A message to our fans from our ceo: why aren't we open yet, and what are we doing about it?

4 August, 2020 - Blog

Good news! The Two Oceans Aquarium will be reopening to the general public on 1 September 2020, and to our annual members on 28 August 2020. It's been a long 5 months, and we can't wait to see you all again - please take a look at the safety protocols we have put in place so that you know what to expect when you visit us.

The Two Oceans Aquarium has now been closed for 139 days – never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that our doors would be closed to you, our members, fans and supporters, for this long. I commented in a blog a while ago that I miss the noise of excited visitors in the foyer, eagerly waiting to get through the turnstiles and into a different world. It is very hard to save the oceans without any visitors! We have no doubt that you have missed us as much as we have missed you.

While the doors of the Aquarium are closed, our Curatorial and Technical teams have continued to care for all our animals and exhibits, and have managed to keep themselves safe and healthy. Our non-profit public benefit organisation, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, under the leadership of Maryke Musson, has forged ahead and converted many of the education programmes into online courses which are now accessible worldwide. Rescued turtles have continued to arrive at the Aquarium to be rehabilitated by the Foundation’s conservation team. Our Finance team has completed the financial year-end audit and our Communications & marketing team has kept you informed of any happenings at the Aquarium, engaged you in some stimulating discussions around plastic pollution during Plastic Free July, and has also delved into some fascinating facts about marine life.

There is mounting pressure from the tourism industry, the Western Cape Government, and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), of which we are members through the African Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AAVEA), for National Government to start opening up our industry under the same strict health protocols which apply to many other businesses. You’ll be pleased to hear that we are working hard on plans, communications and signage for the reopening of the Aquarium as soon as we are given the green light by Government. We have already introduced a range of health and safety measures in line with current Government regulations and a Covid-19 workplace-ready plan has been compiled and implemented. These efforts are to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of all our Aquarium visitors and staff. We will share the details of these with you as soon as they are finalised and we have the permission to reopen.

We certainly hope that it won’t be much longer before we sea you again at the Two Oceans Aquarium – we will be waiting to give you a whale of a welcome!

#SeaYouSoon.

Michael Farquhar