Accreditations:
- Oceanarium Bournemouth is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)
- Bronze winner in Active Learning Experience of the year – Dorset Tourism Awards 2025
- The aquarium won two prestigious awards at the 2024 Destination Management Board Tourism Awards: The Silver Education Award and the Bronze Responsible, Ethical, and Sustainable Award. These accolades highlight the Oceanarium’s commitment to delivering exceptional educational experiences, while championing sustainable, responsible and ethical practices in conservation and tourism
Conservation:
- Oceanarium Bournemouth aims to incorporate research, education, and sustainability into all aspects of its conservation work, and continues to bring conservation education to the local communities
- Educational programmes are an integral part of Oceanarium Bournemouth’s commitment to conservation; it runs three educational packages involving self-guided tours and 1-1 sessions with its aquarist team
- The Oceanarium recently launched an Ocean Sustainability school session which is already proving popular locally. It focusses on ways individuals can be more sustainable and provides guidance to reduce your carbon footprint
- In 2025, the Oceanarium held 1,715 educational talks and had 5,661 school visitors.
- Oceanarium Bournemouth has been a partner of the Punta San Juan Programme since 2022, raising essential funds to support the population of vulnerable penguins in the Punta San Juan in Peru
- The Oceanarium partners with the Marine Conservation Society on its monthly Bournemouth Beach cleans as an ongoing pledge to the look after the local environment. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up online and the cleans take place on the first Sunday of the month. In 2025, the team spent 138 days dedicated to cleaning Bournemouth’s coastline
- The Oceanarium Bournemouth team has a long-standing relationship with Dorset Wildlife Trust and RSPB, regularly fundraising for the two charities
- The Oceanarium Bournemouth supports the Shark Trust and is part of the Big Shark Pledge which helps sharks that are at risk from irresponsible fishing
- Other conservation projects that Bournemouth Oceanarium supports, includes:
Animal rescue case studies:
- Animal rescue is a large focus for Oceanarium Bournemouth’s animal welfare work in the local community and across the south. Since its open, the Oceanarium has rescued many animals that are either unwanted pets or have been illegally imported. Below are some examples of the animals that the Oceanarium has helped:
- Bob the pig nosed turtle was previously someone’s pet but outgrew his enclosure so was donated to the Oceanarium. Bob now has plenty of space in his new home, receives regular vet checkups, and is given daily enrichment to keep him happy and healthy
- Eddie the green iguana was abandoned on a London doorstep in January 2023 in freezing winter temperatures. The team worked closely with the RSPCA to rehome him at the Oceanarium. Eddie has made quite the recovery since his rescue and enjoys eating his greens followed by his daily enrichment activities
- All of the Oceanarium’s freshwater turtles were donated either by members of the public or CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The horsefield tortoises were also confiscated from customs due to illegal importation
Information on zoo license inspection processes:
- UK Zoo inspections are conducted regularly, with formal inspections occurring every 3-4 years
- Inspections are conducted by government-appointed inspectors and are crucial for assessing a zoo's compliance with the Zoo Licensing Act and the conditions of their license
- Zoo licence inspections cover animals’ environments, health and care standards, education efforts, and breeding and conservation programmes. It is required to submit an accurate record of animals in the zoo including the number of births, deaths, acquisitions, and selling/loaning of any animals
- Oceanarium Bournemouth underwent a routine inspection in 2021 and had an inspection three years later in 2024
- Each report summaries its findings and lists any necessary improvements that need to be made by the given deadline
- Often there is a delay between inspections being carried out and findings being published, so any required improvements are likely to be rectified through the zoo’s quality and assessment processes, before the issue date
- All of the conditions made following Oceanarium Bournemouth’s last visit in 2024 have been actioned and noted by the Zoo Licensing Act
Misinformation on the Oceanarium’s zoo license reports:
- Protesters are circulating mortality figures that have been compiled over a 5-year period and are not representative of the actual figures that were submitted during each of our last two inspections
- Many marine species, particularly small fish, have naturally short life cycles. Therefore, it is a normal occurrence for species including anemones and invertebrates with brief life cycles to be replaced more frequently
- A part of the Oceanarium’s conservation work includes rescuing animals who arrive at the aquarium in a poor condition. Without the Oceanarium’s rescue efforts, mortality would have likely occurred sooner
- No rare or conservation-priority animals were included in the mortality total from the last two reports
