Animals Returned Home!

The end of our aquarium season is marked with the release of our animals back into the ocean. We take special care to ensure the animals are returned as close as possible to their original home, and that the transition from the aquarium back into the wild is smooth and stress-free. As such, the releases are spread out over a few days to ensure proper care is taken with each and every one of them. 

This year, we held our annual Release Party on Saturday, October 15th. We had over 100 people sign up to help us release our marine animals back into the Discovery Passage, from the harbour, the pier, and the beach. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and we saw 3 pods of whales pass by during the event. There were smiling faces all around, and each group was able to release multiple animals that day!

You can read more about the Release Party in this article from the Campbell River Mirror. 

Prior to the large release day, we had a smaller gathering to release our beloved Giant Pacific Octopus - Raisin. We had support from Ocean Fix Dive Centre, who graciously took us out on their boat, and helped volunteer divers deliver Raisin to her new undersea home. The divers reported that Raisin was immediately seen snacking in her new den, a good sign that she is ready to live in the ocean again. We also released our large sea cucumbers, sunflower stars, plumose anemones, and rainbow stars on the Quadra side of Discovery Passage, to give them a better chance of survival. 

The Campbell River Mirror also wrote an article about the octopus release, which can be read online here.