Vancouver Aquarium opened on June 15, 1956, in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, becoming Canada’s first public aquarium. Over the decades it grew into the largest aquarium in Canada and one of the five largest in North America, drawing visitors into galleries devoted to Pacific Canada, the Arctic, the Amazon rainforest, and beyond.
The aquarium’s roughly 65,000 animals span around 300 fish species, nearly 30,000 invertebrates, dozens of amphibian and reptile species, and about 60 mammals and birds, all spread across roughly 100,000 square feet of exhibit space holding about 2.5 million gallons of water. Since 2021 it has been operated by Herschend Family Entertainment, following decades under the nonprofit Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Opened: June 15, 1956
- Size: About 100,000 sq ft of exhibit space, 2.5 million US gallons of water
- Species: About 65,000 animals, roughly 300 fish species
- Annual visitors: Over 1 million
- Operator: Herschend Family Entertainment
- Famous for: Canada’s first and largest public aquarium
Exhibits and Animal Collection
Vancouver Aquarium’s galleries are organized around distinct ecosystems, including the Pacific Canada Pavilion, Canada’s Arctic, the Amazon Rainforest Gallery, and the Tropics Gallery featuring sharks and sea turtles. The Wild Coast area showcases sea otters, seals, and sea lions, reflecting the aquarium’s long focus on species native to the Pacific Northwest alongside animals from tropical and polar habitats worldwide.
Since 1967, the aquarium has staffed dedicated interpreters to explain animal behavior to visitors, an early model for hands-on public education that other North American aquariums later adopted.
A Changing Approach to Marine Mammals
In 1996, Vancouver Aquarium became the first aquarium in the world to pledge not to capture wild cetaceans. Following the deaths of two beluga whales in November 2016, the Vancouver park board voted in 2017 to ban cetacean captivity and breeding at city-owned parks, ending the aquarium’s whale and dolphin shows while allowing it to continue caring for rescued animals deemed unreleasable.
That shift reoriented the aquarium’s mission further toward rescue, rehabilitation, and marine science research, work it continues to run alongside its public exhibits today.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
Vancouver Aquarium FAQs
When did Vancouver Aquarium open?
Vancouver Aquarium opened on June 15, 1956, in Stanley Park, making it Canada’s first public aquarium.
How many animals live at Vancouver Aquarium?
The aquarium houses roughly 65,000 animals, including about 300 fish species and nearly 30,000 invertebrates, across about 100,000 square feet of exhibit space.
Does Vancouver Aquarium still keep whales and dolphins?
Since a 2017 park board ban on cetacean captivity and breeding, the aquarium no longer performs shows with whales or dolphins, though it continues to care for previously rescued animals unable to be released.
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Photo: Iiii I I I / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.