Ucluelet Aquarium Society

What you can't see from the outside...

2012-01-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

The interior of the aquarium, still hidden from the general public, is rolling along towards completion. Beautiful beams, donated by Iisaak, surround the Great Tide Pool. This centre tank will hold schooling fishes and tidepool species.

The Great Tidepool, Casey at work,

and the glowing windows out to the harbour

To the right, allow the imagination to fill the broad space by the front windows with rows of touch tanks. With any luck, future visitors may glance up from these tanks to view the rare sight some of the crew were privy to last week. A pod of killer whales swimming through the bay. No photographic proof is available for this claim, but trust us, it happened. (really). The aquarium currently feels as if we were building a whale from the inside out. Beams and rafters enclose the space like a giant ribcage. Electricians lace the neurons of electrical wire through and around the framework; the plumbing spreads into the future sites of displays, and into the belly of the building, where rows of filters and pumps will pulse cold life into glass cases.

The basement: a lone chair and two rows of sand-filters

From the back of the building, the Great Tide Pool to the left, the view will one day be an art piece displaying the names of our sponsors. The upstairs will be the aquarium's very first on-site office. Ask staff members what this means to them. Be prepared for wide grins and unlimited excitement.

The view towards the upstairs mezzanine (future office) and front desk.

Aquarium Construction Update (January 5th)

2012-01-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

The roof is on, sides are almost complete, and the structure is beginning to take shape

Precision, Salvation, and Mucking Around

2011-11-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

The JCP crew has been hard at work lately, continuing construction on the wooden tank stands for the new aquarium. This has required a great deal of precision, with sub-millimeter measurements and careful clamping being the name of the game. We had the opportunity to rent a 16-inch beam saw for some of the most recent cuts, which made for pretty fun work! The finished product will be tank stands with lap-joints, a very strong and stable structural choice.

An action shot of Seamus with the 16-inch beam saw

The elaborate clamping setup

Another objective for the crew has been to collect substrate for use in the new aquarium, such as sand, rocks, and shells. This involved trips down to Big Beach, where there is an abundance of ideal substrate. We even lucked out with some gorgeous sunny days, which made hauling around heavy bins infinitely more pleasant!

Jeff, Seamus, and Diana collecting substrate on Big Beach

The mini-aquarium has entered into hibernation mode, now that the big release day has come and gone. We have been hard at work emptying and scrubbing the old tanks. When siphoning out the used water, it is always a fun challenge trying to avoid a mouthful of murky waste water – a distasteful experience as I’m sure you can imagine! Probably the most joy came from discovering little crabs, clams, fishes, and other creatures that were still hiding at the bottoms of the tanks (all of whom were released, of course). The old aquarium materials and merchandise are being packed up, ready for re-use at their deluxe accommodations in the new aquarium building!

However, a few tenants still remain in the mini-aquarium. Our little red octopus female continues to care for her many eggs, which are scheduled to hatch any day now. Also, three fascinating and unidentified fishing anemones are being kept in their tanks in the hopes that with expert consultation, we may be able to identify these mystery specimens. We will keep you updated as much as possible on the births and potential discoveries of these remaining animals!

Diana is the newest member on the JCP team. She has been living in the area for 3 years, working as a naturalist on whale watching boats. Diana is excited to help contribute to the creation of what is sure to be a world-class aquarium facility.

High School Wood Working

2011-10-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Seamus using the planer.

Back to High School, well kind of... John Millar the shop teacher from Ucluelet Secondary School very kindly donated his after school hours to help out the Aquarium Society.

Here is Mr. Miller jointing a piece for us.

We worked together to joint and plane our lumber for the future tank supports. We think they turned out beautifully!

Thanks John! We couldn't have done it without you. Hahahaha. Here is a real picture of the results!

The forest comes to us....

2011-09-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our construction crew has spent the last couple weeks installing beams on the developing structure of our new building. Walking past the site these past few days conjures images of old forest.

The Garbage derby wrapped up last weekend with Jamie's Whaling station taking home the trophy for most garbage collected by a business. Jesse Vedova, one of Jamie's' drivers, towed in a freezer and filled it with collected garbage, fishing floats and other oceanic debris. Matt Harbidge and Kane Edwards collected together to bring home the individual prize. These two drove out to a remote beach in the sound where dogwalkers, runners and beach combers can't add their efforts to keeping it clean. Thank you so much for your efforts!

Thanks also to Zoe Jewell, and Jordan Odney for your help, and to Garth Grimes, Seamus Little, Jason Hasz and Keanna Hasz for your efforts!!!

JCP crew goes to Vancouver Aquarium

2011-09-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

We had three days of fun and useful information, half of the time for travel and the other half for inspiration at the Vancouver Aquarium. We started off our morning at Vanaqua with an orientation and behind the scenes look of the facility led by Danny Kent, Curator of B.C. Waters. We were all amazed by the complexities of the plumbing systems. None of us are plumbers by trade so looking at the plumbing of a large aquarium was a lot to take in.

We asked to meet with the carpentry department to see if they had any suggestions that may be useful in building and finishing our supports properly. Danny directed us down to the depths of the basement where the wood shop is located. . We were greeted by Ken Sulivan (Ken on the right) head of the carpentry department. He gave us some great suggestions on what type of leveling feet they have found work well on the bases of the tanks.

Ken showing us some hardware that they have used for leveling feet

The afternoon was spent walking around the galleries of the aquarium. The Vancouver Aquarium is a very amazing place. Here are some of the rad specimens we got to check out!

Bonus points to who can tell us the name of this tropical sea creature!

Daisy the Porpoise

Day two at Van Aqua was spent with Bryan Kent. He showed us on the computer the steps taken to go through to make fake rock that looks real. Basically Bryan started with a scaled down box and made the rock formation he was looking for out of plasticine. He then takes that plan to a company that specializes in artificial rock work to build it for him. Here are the before and after shots.

Before with Plastisine model

After in finished concrete display immediately after rock work was complete

Bryan also took us around for some more behind the scenes look at displays.

Bryan, Jeff and Jonnie checking out the display tank

We had the opportunity to meet with the painter of the Vancouver Aquarium to pick his brain on finishing products that work well in wet environments.

After spending time at the Vancouver Aquarium we are better equipped to create durable wooden structures, and really excited to contribute to the construction of another great aquarium!

2011 JCP Tinkerers

2011-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

* * * NEWS FLASH * * *

The brainy research squad have been working hard designing the tank stands for the new Aquarium. This handsome crew have been performing diligent calculations to figure out the complex design criteria for the containment systems. The new tank stands will be a timber- frame structure, materials chosen for the tank supports is fir. Fir is a strong and beautiful species and should last for years to come.
The construction will be a lap joint with hardwood doweling to add strength and rigidity. The choice of hardwood doweling is there to keep the stands free of materials that will deteriorate or rust.

As you can see the crew is still working hard to solve the engineering details of our finalized designs.

Having calculated the precise dimensions, volumes and densities of the tanks, substrate and fish the crew was able to accurately estimate the design weights for each display tank.

* * * Stay tuned for more NEWS to come! * * *

2011-08-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!

So the JCP crew were out collecting some substrate the other day and spotted a peculiar object on the horizon. We decided to go check it out. As we came closer we were struck by a bizarre species that none of us recognized. Luckily Jeff brought his pocket guide book of the Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Under the 'newly discovered species' section we were able to identify it as 'The Great Pacific Stolked-On-The-Construction-Of-The-New-Aquarium Fish'. We considered using the specimen as crab bait but soon discovered it was still alive! We rushed it to our shop on 1980 Harbor Crescent, hosed it off, threw it a hammer and the creature starting working! It was then that we knew we had our fourth member.

We are happy to have Roger Harvey complete our crew for the JCP!

Now that we have a full crew we thought it would be fun to do a little Bio on each of us.

Jeff Geddes' Bio

Before I say a little about myself I would like to thank Ucluelet and the Far West Coast for providing me with everything I need; Great people, good surf, a solid employer and I'm sure much more to come! I am happy to be out here exploring, surfing and contributing to the very awesome new Ucluelet Aquarium

project. I look forward to learning a lot about the ecosystem and local marine life from the other people involved with the aquarium and the knowledgeable locals! I am quite new and quite friendly, so say 'hi' if you see me.

