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By Magali Grégoire If you're following us on Facebook or have browsed this site even a little, you'll know that we plan to launch an event series called Touch Tank Days in the near future. And if you haven't done either of those things, do it now! (Or at least, right after you read this post.) We're almost ready to launch the Touch Tank Days, but we're still missing one important element - the animals! The little critters we'll be showcasing are still chilling in the ocean for the time being. Why is that? Because we want to do things right, and that includes collecting our animals in a safe and ethical way.  Desta Frey, 2014 Curator of the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium collecting animals prior to the start of the season. We've applied for a collection permit that we're hoping will also allow us to release the animals back to the ocean where they were collected from. This allows for a close to zero environmental impact, the fondation of the catch-and-release philosophy. In terms of the Touch Tank Days, this means we would like to release the animals at the end of the event series in early October.  A sea star returning to its home! Photo curtesy of the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium. But what does catch-and-release mean for the proposed Back to the Sea Aquarium and the other "mini aquariums" in Canada? Due to our East Coast weather, the Back to the Sea Aquarium will have a short season similar to the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium. At this aquarium, all the animals are collected in May so they can be in the exhibits when the doors open in early June. After their summer-long vacation away from predators, they are released in mid-October with the help of local children and families. This is called the Release Party and it's BYOB - Bring Your Own Bucket!  Children handing off an urchin at the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium's 2015 Release Party Things are a little different on the West Coast. For example, the Ucluelet Aquarium is open from March to December, making for a much longer season. Although this aquarium still hosts a release party at the end of the year, animals are also periodically released and caught throughout the season.
Some of Ucluelet Aquarium's animals being released back to their permanent home. As soon as we receive our required permits, we'll be hitting the water to collect some animal friends. Can you guess what animals we'll be collecting? Leave your answers in the comments!
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