For most people, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is the only place they can see live whales. Education about conservation is vital to the survival of whales in the wild. In 1996, approximately 10,000 people went whale watching in B.C. while 850,000 saw whales at the Aquarium. If the other 850,000 people all tried to go whale watching in the wild, their presence would have a large, negative impact on wild whale populations. Aquarium research, in combination with information and data from studies conducted in the wild, has improved scientists' understanding of whale biology, ecology, and the impacts of growing human populations and their activities.
Research can save whales in the wild.
Aquarium-based killer whale reproductive studies have saved the lives of wild killer whales. After hormone measurements from pregnant aquarium whales revealed a much longer gestation period than had been previously estimated from field observations, the International Whaling Commission reduced Norway's whale quota by 52 animals per year. This data is impossible to collect in the wild. Breeding in captive or semi-captive settings has been identified by international conservation organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, as perhaps the only hope for a number of critically endangered dolphins and porpoises. Animal care skills acquired in aquariums with non-endangered species are critical to the success of this program.