Roger Hervey's Bio

From west Ucluelet born and raised, on the shoreline is where i spent most of my days. Chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool, playin road hockey outside of the school, until a couple of guys who were up to some good started building an aquarium in my neighborhood. I made a couple of calls and said that i cared, they said I'll be working with the dry team to build it up square. I whistled for a boat and when it came near the registration said fresh and it had dice in the mirror. If anything I'd say that this project is rare, but I know i won't regret it, no question I'm there. I pulled up to the dock about 7 or 8 and I yelled to the skipper "Ahoy smell ya later!" Looked at the work site I was finally there to aid in the construction of a new marine lair.

Johnny Harkins' Bio

I am thrilled to be a part of the dry team for the Ucluelet Aquarium.
The Ukee Aquarium is a great project and the town will benefit for years to come.
Having worked for almost twenty years in the film industry, and being a carpenter too..
I hope my skills will help the best team I have ever worked with accomplish something great.

Seamus Littles' Bio

As some of you may know I worked on the 'Harbor Clean Up Crew' from last winters Job Creation Program (JCP). It was an extremely successful project and happened to be one of the funnest projects I have ever worked on.
Because of my involvement in the last JCP I was recruited to run the up and coming JCP which is where we are at now. This project predominantly entails building stands out of wood for all of the acrylic tanks that will be in the new aquarium. I am so stolked to have such a positive crew to work with!

2011 tank stand builders and dry team.

2011-07-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! Being involved with the construction of the new Ucluelet Aquarium is very exciting and unique. From now until the end of January 2012 Seamus Little (middle of photo), John Harkin (left of photo), Jeffrey Geddes (right of photo) and Bailey the dog will be working as 'the dry team'. These types of jobs include building tank supports out of wood, collecting a variety of local shells, bone, rocks and substrate from the surrounding waters, designing the interior layout of tanks and displays, helping with the tank plumbing, lighting etc. and helping out around the aquarium job site. We are working as part of a Job Creation Partnership grant from the Ministry of Housing and Social Services.

Here are some of the exciting projects we have been getting up to so far:

Collecting whale bones for future display in the new aquarium. Special thanks to Jane Hunt from Westerly Winds Farm for donating 4 whale vertebrae. The vertebrae came from the same whale as this awesome skull that Johnny is standing beside.

Built a mock up floor and tank stand to the same dimensions as the future aquarium. We did this to help figure out our feed and return lines from the floor to the tanks.

Cut, sanded and primed sea creature shapes out of thin plywood with Elgin Ambrose from Art Access. These cool sea creatures were then painted by local kids and adults and put up on the construction fence to bring some life to the future aquarium worksite.

Here Seamus is seen cutting and wiring the cutouts.

Working at the aquarium job site stripping concrete forms, stacking wood, moving rocks and working with geotextile.

We are all learning lots having a blast with this project so far! Looking forward to Ukee Days this weekend and checking out the Aquarium Octopus float that will be in the parade. Come and have some fun at Ukee Days!

Some new specie, and new building construction...

2011-07-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome summer 2011!

After a long winter, we are finally getting some sunny days.

Construction of our new building is coming along. We are now almost out of the intertidal zone!

A new little red octopus is in our midst, along with some deep sea Tanner crabs and Fragile Pink urchins. The Tanner crabs and Fragile Pink Urchins are truly deep sea species, and can live as far down as 2km. While a deep sea fish might react badly to pressure changes, the crabs can release gasses (which expand as you head towards shallower waters) through its flexible joints.

Unlike our very large Giant Pacific Octopus, the little red will reach a maximum weight of around 3lbs (GPOs often reach 150lbs). It resides now in the back of the aquarium, where it has a small den in the centre of its new home, and hunts the tasty shore crabs scurrying around its tank.

Ukee Days approaches! come out for the Saturday parade! We have a new (and very large) float to surprise everyone with...

Garbage, Construction and Box Crabs

2011-05-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring from the Ucluelet Aquarium! We've had some exciting changes take place so far this year. Our new building is finally underway. After 4 years of fundraising, we now have a soundtrack of machinery and construction playing

throughout the aquarium. The little aquarium will still run for this season, closing again in october. When we re-open next year in our new building (projected opening date is set for May Long-Weekend of 2012) we will run year-round.

Our winter JCP crew wrapped up with a display of all the garbage they collected. Weighing 6710KG, plus about 25% which was previously recycled,and stretching out over 100 cubic yards, the massive haul of garbage was too large to be photographed from the ground. Many thanks to our volunteers for all the help, and to the Ministry of Social Development, which made the whole project possible.

We have a brand new box crab which we're very excited about. (Thank you to the crew of the North Islander). There are so many amazing species that we have on the coast, but the Brown Box Crab is truly remarkable. The holes on either side of its claws provide it with fresh water while closed up for protection. It moves with the grace of a tank but is more dextrous than it appears and has avery strong (and painful)grip.

May provided us with some of the lowest tides of the year. Perfect weather and ideal times (early morning right before work) meant many of us ran frolicking down to the intertidal zone to peer at all the creatures not normally accessible to us during low tides.

2011-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Ucluelet Aquarium,
We hope you are having a great February and looking forward to our March 19th re-opening. Recently, we have completed the Harbour clean-up and are now turning our attention towards removing invasive plant species from selected areas of the harbour. The top priority is the removal of Scotch Broom. An invasive plant on Vancouver Island since 1850. This perennial has been used in the past as a bank stabilizer by the highway department because of its deep root structure and rapid growth. However, it has flourished and become a nusance to many native plants on the Island as it hinders the available light, mositure and nutrients. It is also fast growing and considered a 'prolific seed producer' with up to 18,000 seeds per plant. It is also difficult to ward off and stop its invasive reproduction.
If you are planning on removing broom the general rule of thumb is if the stock is smaller than your pinky finger it can be pulled out of the ground. Otherwise, cut the stock of the plant as low to the ground as possible.
Our efforts have been focused in the Millstream area where we have removed approximately 20,000 of these invasive plants. After the broom has been pulled or chopped we burn the broom as to not spread the broom seeds any further.
We will be monitoring the areas that we have removed the broom from to see how the land rehabilitates.

Gorse

2011-01-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Aquarium lovers!

We are excited to get back to our JCP (Job Creation Program) Harbour Clean up project for 2011!

Despite the colder temperatures in the early mornings we have continued up the frozen harbour. To date we have removed garbage from 2/3 of the intertidal zone and shore line (25 fish totes worth) and we will be continuing our way north into the Millstream area. We can already see our positive affects on the harbour as we occasionally pass over areas that we have already cleaned on our way to new spots.

Of the items we have found, commercial batteries are the most concerning. We have found batteries on all the abandon boats in the Ukee harbour. So far we have found 13 large commercial batteries and many household batteries. These batteries leach cadmium, lead , mercury, copper, zinc, magnese, lithium and potassium which are all hazardous to the environment and human health. Many of these toxins do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in all animals particularly in fish and shell fish. Removing these toxic batteries will improve the health and future generations of the marine life in the Ucluelet harbour.

Most service stations will take and recycle your batteries free of charge! Petro-Canada and Noel Enterprises in Ucluelet will accept all batteries as well as Method Marine in Tofino. We hope that our days of throwing batteries in the ocean are behind us.

We would like to thank The Westerly newspaper for publishing a two page spread on the work we have been doing in the Harbour.(December 16th 2010 newspaper)The Harbour clean up also got a thumbs up in the Times Colonist(Victoria newspaper) for our good work.

2010-11-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks,

Due to threatening letters from George Lucas (creator of Star Wars) we have changed our winter crew name from The Storm Troopers to the Ucluelet Aquarium Harbour keepers lol.

As for business, the days have gotten shorter and the weather a little chillier, making our job a little more challenging but fun nonetheless.

