Excerpts from yesterday's Vancouver Sun and today's Province Newspaper articles: ------------- The Vancouver Aquarium no longer keeps orcas, but the discussion has now turned to the keeping and breeding of beluga whales. “The idea that you have to see a whale to care for the whale is simply not true,” said Annelise Sorg, president of No Whales In Captivity. “The classic example, of course, is dinosaurs. Kids are crazy for dinosaurs, and who has ever seen one?” Sorg argued the aquarium’s belugas show signs of distress and suffering and pointed out that several whale calves have died. “It’s time for the Vancouver Aquarium to evolve,” she said. -------------------- BELUGAS ....But their presence at the aquarium continues to divide the community Protest groups such as No Whales In Captivity and Lifeforce say the aquarium shouldn't exhibit cetaceans. In 2014, Coun. Adriane Carr tried unsuccessfully to bring the question to a public vote. "Aquariums around the world are moving away from keeping cetaceans. It's the way to go and I suspect it's only a matter of time before they (Vancouver Aquarium) does it, too," she said Thursday. ------------------------------------------ NEWSARTICLE: Aquarium marks 60 years of making a splash ByGlenda Luymes and Kim Pemberton PROVINCE - June 12, 2016 A look back at the successes, controversies and creatures that made a splash at the world-famous attraction and research centre Canada’s first public aquarium began with a tiny fish tank glowing in a Vancouver basement. Or so the fish story goes. The tale, shared in the pages of The Province the morning after the Vancouver Aquarium’s grand opening on June 15, 1956, claims founder Carl Lietze was so intrigued by his teenaged son’s fish tank, he added 25 more to his basement before deciding the city needed a public aquarium. Sixty years ago this week, a large crowd gathered in Stanley Park to be among the first inside the new $300,000 facility. On opening weekend, 18,000 people paid 25 cents each to view more than 200 species of fresh and saltwater fish. In the years since, 44 million people have passed through the aquarium’s doors. Staff now care for more than 50,000 animals. Behind the glass, visitors are able to see some of the many sea creatures that share B.C.’s coastal waters. “The living animals create a bridge,” Vancouver Aquarium president and CEO John Nightingale said in a recent interview. Nightingale attributes our “consciousness” of environmental issues and animal conservation in part to the aquarium’s history, research contributions and programs, including the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, the Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program and its marine rescue and rehabilitation work. “Sixty years (of exhibiting animals) has changed the community,” he said. But there are many who would not characterize the aquarium’s legacy in positive terms. Since its early days, it seems, the facility has caused a stir. In 1964, Vancouver received worldwide attention after the aquarium was among the first to exhibit a captive orca. Hoping to create a sculpture of a killer whale, staff hired a group of hunters to find a model. They harpooned a male orca off Saturna Island and towed it back to the Vancouver harbour. The whale, named Moby Doll, survived the journey and was exhibited in a water pen at Jericho Beach. He died 86 days later. His calm, gentle demeanour gave the public a new perspective on the once feared “killer” whale. In the years that followed, orcas became a sought-after attraction for marine parks — as well as a touchstone for the debate over whales in captivity. The Vancouver Aquarium no longer keeps orcas, but the discussion has now turned to the keeping and breeding of beluga whales. “The idea that you have to see a whale to care for the whale is simply not true,” said Annelise Sorg, president of No Whales In Captivity. “The classic example, of course, is dinosaurs. Kids are crazy for dinosaurs, and who has ever seen one?” Sorg argued the aquarium’s belugas show signs of distress and suffering and pointed out that several whale calves have died. “It’s time for the Vancouver Aquarium to evolve,” she said. Meanwhile, the facility’s founding mandates to educate and conduct research continue to grow stronger. Conservation — a mandate that was added in the 1970s — will play an even more prominent role entering the next 60 years, said Nightingale. With the world’s oceans increasingly at risk due to the effects of climate change, the aquarium is vowing to “double and redouble” its conservation efforts. Major program announcements are expected in the fall. “This birthday marks a pivot,” said Nightingale. For the aquarium CEO, one of only two people to lead the facility over its 60-year history, the years melt away as he gets out of his office and takes a walk through the aquarium’s galleries. “I watch the kids and their families, the volunteers and all the students … They’re all learning, but in a different way. Not facts, but a different perspective.” In that way at least, the crowds of 1956 are not so much different than the crowds of 2016.