Portland Aquarium
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| Date opened | December 15, 2012 |
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| Location | 16323 SE McLoughlin, Oak Grove, Oregon, United States |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Land area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Floor space | 12,500 sq ft (1,160 m2)[1] |
| Number of species | 2,500 |
| Website | portlandaquarium |
The Portland Aquarium was a 12,500-square-foot (1,160 m2) for-profit aquarium in Oak Grove, Oregon, United States that opened to the public on December 15, 2012.[2]
On December 17, 2015, the aquarium announced it was closing effective February 16, 2016, and said the animals will be distributed to other aquariums in its chain of private, for-profit aquariums. The company's press release also said it was looking for a new location in Portland.[3] However, even the owners said any reopening was 24 to 36 months away, and no new location has been identified.[4] Many of the animals in fact were sold to third parties.[5]
Organization
The Portland Aquarium is a private, for-profit aquarium built with funding provided by an investment group. According to the owners, the for-profit model was chosen to allow the aquarium to be built quickly. The aquarium was constructed in a leased former steakhouse in Oak Grove. It was initially proposed to be called the "Oregon Aquarium."[6]
The Portland Aquarium is a limited liability company whose current members are Crystal Covino, David Rowe and Shane Shimada.[7] The founding owners, in 2012, were bothers Vince and Ammon Covino, and Marc Gottlieb of Boise, ID.[8] Vince and Ammon Covino also were involved in starting the Idaho Aquarium in Boise and the Austin Aquarium in Texas.[9] The Idaho Aquarium has since been taken over by a new director and new board members, in response to legal problems and controversies involving Ammon Covino and his co-founder, Chris Conk.[10]
Portland Aquarium is not an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) or the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA); as of August 2013[update] it is "taking the steps necessary to become AZA and ZAA accredited."[11]
Features
The Portland Aquarium features 30 exhibits displaying more than 2,500 species.[2] Animals exhibited include sharks and stingrays, a jellyfish exhibit, a cold water tank with fish found off the Oregon Coast, and warm water tanks and tide pools with tropical fish.[12] In addition to aquatic and marine exhibits, the aquarium includes a rainforest room with animals like tree frogs and exotic birds.[13] The Portland Aquarium is intended to be a “hands-on” educational experience that will provide ample opportunity to pet and feed aquarium animals. Most exhibits will be geared toward children about age 10.[6] The aquarium is located on a two-acre site that is zoned to permit the aquarium to build outdoor exhibits in the future.[12] Proposed future exhibits include a 30,000-gallon shark tank and a seal exhibit.[14]
Controversies
One of the original co-owners of the Portland Aquarium, Ammon Covino, was arrested on Feb 21, 2013 in Boise, ID on charges of illegally harvesting marine animals.[15] He later pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally obtain sharks and rays from the wild in Florida and was sentenced to a year and one day in prison.[16] In October 2015, he was rearrested for allegedly violating terms of his two-years of supervised release by getting involved again in the family aquariums.[17]
At least two senior employees of the Portland Aquarium, including a veterinarian, quit their jobs at the aquarium citing concerns about how the animals were being treated.[18] Along with this, a former employee from the Portland aquarium showed to The Oregonian a death log of animals who had died in the aquarium from February 18 to May 16, 2013. The death log contained over 200 animals that died during that time, causing a lot of controversy and making the Oregon Humane Society launch an investigation to the aquarium.[19] The aquarium has been subject to citizen protests at the site.[20]
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2015/12/controversial_portland_aquariu.html
- ↑ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2558626
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/2494778/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2086632099.PDF
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2015/10/former_portland_aquarium_co-ow.html#incart_most-read_milwaukie_article
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