To date we have removed a distance of 7km of garbage from Hyphocus Island to Garbage dumphill; roughly a quarter of the harbour. We have found lots of garbage Everywhere! both in commercial and residential areas equally. As of Nov 19th we have collected 15 commercial fishing totes of a variety of garbage. Of this refuse, we are primarily pulling large chunks of Styrofoam, rope and single use plastic drink bottles. Interesting things we have found are an old glass insulator used formerly on hydro poles, a large brass propeller, a homemade fishing float toy and numerous shoes (who are these people walking around with one shoe!)

Here Seamus is found slacking off waiting for the hockey game to start.

Of the more interesting natural finds, we found a Giant Pacific Octopus beak. This beak may have come from an Octopus more than 20ft long.

In the coming weeks we will be continuing up the Eastern side of the harbour working our way north. Stayed tuned for further updates and progress on our mission to make Ucluelet harbour a cleaner and a more beautiful place to work and play. For more information log onto the Ucluelet
Aquarium Facebook page.

For your viewing pleasure here are some of our trashy photos!

2010-10-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our first week as the Storm Troopers!

Hey folks,

Despite the harsh weather, we have been hitting the harbour pretty hard, finding a wide variety of discarded materials and mapping certain areas that are overrun with invasive plant species. A shout out to Josie Osborne of the Raincoast Education Society for putting on a very informative Invasive species work shop; much appreciated!

Biologist Josey Osborne of The Rain Coast Education Society

Last week we started in the Highphocus Inlet and slowly moved our way north using canoes thanks to Judy Gray and Bill Morrison. The canoes have allowed us to access virtually any area on the coast line due to their ability to maneuver in shallow waters. However due to the surprising amount of garbage we decided to make piles along the coastline just above the high tide line to later be collected with a power boat and small skiff. Thanks to Barkley Sound Black Seals Dive Company for the use of their power boat.

As you can imagine the garbage began to pile up quickly once we got it to home base. We then recruited the use of a dozen fish totes to seperate and organize the garbage for recycling or to be reused. Some of the items include car parts, doors, lightbulbs, bottles and cans, a wide variety of plastics and a surprising amount of styrofoam and rope, lighters and pens.

Stay tuned as we will be continuing to work our way up the harbour...

Dirty work but somebody has to do it

2010-10-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Winter 2010 Harbour Clean up Crew

Hello out there Aquarium lovers!! We are currently changing with the season and moving into another phase now that the Ucluelet Aquarium has shut down for the season. First off, thank you to all those who came down for the Oct 16th release day; your help was greatly appreciated.

Now that winter is approaching the Aquarium Society will be continuing its work in the community. The winter team known as the "Ucluelet Harbour Storm Troopers" which consists of Kane Edwards, Seamus Little, Jesse Espezel and Tewas Johnston will be doing a number of projects in and around the Ucluelet harbour such as, removing invasive plant species, removing harmful debris and garbage from the intertidal zone as well as diving and removing discarded garbage from the sub tidal zone. In addition, we will be assisting the Ucluelet First Nations in their on going shell fish studies of the Ucluelet inner harbour!

This project is made possible thanks to the Job Creation Program making the Ucluelet harbour a cleaner and healthier environment.

Team Bio:

Jesse Espezel, Born in Fort McMurray. 1982.

I have been involved with Vancouver Island all my life and finally moved to Ucluelet in 2003 to further my skills as a Carpenter and to enjoy the endless opportunities to get out there and enjoy nature. I have spent a significant amount of time combing the beach and trails with my two dogs, often bringing away a full bag of trash that washes up on shore. Now I have met a great group of like minded people, both from the Ucluelet Aquarium Society and our "Storm Troopers" harbor clean up crew. Together we can really make a difference.

Tewas Johnston

Hello interested folks of the Ucluelet Aquarium Society. My name is Tewas J. I've been fortunate to live in Ucluelet for 5 yrs and counting. I first came to Ucluelet on a recommendation from my uncle who is a carver in Nanaimo. Knowing that I had surfed in High school, he told me that you could catch waves in and around the Tofino/Ucluelet area. After a short visit, I immediately fell in love with the area and its people. I am looking forward to working for the Aquarium Society this winter, as well as the community on a whole. If you see any of us "Storm Troopers" trudging about feel free to say hello and chat us up.....Tewas. J

Seamus Little

Hi there! My name is Seamus. Before ever going to the West Coast of Canada I just knew it was were I wanted to be. There was something that intrigued me about surfing and the ocean ever since I was a little kid. Growing up in Ontario was great. My parents took my sister and I on camping trips in the summers and always got us involved in sports. Well the time came about 3 years ago were it was time to experience the west coast. I packed my little Toyota Corolla, drove strait to Ucluelet and never looked back. My love for the ocean grows the more and more I learn about it. I feel really lucky to be a part of the Aquarium Society and look forward to working with our awesome team. "Go Ucluelet Harbour Storm Troopers"

Kane Edwards

Hello !

I am super excited for this winters harbour project,we have an awesome crew and we are going to make a huge positive impact in the Ucluelet harbour!This project is going to benefit the environment as well as the community.If you see us on the shoreline working hard feel free to come chat us up!

Art Gallery Exibit on Release Day!

2010-10-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Two Artisits - One Community - One Country
After the release visit the community hall. From October 16th - 24th internationally acclaimed canadian artists Ken Kirby and Joan Larson will be displaying works at the Ucluelet Community Centre. There will be chowder and drinks by donation on release day, all benefiting the aquarium. 4 Days till Release!!!

Raise a Reader - Cat in the Hat day

2010-09-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

On Wed. Sept. 29th Raise a Reader day will be visiting the aquarium. The Event starts at the UES library at 10am. At noon activities start around town featuring the Westerly, Re/Max Ucluelet, Wild Heather Books, the Crow's Nest (and us of course!). At 6pm the final event is the Cat in the Hat Movie at the Ucluelet Community Center.

Release Day 2010 - October 16th

2010-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

This year's release date has been set for the 16th of October.

Beginning around 10am we'll begin returning all our creatures back to the wild. We're looking for a number of volunteers for the event, if you'd like to help out with the release, please drop by the aquarium or contact Laura 250-266-1640, lgriffith.cochrane@gmail.com. we'll need a few people to help by making hot chocolate, or coffee and around 15 courageous volunteers to help scrub down tanks afterwards.

To all those simply interested in releasing sea stars and shiner perch, stop by anytime after 10. The release will run till the early afternoon, rain jackets are recommended and costumes are encouraged.

A New Arrival

2010-08-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Frequent visitors to the aquarium might notice something new when they walk in our front doors on their next visit. Last week, Matt Harbidge, from Green World Building Company, donated a new, custom built front desk. Matt constructed the desk himself using salvaged fir and cedar planks. The aquarium staff would like to extend a special thanks to Matt for his continued support to the Ucluelet Aquarium Society.

Where Do Babies Come From?

2010-08-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we were admiring our school of Shiner Perch when we noticed that about seven of them were looking a little larger in the mid-region. Pigged –out on krill? Doubtful. The more likely possibility was that they were pregnant!

Shiner Perch have a complex mating system where the males perform a courtship dance for attractive females. If their moves are good enough the female might let the males mate with them. Sound familiar? Five to six months later anywhere from three to 40 babies are born.

After a few weeks our Shiners looked about ready to explode with their little babies. In preparation for the mass birthing, we relocated any potential baby eaters such as black rockfish, predators capable of turning the miracle of life into an all you can eat buffet!

On August 10^th the aquarium crew arrived to the work in the morning to find that our Shiner Perch had collectively given birth to around 40 babies, and a couple more were still birthing little ones; tail first…ouch!

The babies, 1 ¼” miniature version of their parents, are born so well developed that they practically swim out of their mothers. The males are also born reproductively mature with females maturing only a few weeks later.

This isn’t the first time this season that some of our fish have given birth. Last month our Tiger Rockfish gave birth only hours before she was supposed to go the rockfish breeding facility at the Vancouver Aquarium. Spawning is almost a weekly event in the aquarium with various species releasing mass amounts of sperm and eggs into the surrounding water. Visit the aquarium for answers about where babies come from!

What's In Our Water?

