Ocean Wise and Vancouver Park Board sign new 35-year licence agreement

Ocean Wise announces new vision for conservation and public education

 

 "We look forward to a new future with Ocean Wise as leaders in raising awareness of the vital role of our oceans and sharing the importance of conservation with their visitors."  Stuart Mackinnon, Chair of the Vancouver Park Board

 

 June 25 2019 – 

Ocean Wise and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation are pleased to announce that a new licence agreement has been reached, which will allow the Vancouver Aquarium to remain in Stanley Park for the next 35 years.

“The new licence agreement marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Ocean Wise’s evolution and provides the foundation for our ambitious five-year strategic plan,” said Lasse Gustavsson, CEO and President of Ocean Wise. “We appreciate the Park Board’s support for Ocean Wise’s evolution and are thrilled that the Vancouver Aquarium is staying in Stanley Park, which has been its home since 1956.”

World-class visitor attraction 

 The Vancouver Aquarium has connected more than 45 million people from around the world to our oceans and all the wonders within them. It’s a world-class visitor attraction, home to thousands of incredible ocean species and aquatic life. It’s also a place that sparks awareness and inspires action to help protect our oceans.

“The Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park is a partner for the biodiversity and ecological issues we both champion,” said Stuart Mackinnon, Chair of the Vancouver Park Board. “We look forward to a new future with Ocean Wise as leaders in raising awareness of the vital role of our oceans and sharing the importance of conservation with their visitors.”

New five-year vision

 With the new licence agreement in place, Ocean Wise will launch its new five-year vision in January 2020 with a renewed focus on conservation, public education, governance, and enhancing the visitor experience. Ocean Wise will also continue to invest in research programs, which have contributed to global knowledge of marine wildlife and set apart the organization as a world-class institution.

“Ocean Wise aspires to become a global ocean conservation organization and wants to inspire people in every corner of the planet to participate in creating healthy oceans, but for most people the ocean is ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ ” said Gustavsson. “There are many threats to the ocean, but the greatest threat is that many believe someone else is going to save it. Ocean Wise has an important role to bring the ocean to the people and the people to the ocean, and the Vancouver Aquarium is one of the best tools we have to do that.”

No longer displaying cetaceans

In reaching this new agreement, Ocean Wise has confirmed its 2018 commitment to no longer display cetaceans in Stanley Park.

All legal action related to the Park Board’s May 2017 amendment to its bylaw restricting cetaceans in Vancouver parks has now been discontinued.