Little Newfoundland aquarium opens in a big way

Newfoundland’s biggest little aquarium opened over the weekend after the ceremonial snipping of a ribbon of inky-green kelp, bringing an exciting new oceans education facility to a community that’s only a stone’s throw away from St. John’s.

Small in size but big on leaning through experience, the 800sqft Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium offers children and adults a chance to wade amidst a variety of interactive tanks, reach out and touch starfish, eyeball enigmatic sea cucumbers and contemplate cod as well as other lesser-known residents from beneath the Atlantic.

For most of us, the creatures that live in our oceans are a big mystery that we rarely get to see – let alone touch. That’s why the aquarium is so important.  It literally brings the ocean to visitors without ever really losing sight of shore.

 
A unique aspect of the Petty Harbour aquarium is its display of local marine life, which is literally collected from the harbor just outside its door. It also maintains a catch and release policy, which means the aquarium staff return its star attractions back to their homes in the ocean after a 4-month summer run.

At WWF, we believe that education is an important first step in understanding the challenges our oceans face.  We’re a proud F(l)ounder of the new aquarium and have contributed a scuttle and shuffle fish tank. Come and see for yourself!
For more information on the Mini Aquarium, please visit https://www.miniaqua.org/ . To learn more about what WWF is doing to protect Canada’s oceans, visit https://www.wwf.ca/conservation/oceans/#.UcHIiOfvvao .