Vancouver Island aquarium fights to stay open

Employees at Port Alberni's only aquarium say the space is vital to providing education in the community, in the midst of climate change.

But last week the Alberni Aquarium and Stewardship Centre's board of directors said the centre just wasn't bringing in enough revenue to cover expenses, and now the space is likely to close at the end of March.

Jenny Fortin, the aquarium's manager, says she's devastated.

The small aquarium contains a numbertanks that house aquatic species local to theAlberniInlet.

"It's really become an important hub in the community. It connects people," she said, adding that the space, located in an isolated city on Vancouver Island, has offered aquatic and environmental education, and youth job opportunities since it opened in 2016.

"We keep our admissions low so that it's accessible because we are in a struggling community," she said. It costs $5 to attend, and is free for kids under five.

Patrick Deacon, from the aquarium's board of directors, says the board has tried many times fundraise for the aquarium, but "it's a huge amount to bite off."

"Our monthly expenditures were running about $8,500, and our monthly revenues were in the neighbourhood of $1,400. We have continued to work since then to try and find a partner or a sponsor to step up and continue the operations," said Deacon.

Fortin says she's gathered a fundraising team of about 15 people. Since the announcement, another 50 or so residents have stepped in to try and help raise awareness and money.

Fortin said a number of local businesses and organizations are also on board.

Importance to rural communities

Laura Griffith-Cochrane, who curates the aquarium in Ucluelet, says part of the centre's mandate is to actively advocate for aquariums as a public source of education in isolated and rural communities much like public libraries.

"Aquariums are often the first eyes to see [changes to the marine environment] and to start developing a solution to the problem," she said, noting that "a lot of people don't realize that in our own backyards there are these rich, beautiful and biodiverse ecosystems."

She said it's important for isolated schools and families to have an accessible and fun source of information on "what's happening in real time" to the aquatic life in their community.

The Ucluelet aquarium has provided information and fundraising resources to the Alberni aquarium, said Griffith-Cochrane.

Aquarium is 'critical' during salmon emergency

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns said his office is exploring whether federal funding might be able to help the community.

"Aquariums as a source of education...[are]absolutely critical, especially with the salmon emergency taking place in British Columbia."

"It's really targeted around the importance of salmon, the importance of the interdependent species in our ecosystem, for protecting the environment ... for restoration," he explained.