Troubled Portland Aquarium to Close

• Alex Falcone

After being open almost three years to the day, the controversial Portland Aquarium has announced that it will be closing its doors and is perhaps moving… to a mall? From their press release:

Portland Aquarium will close their operation on February 16, 2016 and search for a new location. Animals to be carefully rehomed in aquariums across the country. The building housing Portland Aquarium has been sold and is being demolished in early 2016. The Aquarium will be closing their current location after close of business on President’s Day, Monday, February 15. A date or area for a new location has not yet been determined, though owners are considering local malls as a viable target. All animals will be relocated to other aquariums across the country.

Yes, but will their animals be relocated to other aquariums across the country?

The aquarium which raised eyebrows when it opened in a former steakhouse on Highway 99 outside of Milwaukie has had its share of troubles since opening, including its co-owner confessing to plotting to illegally buy fish and destroy the evidence, Facebook boycotts, and a 2013 investigation by the Oregon Humane Society. From KOIN 6:

The Oregon Humane Society is investigating the aquarium after a former employee released a “death log” documenting more than 200 animal deaths in a three-month period earlier this year. Complex investigations can, at times, take as along as six months, the Humane Society said.

Whistleblowers point to starvation, infection and equipment failure.

But co-owner Vinco Covino told KOIN’s sister station in Austin, Texas, KXAN, “No fish died of starvation.”

Portland Aquarium employee Lary Smith said, “[The fish] would probably die from being overfed, I mean we feed them well.”

SHEESH.

For those interested in further reading, check out former Mercury reporter Sarah Mirk’s cautious but optimistic preview of the aquarium’s opening, followed by Alex Falcone’s very disappointed review two months after opening its doors.