Aquarium of the Bay fails to meet AZA standards, loses accreditation
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Accreditation Commission unanimously voted to rescind the accreditation of the Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco’s Pier 39 aquarium. The aquarium was notified on May 13, following the conclusion that it wasn’t meeting accreditation standards in a “number of key areas,” AZA said in a statement.
“AZA’s goal through its accreditation process is to provide members and applicants reasonable opportunities to meet the world’s most rigorous standards of animal care,” said Dan Ashe, president and chief executive officer at AZA.
Some of the standards the aquarium wasn’t meeting included financial instability, staffing capabilities, and employee morale and turnover. This also followed after the aquarium’s then-CEO, George Jacob, resigned due to a scandal involving lavish spending.
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“Preliminary analysis showed that the combination of travel and expenses far exceeded anything that I was comfortable with for an organization of this size and an organization in our financial shape. So, the board took action and asked George to resign,” Jon B. Fisher, chairman of the aquarium, told KRON4.
AZA said they had given the aquarium multiple opportunities to show proof of the progress made to address the areas of concern to obtain accreditation, but they have since “failed to do so.”
“Standards without enforcement are simply advice, and continuous monitoring and enforcement of standards is what distinguishes AZA accreditation. We hope that the Aquarium of the Bay can quickly resolve these issues, and if so, we look forward to welcoming them back into our community of members,” Ashe said.
Aquarium of the Bay has until June 13 to appeal the commission’s decision. Of the approximately 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the USDA across the country, less than 10% are AZA-accredited, according to the organization.
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