2010-08-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

The Ucluelet Aquarium operates on an unfiltered, open system that pumps in water directly from the harbour. Because the water is unfiltered, we have plankton from the harbour water flowing directly into our tanks. This means that we don’t have to feed any of our plankton eaters, but it also means that we are constantly cleaning our tanks of unwanted growth. Our waters are teeming with life, most of which is too small for us to see. Given time, this microscopic plankton might grow into organisms that are more familiar to west coast beachcombers. This concept sparked our idea for the “Empty Tank” whereby we leave a tank empty with only water from our pumps flowing into it, don’t clean it and then see what settles inside. Its’ been just over two months now since we started, and in that time we’ve seen everything from hydroids to fish come through the pipes to make a home in the now “not so empty” tank. Colonizers include: hydroids, bryozoans, barnacles, mussels, tunicates, nudibranchs, a variety of other unidentifiable life forms, and most recently, crab larvae.

The Empty Tank isn’t the only tank that contains creatures sucked in through the pipes. Last week we replaced the sand substrate in our Orange Sea Pen tank and found that about 750 Soft-Shelled clams and Nuttall’s cockles had settled within. These clams would have arrived into the tank via the pipes as larvae, and then grown to about an inch in a three month time span. There were so many clams embedded in the sand that they began to compete with the Orange Sea Pens for space.

In nature, planktonic larvae use a variety of factors to determine which areas are good to settle and grow depending on suitable substrate, food availability, predator abundance etc. Some are more picky then others, but with the variety of habitats in all of our tanks, larvae are bound to find the real-estate they like.

Splash for Trash at Whiskey Dock

2010-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Anyone missing their bike? It may be at the bottom of the harbour!

As part of the Ucluelet Harbour Appreciation Day on July 15, volunteers from the Ucluelet Aquarium and Ocean Planet Adventures dove for trash under the Whiskey Dock. From bottles to bicycles, there was more then enough trash to keep eight divers busy for nearly four hours. While our aquarists Jaylene, Laura and Nate dove for trash with the Ocean Planet staff, aquarists Dave, Spencer, Larissa, and Kane, along with Mark (Sport) from Barkley Sound Black Seals manned the dock pulling up trash lines and returning animals that had made a temporary home in the garbage. By the end of the day we had collected a gigantic pile of trash which was hauled off for recycling and disposal by the volunteers from the Ucluelet Rent-it Centre.

The Whiskey Dock definitely lived up to its name with enough bottles residing under the dock to rival the depot after Ukee days. There were so many bottles littering the harbour floor that our dive team had to stop collecting them in order to focus our efforts on the more nasty stuff such as boat batteries that corrode and leach toxic compounds into its surroundings (we were able to retrieve three large marine batteries in the time available to us).

We also pulled up ghost fishers. Of course I'm referring to old traps and nets that become lost or dumped but continue to capture marine life. The days of fishing are over for an old Black Cod trap and the remains of fishing nets that we collected. Among the many critters that took up housing in bottles, we collected a tiny new Giant Pacific Octopus from an empty Gin bottle. He now calls our nudibranch tank home, but will be released in a couple months.

As well, I'm not sure if the CO-OP was aware that they were missing some of their shopping carts. By the end of the day we had retrieved three of them. CO-OP representatives are welcome to claim them, although its unlikely they'll ever push groceries again. Encrusted in barnacles and rust, most people probably wouldn't want to put their food inside. And if the wheels were present, they were so seized that you would be forced to drag the cart across the store as you shopped. The six bikes we pulled up weren't in any better shape. With so much corrosion and marine life growing on them, its doubtful even Ukee Bikes could make them operable again.

Other things collected include:
lawnmower
countless bottles
a car exhaust
stereo system
rusty cable wire
old fishing nets and rope
dinner plates and mugs
and a variety of car parts
unknown/unidentifyable scrap metal and plastics

The Ucluelet Aquarium Society strives to promote healthy oceans, and a large barrier to ocean health is pollution. This includes all the trash that gets thrown into the ocean both intentionally and accidentally. Much of our garbage is non-decomposable and may take thousands of years to break down, if it breaks down at all (think plastics). Although much of this trash is out of sight and out of the minds of most, it accumulates to wreak havoc on our oceans. With the success of this year’s splash for trash, the Ucluelet Aquarium hopes to make this an annual event to continue to promote a healthy harbour.

The aquarium staff would like to give a special thanks to: Katie Beach (Nuu-Chah-Nulth biologist), who organized the Ucluelet Harbour Appreciation Day; Mark Porteous (Barkley Sound Black Seals Diving) who organized and brought everyone together for the dive; Steve Bird (Ucluelet Harbour Authority) for giving us dive access; Tony Konefall (Ucluelet Rent-it Centre) and Chris Bird (Sonbird Refuse and Recycling) for hauling, recycling and disposal of the garbage; West Coast Aquatic for the beach cleanup; and of course Andy and all the fantastic guys at Ocean Planet Adventures who dove for trash and loaned equipment to the Ucluelet Aquarium staff.

OPAH!

2010-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

What a way to start the day with a smell so fishy one might say. What was it coming from? The grandiose Opah fish, a.k.a. the Moon fish. Although a bit smelly, the beauty of this grand 100lb Lampris guttatus made it a treat to stand close to and admire from its iridescent coating and bright vermilion fins to its golden yellow eyes. It was definitely a sight to see. At the aquarium, we had the pleasure to view the Opah for a day and learn a bit of what is known of this rare fish. Thanks to Chris from Archipeligo Marine Research for taking it out of the freezer for us. This specimen was a by-catch from a hake fishing vessel and was being kept for further research.

We have managed to get all of the native plants collected for the landscaping of the new aquarium. In this last collection we succesfully transplanted some spruce , myrtle and pine. The pots that we used were donated and recycled from the District of Ucluelet and the landscaping from the new community hall. Thank -you to all for your support.

Growing the Garden

2010-03-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the support from the BC Ministry of Housing and Social Services, our JCP crew continues to make great progress growing our “Intertidal Garden”.

[Wall seen on left as tide recedes. UA Photo]

After a successful concrete pour, our upper tidepool is almost complete, holding the receding tide waters and already showing signs of life! There have been sign of human life too as our new tidepool has already attracted visitors on its first day.

[Wall seen at top with sea stars! UA Photo]

Work will continue as the crew removes sediment and makes plans, weather and tides permitting, to construct another pool lower in the intertidal zone.

[Pools seen at bottom left with aquarium in backgroud! UA Photo]

Check back here for news as the spring unfolds!

From the deep

2010-03-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

Far at the back of the Ucluelet Aquarium is a habitat that mirrors a place deep on the ocean floor. The first inhabitant you may notice has a fiery red coloration and eyes so big that the fish seems a clueless wonder. Due to its large dark eyes, the longspine thornyhead has been given the unfortunate nickname of the “idiot fish”. Ouch!

This groundfish, who lives 1-2 kilometres under the surface of the ocean off the coast of Vancouver Island, exists in a habitat of low oxygen, sunlight & food. As if that isn’t enough to adapt to! These ‘idiots’ also live in an area with an extraordinary level of water pressure. Not a lot is known about this wonderful creature yet it is still being fished for consumption in global markets.

What a great opportunity to come down and stare deep into those huge alluring eyes that will tell you stories about the world before we came along. You don’t really believe these fish are idiots, do you?

Who makes friends with an idiot? Tanner crabs and threadfin sculpins aren’t afraid to admit it.

Thanks to the crew of the Ocean Rebel, we have these guys to show off too. There may even be sablefish (a.k.a. ‘black cod’) swimming around. These are species that our normal collecting techniques (beach seining and diving) never allow us to see, so we are very excited.

We hope you will share our excitement and come down to the Aquarium for a look.

And We're Off... To a Great Start!

2010-03-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

We've been busy, busy, busy and extremely excited about the new season which started March 6th. We are now open daily from 11am-5pm. Our opening day coincided with the opening day celebrations of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. We have been getting the aquarium ready for another year of fun: Painting, plumbing, cleaning and labeling are all part of our preparations. What we needed next were critters! Some of our collection techniques include well orchestrated beach seines and the tried, tested and true method of bicycle-wheel-net fishing off of the dock. Materials used are high tech garbage pails, good ole scoop nets, and last but definitely not least our friendly local divers Sporty, Marcel and free diver, Darryl...you have all done tremendous jobs and we Thank You!

