With 70,000 animals in its care, Vancouver Aquarium fears bankruptcy due to COVID-19

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VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Aquarium is losing millions of dollars a month during the COVID-19 crisis, raising serious concerns about the non-profit organization's ability to continue providing a home for the tens of thousands of animals in its care.

Revenue at the Stanley Park attraction has dropped from almost $3 million a month before the pandemic hit to "almost zero" today, according to Ocean Wise, the conservation organization that runs the facility.

President Lasse Gustavsson said the aquarium has already scaled back its operations as much as possible, laying off some 345 staff, and it's still incurring costs of about $1 million a month.

"Unlike other institutions we can't just lay off our people, switch off the light and go home," Gustavsson told CTV News. "We have 70,000 animals we take care of and that we care a lot about."

Those animals include everything from sea lions and otters to tarantulas and a sloth. The vast majority are invertibrates and fish.

While the aquarium has received government funding for upgrades and expansions, Ocean Wise noted it is "self-supporting," meaning it doesn't rely on taxpayer dollars for day-to-day operations.

But Gustavsson said without some kind of life preserver from the federal or provincial government, the aquarium won't be able to keep treading water for more than a few months.

"We have some reserves and we are eating into them at the moment," he said. "We have two, max three more months to run the operation unless we get any additional support from the outside."

While the organization is hoping it might be able to reopen at some point during the summer, which is normally its busiest season, Gustavsson is also skeptical about how much help it will do given that about two-thirds of their visitors are normally tourists.

"To be honest, I don't think we're going to make a lot of money this summer, and I don't think we'll be able to open before July at the earliest," he said.

The aquarium is already reaching out to members for donations, and Gustavsson said every little bit helps, but they are not expecting local supporters to pull them through.

"We can't expect the public to provide us with the funding necessary, simply because everybody's having a hard time and running the aquarium is expensive," he said. "So I think we are looking primarily at the government and (a few individuals and corporations) who can give generously, in large amounts."

Beyond running the aquarium, Ocean Wise employs dozens of scientists and researchers who study everything from killer whales to climate change. It also runs the Marine Mammal Rescue Organization, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and its Sustainable Seafood Program.

Ocean Wise said if it is forced to permanently close the aquarium, the 70,000 animals in its care would be re-homed.

RELATED IMAGES A sea otter chows down on a specially prepared Easter treat in this image from the Vancouver Aquarium's Twitter feed.