ocean resources.[11]

On August 31, 2020, the non-profit announced on Facebook that due to the financial stresses caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was pausing its public programming for the time being while it engages in strategic planning for the financial sustainability of its future operations.[12] On April 15, 2021, the Aquarium announced that an agreement had been signed to transfer ownership from the Ocean Wise Conservation Association to Herschend Family Entertainment.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b "Vancouver Aquarium :: Media Releases". Vancouver Aquarium. Archived from the original on 2003-02-27.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference aqua_history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference aqua_animals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference aza_list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference caza_list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference waza_list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Education". Vancouver Aquarium. Archived from the original on 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  8. ^ "History of the Aquarium". Vancouver Aquarium. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2008-06-03. was the first facility to incorporate professional naturalists/interpretive specialists into galleries to explain animal behaviors.
  9. ^ "Philip Henry Gosse". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  10. ^ "Vancouver Aquarium gets funding infusion". 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  11. ^ "10/14/2009: Vancouver, B.C. Aquarium Nets National Recognition as Outstanding Ocean Learning Center". Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  12. ^ "Vancouver Aquarium pausing public programming to focus on transformation". Vancouver Aquarium. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Vancouver Aquarium's Future Assured Under New Ownership" (PDF). Vancouver Aquarium. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  14. ^ Griffin, Kevin (2021-04-15). "Facing closure, Vancouver Aquarium sold to U.S. entertainment company". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2023-01-07.