This last month, we took a short break from collecting and headed out into the communities. We were invited to attend marine career fairs in Ahousaht and at the Ucluelet Secondary School. It was great to see the excitement on everyone’s face as they got to check out our tank of sea creatures and ask questions about what it's like to work at the Ucluelet Aquarium.

For the past two weeks, we’ve been setting up friendly and suitable new homes for the temporary inhabitants at the aquarium to enjoy as they serve as the ambassadors of their species, teaching the public about lifestyles that protect the environment and ways to help conserve our oceans, locally and internationally. A big challenge for the JCP crew is learning husbandry techniques, which is a very important part of aquarium species placement. If done incorrectly, one creature in the tank could eat the other (oh my!). Just because they are in an aquarium doesn’t mean that nature still wont take its course!

Individual or family season’s passes are available so you can keep coming back for more education and fun anytime.

Thanks to all for your support and love. We can't wait to see you on the promenade this year.

Ucluelet Aquarium Reopening Saturday, March 6 - FREE to everyone

2010-02-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

Join us on Saturday March 6 for the grand opening of the Ucluelet Aquarium's 2010 season! This year's opening is timed to coincide with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival and will be open EVERY DAY through September. Grab your field guide and a Ucluelet Aquarium season's pass and come hang out with us for a while.

Come visit some old friends from the briny deep and some friendly faces from around Ucluelet and join us for a day of celebration. Doors open at 10 AM and admission will be free all day.

Keep an eye on this blog for photos from the big event. Hope to see you there!

Working our way through winter...

2010-02-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

A month has come and gone and the J.C.P. aquarium staff have been busy buzzin...ahem or shall I say, buffing. After hours upon hours of T.L.C. our tanks have finally and beautifully been polished. We have succeeded in our task of tank refurbishing! They have been wrapped up and a secure and safe storage facility has been located.

(photos A Zuck)

After this work was done Ash and Danielle were able to build on their knowledge with an exciting field trip to the world renowned Vancouver Aquarium. While there they had the pleasure of a three day Job Shadow with the knowledgeable aquarists of the B.C Waters exhibits. They learned about tank upkeep and cleaning, designing backdrops, feeding techinques and the daily duties of a cold salt water aquarist. They also learned the building blocks of interpretive skills with Melanie Knight! The experience there was extremely valuble and will be put to good use in the Ucluelet Aquarium with our re-opening just around the corner. A huge west coast Thank-You again to those at the Vancouver Aquarium for hosting us. Your hospitality made us feel right at home we hope to see you out here in Ukee this summer!

(photos A Zuck)

While the girls were away Kat, Kane and Dave back in Ukee were hard at work starting our collection of native trees, shrubs, and plants. These will be used for landscaping our new facility. We are on our way to a green aquarium!! A special thank-you goes out to Green Room Landscaping for their generous donation of soil.

The Aquarium is...Gardening? Intertidal Gardening, that is!

2010-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

It’s a cold, dark and stormy Saturday night and we are dressed to the nines in our rain gear waiting for the tide to drop.

The foreshore of the aquarium is lit up by floodlights and a mighty beacon of white light from the helpful fishing vessel, Frosti, who were also giving us the Canucks updates on their booming loudspeaker. As we were waiting for the water to recede we were preparing our plywood forms, cement mixer, filling sandbags, and getting all the tools necessary.

The time schedule we were on was not ours but the mighty oceans. Our team consisted of Phillip Bruecker (founder), Dave Hurwitz (curator), Mark Cunnington (engineer), Chris Zamora (R.P. Biologist), his wife Brenda & their 2 children, Hedley Crowther, Deane Crowther, Kane Edwards, Danielle Hiscock, Ashlie Zuck & Kat McGlynn.

Finally the time had arrived… With tools in hand we approached the rocky outcrop that was soon to be Ucluelet`s first man-made tide pools. We quickly set to work; some of us clearing the rock and silt out of the tide pool area, others cutting and placing the concrete forms.

To prevent any seepage of concrete we lined the forms with a geo-textile and braced them with dozens of sandbags, while up above on the road the concrete was being prepared. In the concrete we were adding polyfibers in lieu of rebar for internal support. Instead of a regular cold water cement mix we added hot water to speed up the setting of the concrete walls.

Once all the forms and our textiles were in place we started hauling the freshly prepared cement down to the beach. We knew we only had a small window of time before the tides started to rise and our work would be halted whether we were finished or not. Everything ran smoothly and before we knew it all six walls were poured and the Canucks won!

The finished products!

Hibernate for winter? We don't THINK so.

2009-12-10T15:27:00.001-08:00

Just because we're closed for the winter season doesn't mean we've stopped!
We have a crew of 5 working over the winter thanks to a Job Creation Program grant from the Ministry of Housing and Social Services.

Kane, Kat, Dave, Danielle & Jack (Missing from photo is Ashlie) [UAS]

Let's hear about some of our exciting projects!

Refurbishing tanks: Through volunteer efforts by UAS and generous donations from Living Elements Ltd., we have saved over 25 used aquarium tanks from the dump. They were obtained from aquariums and research facilities from as far south as Oregon and as far north as Resolute Bay in the Arctic. Their condition ranged from almost new and slightly scratched to VERY scratched with deep gouges. With the help of Mark Schnurr, an expert in plastic fabrication from Archer Plastics in Vancouver, we've been learning the correct way to remove dings and scratches from acrylic tanks to make them look like new.

Sand them down first [UAS]

Buff them back to life [UAS]

The work is quite satisfying and takes very, VERY close attention to detail.

BUILDING BACKDROPS: We've been creating backdrops for the tanks in the aquarium that will spend months underwater in hopes that many wonderful clingy creatures will use them as a home. The backdrops are a lot easier to use than rocks from the ocean with existing life because the backdrops can be customarily shaped to fit in the tanks. They are also a lot lighter so will be safer when placing them into the restored tanks.

Using bricks & plastic mesh as a base, forms are covered in concrete & left to cure [UAS]

BUILDING INTERTIDAL GARDENS: We've been scouring the intertidal zone on the foreshore in front the the new aquarium site (to be built in 2011) and mapping out where to build our intertidal gardens! Using the natural bedrock as a frame, these new pools will be full of life and easily accessible to the public in a safe environment. We're excavating rocks by hand & shoveling the silt. There will also be a bed for surf grasses and plants against the existing concrete wall. True to our nature, all species of plants and animals will be native to the area. If you see us down on the shore in front of the Ucluelet Aquarium, be sure to say hi and see what we're building!

FIELD TRIP: . We’ve taken a field trip to visit local riversides and stream beds to learn about and identify native plants in our area. Similar species will be planted in our seagrass bed on the foreshore to offer a different type of habitat than the tidepools.

Investigating local grasses [A.Z.]

Taking field notes [A.Z.]

It's still a flurry of activity down at our workshop at 1980 Harbour Crescent. It’s almost time to start collecting specimens for opening day of March 6th 2010. You’ll see us out collecting substrate for the tanks soon! Tank sponsorships are still available for the 2010 season. Contact our curator, Dave Hurwitz at 250-522-2782 for more information.

Season Highlights- 2009

2009-10-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

The summer weather has left and the west coast has no choice but to gear up and embrace the coming winter. With the end of the season here the aquarium has said goodbye to all of the creatures and people that made this successful season what it was.

Photos, etc. from the release party on October 17th will be available soon, but for now- some eye candy from the season passed. These are a few of the many highlights and give a little taste of what the Ucluelet Aquarium was (and is) all about. Thank you to everyone who visited, contributed, and shared our season. Enjoy!

Giant Pacific Octopus-

This season's giant pacific octopus was truly impressive- though often hiding in her den, her sudden appearance was a beautiful thing to see. [Caylan Piper]

From collection to display-

Intertidal collecting was always great and sharing our discoveries with our guests was a big part of the fun. Caylan shows off a geoduck and Mary introduces the new urchin collection with brave visitors. [Caylan Piper]

Our special VICs-

Puget Sound King Crabs- large, medium, and small! [Caylan Piper]

Sena II brings in the deepwater Grooved Tanner Crab [Caylan Piper]

Our appreciation for bryozoans sky-rocket when using the microscope!! [Mary Vasey]

Water jellies scope the aquarium [Mary Vasey]

Squid, squid, everywhere-

Humboldts wash up on Tofino beaches- a dissection back at home base taught us all about their anatomy and lifestyle [Caylan Piper]

Opalescent squid eggs develop and hatch in the aquarium- check out previous posts that include photo and video time-lines of development [Mary Vasey]

Ukee Days!-

The aquarium set up a booth at the Ukee Days fairgrounds to promote our new facility and give a chance for some hands-on interaction with the community. [Caylan Piper]

That's all for now- have a great winter and we will see you in the spring!

