Dear Friends and Supporters,
I wish you, your family and your friends health and well-being in what are trying times for everyone.
It’s hard to believe that only three weeks ago, Charles, our executive director, and I were in Nova Scotia to announce that we had selected Port Hilford as the best site to create a seaside sanctuary for whales being retired from entertainment parks.
Now, like all of you, we find ourselves in a somewhat different world as a consequence of the coronavirus. But I’m glad to say that most of our work is continuing unabated.
In the days immediately following our announcement, the team was able to collect water quality samples to compare to the historic records of the Port Hilford waters. And just last week Dr. Amanda Babin, our environmental analyst, deployed temperature loggers throughout the bay. In the days ahead we will be expanding this work to include sea floor mapping, deploying current meters and more.
One of our main challenges, however, is that none of us from the United States can travel to Nova Scotia to meet with key people at the regulatory agencies that will be responsible for granting the necessary permit for the creation of the sanctuary. And an interesting wrinkle is that this will be the first permit of its kind that anyone has ever applied for. So, there’s much discussion to be had between the Whale Sanctuary Project and the various government departments as we work our way together through this unique process.
Of course, when it comes to travel and in-person meetings, our situation is no different from anyone else’s. But we have plenty of work to press ahead with regardless. And most of all, we’re very grateful for the fact that we had a chance to visit our friends and colleagues in Sherbrooke and Port Hilford just days before the new restrictions were being put in place.
There are more updates on the website and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. And thank you, as always for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project.
Stay safe, be well, and all the best.
Dr. Lori Marino
President, the Whale Sanctuary Project.
