To the editor:
Re: “Soapbox: Vancouver Aquarium holds high environmental standards,” May 2.
When an employee published an open letter in support of the Vancouver Aquarium recently, local activist group No Whales in Captivity was the first to react, asking its followers on Facebook to join the debate by “commenting and blasting this guy out of the water for being one of the biggest whalesh**ters we have ever heard from.”
His crime that created this outrage? He dared to point out some of the good the aquarium does. He spoke about rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals, research and education, and quality of care.
He did a great job in summing up what motivates staff and volunteers to defend the Vancouver Aquarium, but one aspect of their work I feel came too short — the most important one in my opinion.
Every facet of their exhibits and interpretive shows are designed around that one goal, to make visitors leave with a better understanding of the animals and their natural habitats, conscious about threats to their survival and our connection to these magnificent creatures, even if they live in places as remote as the Arctic. You cannot even grab some fish and chips at the café without getting a conservation message with your order.
I have heard stories of people whose careers were sparked by a visit to the aquarium; stories of kids who want to be biologists and scientists when they grow up, stories of volunteers who have dedicated much of their free time to the aquarium’s mission for decades.
These people care deeply, are passionate about marine life. And in all these cases it was the connection with animals they saw at the Vancouver Aquarium that inspired that passion.
The aquarium was recently accused by an anti-captivity activist of “turning people into conservationists.” She meant that in a negative way, of course. But that is exactly what the Vancouver Aquarium does — on purpose.
They want people to go home thinking about Hana and Helen, and the 300,000 whales, porpoises and dolphins that get entangled and drown in fixed fishing nets every year. And they want people to develop the desire to make a difference, to change their ways, to buy sustainable seafood, to avoid plastic bags, to leave their cars at home. People need to make these connections in order to care. This awareness does not come from nothing, and people do not actively seek that awareness unless something sparks their interest first.
The loss of biodiversity this planet is facing does not stop on the beach. We are polluting our oceans, scraping all life from the sea floor to make fishing more profitable, erasing whole populations to get access to cheap seafood. We are invading even the most pristine marine habitats in pursuit of higher profits, criss-crossing the vulnerable habitats of marine mammals with noisy speed boats and tankers. We are slowly turning our oceans into a living hell.
It is time to wake up and open our eyes to that reality, to take action. The Vancouver Aquarium is leading the way, and, if anything, they deserve our support. They certainly have mine.
Marcus Wernicke,
Vancouver