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

Grand Release Party, October 17.

2009-10-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

Join us Saturday, October 17th, at 10:00am for our traditional end-of-season closing party. Each visitor will have a chance to free a display animal from its temporary residence in the aquarium to the waters of Ucluelet Harbour. New display specimens will be collected in the spring in time for the aquarium's re-opening next March.

Here is your chance to participate in this FREE one-of-a-kind experience unique to the Ucluelet Aquarium. Bring the whole family and remember to dress for the weather!

Don't forget to bring your own reusable mug for some yummy hot chocolate and your spare change to donate!

See you there!

As the Tides Go By

2009-08-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

A quick update on our newest staff members: Nate and Laura are now happy as two little urchins in a kelp forest. They are settled in and really getting to know (or re-know as the case may be) all the critters and are confidently sharing the secrets of the sea with our guests. Unfortunately, their education will be taking both of them back to Victoria in early September.

Nate is startled by the hefty size of the Horse Clam (above) and is pleased with jello-like consistency of the California Sea Cucumber. [Mary Vasey]

These past weeks have been ones of high highs and low lows- with the tides of course. Such low tides are a great opportunity for the aquarium staff to replenish the intertidal tanks. One of the items at the top of our wish list was the always-impressive geoduck. When you want to find a geoduck you have to think like a geoduck so that is just what Laura, Dave, and Caylan did. They were roaring to go at 630 in the morning during the low-tides and made their way to Tofino mudflats. Because geoducks have such long siphons they are able to live very deep under the squishy sand making them difficult to dig up even with snowshoes, shovels, and cross country skis. Their siphons are full of the water that they are filtering and they are able to release this water by squirting it out of the sand and this is how a geoduck's location can be spotted. It is illegal to harvest any sort of mollusk or shellfish in many areas due to contamination (poo!) and/or Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). The DFO website has regional updates about the coastline and which areas are legal harvest areas.

Laura (left) and Caylan (right) try to maintain their balance as they show off their victory geoducks. [Dave Hurwitz]

Red tide is harmful because of the natural dinoflagellate biotoxin saxitoxin and this chemical can prove fatal for humans even in doses as low as 0.2 milligrams. Often the affects of red tide from direct water consumption is negligible as the saxitoxin is not concentrated enough. This is not the case, however, when dealing with filter-feeding mollusks that condense the toxins within their biomass. It is this accumulation of saxitoxin that makes shellfish poisonous sometimes even years after the dinoflagellate outbreak has cleared. The symptoms of consuming affected shellfish becomes apparent within 2-12 hours of eating and include dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, disorientation, eye irritation, and death. Due to the intense toxicity of saxitoxin it is one of only two natural toxins that are classified as Schedule 1 Chemical Warfare Agents and are considered a Biological Weapon.

Laura gives the thumbs-up after checking the DFO website for geoduck and shellfish closures. [Caylan Piper]

The lethal nature of this toxin comes from its ability to block sodium-channels with extreme selectivity and potency while leaving potassium and calcium channels unharmed. These channels are all part of our intricate nervous systems and medical research using saxitoxin has lead to a better understanding of how nerves and their channels work. (Edwards, Neil. 1998. http://chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/stx/saxi.htm)

Dave-the-master-clam-digger holds up a frightened geoduck releasing water. [Laura Griffith-Cochrane]

Rocky intertidal collections were also possible during these times of low tides and were executed by Spencer, Dave, Mary, and our volunteer Jordan from Parks Canada. Scoping out our secret spots during these few morning opportunities proved fruitful. Sea urchins were particularly abundant during our recent adventures as evident in our newest tank design. When found in tide pools, purple sea urchins are found hiding in perfectly-fitting dug outs. The reason these holes are so snug is because the urchins are actually creating them as they grow larger. They use their calcite teeth to dig into rock (often limestone) even though the rocks can be of equal or greater hardness. This is possible because the urchin's five teeth also contain crystallized magnesium calcite which is a little bit harder. There is more magnesium calcite in the tip of the tooth and it is aligned in such a way that as the teeth get ground down the interwoven crystals break in a manner that continues to create a sharp point. (Live Science. 2009. http://www.livescience.com/animals/090514-sea-urchin-teeth.html)

One last photo shoot for these collected shore crab before they are put in the octopus tanks for breakfast. [Caylan Piper]

The boys are stoked on their beach-combing prizes. [Mary Vasey]

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

And The Staff Did a Switcheroo...

2009-08-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

The Ucluelet Aquarium has been going through a roller coaster of emotions lately. Sadly, we wished Kristin Westman farewell as she ventured to Norway to begin studying for her Master's. The amount of time and energy that Kristin gave to the Aquarium on and off shift was inspiring to say the least. As the initiator of our first pilot study, assistant curator, and personal professional photographer Kristin was a joy to have around and her contagious passion will be missed. We of course wish her the best of luck as she gets one step closer to saving the world and look forward to hearing of her future endeavours.

In leiu of Kristin's return to school two more part-time team members are joining us for the remainder of the summer. Nathaniel Glickman and Laura Griffith-Cochrane are both ready to share their expertise and enthusiasm as they throw on their blue shirts and get to work. Laura, a former employee of the aquarium, has just returned froma trip to New Zealand and Fiji and will begin interpreting in a couple of weeks. Nathaniel is brand new to our team and will be with us until he leaves for his studies at UVIC in early September.
So come visit the team: Dave, Spencer, Caylan, Nathaniel, Laura, and Mary down on Main Street in Ucluelet.

Dave, Caylan, Mary, and Spencer put on a brave face saying farewell to Kristin and await the new team members [Mary Vasey]

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

One for the Little Guys

2009-07-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about the Ucluelet Aquarium is the opportunity to see and appreciate all the little guys that are often missed among the kerfuffles of the sea. It only seems right that the blog should reflect this and here it is: One for the Little Guys. By taking advantage of our microscope and cameras we were able to show off a few of our most-missed buddies.

Calcareous tubeworms (Serpula columbiana) can grow to be up to 6.5 cm long and have a diameter of 0.6 cm. These tube-secreting worms stay encrusted to the rocks for most of their body length and can hide inside their shell when startled. In the below photographit is possible to see the trumpet- or funnel-shaped operculum that the animal uses to block of the entrance of the tube when fully withdrawninto the shell. The aquarium also has feather duster tube worms that when approached with a finger will rush into their softer, more flexible home.These animals are filter feeders that munch on plankton and reproduce by broadcast spawning.

The Sitka Periwinkle (Littorina sitkana) is commonly found in protected intertidal zones trying to stay moist. They often will aggregate as seastars do in an attempt to not dry out. Living similarly to other snails and as the prey of some nudibranchs, the sitka periwinkle can be variable in colourfrom a light brown to black and will often have stripes have various thickness and colour.

The Heart Crab (Phyllolithodes papillosus) lives between the intertidal zone and down to 183 metres. Its camouflaugecomes from the hard spines covering the legs and pincers. They grow to be 10 centimetres across the carapace but as youcan tell in the picture they are quite small when they are young. These guys get their name from the heart-shaped designon their backs.

Little Skeleton Shrimp have been popping about in several tanks as they develop into a size visible with the naked eye. This generic grouping contains several species which can be either filter feeders or predators. These shrimp tend to be found in large groups in our tanks and can be seen attaching on to the algae or rocks and swaying to and fro.

The excitement level of the small common barnacle (Balanus glandula) is unfortunately often lost on local beachcombers- and What a mistake thatis!! These crustaceans begin life as small larvae that contribute to the plankton population as they are released from the shell of the fertilized adult. Each adult will brood and release up to 13 000 larvae at a time. As they mature they are attracted by settledbarnacles towards rocks, pilings, or even animals on which they are able to settle. Once committed to a surface the barnacle willattach itself for life using cement glands in the antennae. Their appendages change into a fan like structure- the cerripeds- and theyconstruct a permanent shell structure in which they will entirely hide when not feeding. They filter the water using their cerripedsto catch all the plankton that they feed on. The funnest fact of all? When it comes to mating the hermaphroditic barnacle will probetheir neighbours with their male reproductive organ which can be up to five times the size of the rest of the body!!

Get your glasses on and come check these little guys out first hand!

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

Love is in the Water

2009-07-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

It seems as though true love is blossoming before our eyes as the opposing genders of many species become better acquainted. Events such as: spawning sea stars and sea cucumbers, eggs from Oregon Hairy Tritons and various nudibranchs, and the claws-on mating of the Red Rock Crab are spontaneously occurring at the Ucluelet Aquarium. It is a good idea to breed when the warming water supports more growth as the success rate of young increases.

The predatory Hairy Oregon Triton has begun laying eggs in a beautiful spiral shape on the window of one of our tanks. This animal is suspected to have the longest larval development period of any marine invertebrate- up to four years. They will wait to undergo metamorphosis until there is adequate food to support their growth. The appearance of the eggs indicate that 6 - 9 months earlier a snail couple had intimate relations in which internal fertilization occurred. The snail will now protect these eggs for up to nine weeks from predators before the young larvae hatch. These hairy guys are covered in periostracum which are brownish bristles aiding in camouflage, when fully grown the snail will span up to 6 inches across.

Hairy Oregon Triton laying their eggs in a spiral pattern on the glass tank. [Mary Vasey]

When it comes to crab it's all about tough love as demonstrated by our Red Rocks. The male- generally much larger than his partner- will hold the female and wait for her to moult. This period can often take several days. If the female does not moult and the males appetite gets the best of him then he will eat her! Assuming that she doesn't become a snack mating will take place usually within a few hours. Both the female and male will open their abdomens and reveal their spermathecae and gonopods, respectively. Using his gonopods the male release packages of sperm into the female that she can hold for several months before fertilizing her waiting eggs. Need a visual? Okay!

Red Rock Crab action. [Mary Vasey]

Strangely, nudibranchs are simultaneous hermaphrodites meaning they are capable of holding both egg and sperm at the same time. The advantage to this is that when two nudibranchs of the same species cross paths they are definitely able to mate unlike if they were both males or both females. Both nudibranchs will fertilize their partners eggs and also receive sperm. The egg spirals are then laid in lacey-looking coils. These coils differ depending on the species and will be eaten readily by other species. Because nudibranchs live only a year so copulation is constant throughout the year.

So there you have it: the delicate art of marine animal courtship can be seen by you, here, at the Ucluelet (mini) Aquarium.

The shells of the veliger stage of these moonsnails are visible between the grains of sand that protect these young. [Aquarium Staff]

Sea stars release egg and sperm during broadcast spawning. These gametes are viewed under the microscope. [Aquarium staff]

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

An Octopus' Garden

2009-07-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

On July 12 the Ucluelet Aquarium hosted the Annual General Meeting after hours. Philip Bruecker, Founder & Chair of Building Committee, and Mark Cunnington, Director, discussed the plans and fiscal opportunities for the new permanent facility. Mark Cunnington also outlined the plans for the heat pump system that will be used. Many thanks to the approximately 50 people that were able to attend. Other business covered included the re-election of the Board of Directors, and a casual meet and greet.

The Giant Pacific Octopus is growing rapidly and is now settling in the larger rockfish tank. In this tank the numerous rocks allow for natural den building activities and the abundance of various animals allow our octopus to display more extreme hunting behaviours. Even though the rockfish and greenlings in this tank are palatable for an octopus the presence of the tastier red rock crab ensure their survival.

Our much smaller, but equally exciting, Red Octopus is warming up to her new home as well and is now often seen exploring and hunting. She has also begun investigating the field of interior decorating and can be seen shifting rocks and seaweed to make the perfect den.
The newest tank is specimen-free with the objective being of environmental significance. Our garbage tank features mostly plastic but also glass, shoes, metal, string, and other rubbish found on our beaches. All displayed trash is from the beaches either in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve or right outside the aquarium. While broadening the understanding of the permanency of plastic waste we also acknowledge its value in maintaining our current lifestyles. Messages such as “Since 1976 plastic has been the most used material in the world” and “Plastic ropes, nets, and packaging can entangle and harm marine life” line the tank to reinforce the significance of this always growing problem.

The aquarium is open daily from 10 am until 6 pm and is located at the bottom of Main Street beside the Whiskey Docks- see you there!

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

Fishy Business

2009-07-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

The opalescent squid have hatched!!! After tending to the squid egg pods for over four weeks the work sure has paid off. In the last few days we have greeted approximately 100 new squid, about the size of a rice grain, to the Ucluelet Aquarium. They are residing in the jellyfish tank as they hatch and learn to fight the currents. Already it is evident that they are grouping together when swimming as would be the case in the wild. Their pigment spots, or chromatophores, are visibly contracting and altering the overall colour of these juvenile squid. It is interesting to note that squid have no free larval stage- after hatching as juveniles they will continue to grow and mature until reaching adult size and proportions. We expect the squid to continue to hatch in the coming days and look forward to seeing the overall results.

A juvenile squid releases ink from the already developed ink sac in response to sudden water currents [Aquarium Staff]

Juvenile squid swimming in circles after hatching one day previous. [aquarium staff]

Today we enjoyed the Canada Day celebrations hosted by the District of Ucluelet. Activities for the kids included arts & crafts and games. Free hot dogs, live music and stands from Parks Canada and local businesses were also there. Aquarium staff hosted a squid dissection and face-painting table- both were a fun success with both kids and adults from Canada and around the world.

We have a new exhibit under construction that emphasizes the impact that plastic waste has on our ocean and our environment. It is important to realize the aquarium (and our whole way of life!) would be impossible without plastic, but that it does not decompose and can have detrimental effects when not discarded with care.

With the warm water being maintained by the excellent weather we have seen many animals responding differently. The California sea cucumbers, for instance, celebrated the heat by broadcast spawning in the tanks. When examined under the microscope the collected samples suggested most were males, releasing their sperm into the water. They do this in the same manner as sea stars and some snails, hoping that with luck the broadcasted egg and sperm will connect to allow eventual larvae development.

California Sea Cucumbers release gametes into the water during a broadcast spawn session [Mary Vasey]

Happy Canada Day everyone!!!

- Mary Vasey, Interpreter

Life is the bubbles!!

2009-06-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

Take it from me, there is a lot going on down here at the Whiskey Dock promenade as summer gets into full swing. Lots of new specimens have been brought in and are settling down in their summer homes. Some of our most exciting newbies include the quickly-developing squid eggs and the grooved tanner crab.

The squid eggs have been with us now for almost three weeks and have recently gone through some major growth spurts. Individual squid are surrounded by an egg membrane and then further enclosed in long pods by the hundreds . The little squidlets are now a whopping millimeter long and have defined eyes, arms, mantles, pigment spots, and a shrinking yolk sac as somewhat visible in the following photos/videos taken using the aquarium microscope. These opalescent squid generally grow to no larger than 20 centimeters during their short 4-9 month lifespan. We can expect that they will be approximately half a foot long by the end of summer.

On a larger note, the seven grooved tanner crabs that are now residing with us live quite differently. They are a deep-dwelling crab brought to us by the always-awesome Sena II crew. Hauled up from 300 fathoms, or 1800 feet deep, their bulging broad abdomens indicate that all of these bright orange beauties are pregnant females. In The Deadliest Catch television show the crabbers are catching a very similar looking but much larger crab, the Alaskan king crab.

Founder of the Ucluelet Aquarium Society and very experienced commercial diver Phillip Bruecker is in town so the aquarium has been getting lots of new critters, including a stubby rose anemone. This anemone closely resembles the red fish-eating anemone, but has much shorter tentacles and settles by burrowing into fine substrate and expanding its base to anchor itself. A bright-striped painted greenling has also found its way to our waters along with a couple of yellowtail rockfish, lingcod, and a temporary visit from a ratfish. The female ratfish has a completely cartilaginous skeleton and is related to skates and shark as seen in their similarly boneless bodies.

Video off developing squid surrounded by egg membrane. Taken by aquarium staff several days ago using microscope and camcorder.

See you soon- we’ll get you hooked!

-Mary Vasey, Interpreter

All Warmed Up

2009-06-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

With the sunshine sticking around Ucluelet the aquarium has really brightened up. A temperature increase means an increase in activity and responsiveness from the specimens. The giant Pacific octopus has been particularly rambunctious lately, much to the distress of the red rock crab. In the video below you can see the octopus playing around her tank while waiting to begin hunting her next feast.

The giant pacific octopus squints at observers while enjoying the tasty red rock crab [Mary]

As usual the aquarium had their awesome volunteers from the community come by after school. Today's activities included specimen collecting from the shore and off the docks, feeding, and simply adding to the exciting atmosphere of the aquarium.

Two great volunteers, Kai and Mickayla, drop by to check on the specimens they collected [Mary]

Indicators of the warming waters are apparent in all animals, not just the large flashy ones. Here you can see a burrowing orange sea cucumber bringing feeding branches into its mouth one by one. It is essentially licking its fingers after catching floating particles in the currents.

See you soon!

-Mary Vasey, Aquarium Interpreter

Crabtastic!!

2009-05-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Locals and kids spent this morning with Dave making specimen/crab traps and testing them out off the dock. Mission successful!! Specimens including red rock crab, kelp crab, and sunflower sea stars were collected with the fine handcrafted traps.

Those visiting in the past few days would have seen the decorator crab in action as they begin dressing up disco-syle in their new tank:

Decorator Crab covered in yarn in the new tank. [Kristin Westman]

Overview of the tank containing the 'Disco Decorators' including sponge 'rocks' and foam 'plants' [Kristin Westman]

Off the dock a lion's mane jelly was collected, spanning approximately 25 cm. This exciting scoop is the newest addition to the beautiful jellyfish tank already containing ctenophores, water jellies, and fried-egg jellies.

Recent collection outings were possible due to very low tides in the morning. The new specimens are settling well into their vacation-home and include urchins, sea stars, sanddabs, sculpins, snails, and more from our local area. As always community members have also been very helpful with their constant contribution of exciting finds.

Caylan and Dave carry back specimens from the beaches at low tide.

Touch tank studies concerning the possible effects of handling are nearly underway and will be continued for the duration of the summer. The intertidal touch tank will be the first to begin observations. As a result of tank-shifting, many of the Dungeness crabs were released and the moonsnails now reside in their own tank. This tank includes the sand collars left behind in the sand that contain moonsnail eggs. The clam shells with the characteristic hole left at the base near the hinge are also being created as hungry moonsnails eat up.

A clam shell left empty after being breached by the moon snail's radula, the tongue like tool used to breach the hard shell.[http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Euspira4.htm]

Rubbery feeling sand collar left behind by Lewis' Moonsnail. The eggs are protected between layers of sand held together by mucus from the giant snail. [http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Euspira3.htm]

Make your way to the aquarium to check out all the critters and watch demonstrations from the staff! In the past week visitors from all over the world including England, Germany, Australia, and South Africa have dropped in to learn about our amazing ocean life. See you soon!

-Mary Vasey, Aquarium Interpreter

Update

2009-05-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining in Ucluelet and the aquarium is swimming with exciting new developments.

Our rockfish tank is up and running at last and looks fantastic. The specimens enjoying the new spacious tank include canary and china rockfish accompanied by a couple of kelp greenlings.

On May 22nd, fishermen donated a truly unsightly treasure- a Pacific Hagfish. These deep-water creepers are also known as slime eels due to their incredible ability to produce copious amounts of slime when disturbed. They are blind and jawless opportunists that indulge in rotting flesh at great depths.

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t013/T013517A.jsm

The decorator crabs are getting antsy as the finishing touches are completed on their new disco tank. 'Dressing up' in whatever surrounds them is important for camouflage, even if that means colourful disco attire. Stay posted!

Interested in catching your own crab? Dave will share his crabbing expertise on Saturday, May 30th at a crab trap making workshop. The fee is $6 and registration is possible through KK at 726-4772.

Much gratitude to all of our volunteers and donors, we really appreciate it and can't thank you enough!!

-Mary Vasey, Aquarium Interpreter

Mini Aquarium Update

2009-04-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

The water is a balmy 8 degrees Celsius in the Ucluelet Aquarium and love is in the air, I mean the water.

On April 1st, there was a herring spawn at Little Beach and Phil (Director and Founder) managed to collect some spawn on kelp. We've been watching the embryos develop under the video microscope!

Also, something?! spawned from a crack in the rocks in the Sunflower sea star habitat. We collected some and watched the cell division under the microscope!

Some local fishermen brought in a Brown Box crab that breathes through holes in its claws and a Threadfin Sculpin! (image from http://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/Crab_ID.asp)

Some of our "junior biologists" (keener volunteer kids) collected a Red Octopus in the traps I lent them off the dock in front of the Aquarium. Now the kids want to raise money and sponsor the exhibit that its in! Go future staffers!

- Dave Hurwitz, Aquarium Curator

For more great insider information, check out the Newsletters on the Publications page of uclueletaquarium.org or meet Dave himself and visit the Ucluelet Aquarium, open 10am-5pm daily!

2009 Aquarium Grand Re-opening March 15

2009-03-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Join the volunteers and staff at the Ucluelet Aquarium for this year's opening on Sunday morning, March 15th at 10:00. We are opening early this year to coincide with the annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival and will be hosting several activities throughout the festival.

Come visit some old favourites at the Aquarium like the octopus, rocks, floor, Dave Hurwitz, a fish, and shell! Also, NEW PAINT!

Ucluelet Aquarium is Hiring!

2009-02-09T00:23:00.000-08:00

The Ucluelet Aquarium is looking for an enthusiastic, experienced Interpreter for our May to September summer season! Join the Ucluelet Aquarium Team. Email uclueletaquarium@gmail.com to request a job description!

Gala raises $5800 for the Aquarium

2008-12-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Gala hosted by the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and the Tofino Business Association raised over $18,000 in one amazing evening.

The Ucluelet Aquarium was not the only one getting a nice slice as a benificiary of the event. The Tonquin Foundation, the Food Bank and the Pacific Rim Visitors Centre also received part of the pie!

Big thanks to Marny Sauders for her work organizing the event.
For the full story and pictures, click here.

Pictured: Board Members of the Ucluelet Aquarium and bartenders extraordinaire, Bill Morrison and Marla Barker.

Pacific Rim Christmas Gala Saturday December 6

2008-12-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

The Ucluelet Aquarium Society will be one of the beneficiaries at the 2008 Pacific Rim Christmas Gala at the Wickaninnish Centre in the Pacific Rim National Park. Join us for a night of great live music, food and beverages.

Unfreeze your wallet, forget the global economic meltdown for a night and come party with the people and animals from the world's greatest aquarium. Free bus transport leaving Tofino at 6:15, leaving Ucluelet at 6:30, and departing the Centre at midnight.

See you there!

Photos From 'Operation Invertebrate Freedom'

2008-10-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Our release party was a great success. Thanks to the staff, volunteers, and participants who helped release all the Aquarium's critters last Saturday.

See an excellent photo collection of the event at Westcoaster.

Freedom for All!

2008-09-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

As is tradition with the Ucluelet Aquarium, every animal is released back into the wild at the end of each operating year. If you are a fearless animal lover with a taste for crab pinches, slug slimings, paralyzing sea anemone stings*, and deadly snail attacks* please join us Saturday October 4 for our annual Specimen Release Party at the Aquarium.

Grab a bucket and follow us down Whiskey Dock to set the Aquarium's specimens free! The fun begins at 11:00 AM, so arrive early to choose your favourites.

* actual danger levels may vary

Welcome to the Ucluelet Aquarium Blog

2008-09-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

Keep an eye on this space and check back often for updates and announcements from the world's greatest aquarium.