PORT HILFORD BAY, N.S. – Sept. 22nd, 2026

Construction is underway on the next major phase of the Whale Sanctuary Project in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, marking another significant step toward creating North America’s first seaside sanctuary for whales retired from entertainment and public display.

Building on construction progress already underway at Port Hilford Bay, the Whale Sanctuary Project has now moved into its next major stage of site development, with more than $1.4 million CAD in advancing the shore-side infrastructure that will be essential to building and eventually operating the sanctuary.

This latest phase had been scheduled to begin earlier but work in the wharf area was temporarily delayed after nesting barn swallows were discovered at the site. Following Canadian Wildlife Service procedures, the project adjusted its construction schedule to protect the birds and allow the nesting period to conclude.

Members of the construction crew at work on the barn swallow loft.

And with that process now complete, work is moving ahead. It includes geotechnical engineering and re-construction of the wharf, boat launch and slipway; installation of core and armour stone to establish and protect the shoreline infrastructure; and preparation of the ground and footing base where future sanctuary buildings will be constructed.

The area being developed will provide the staging area for the major in-water work still to come.
“Every stage of construction brings us closer to the day when we can open these waters to whales in need of sanctuary,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “This work creates the foundation for the marine infrastructure and facilities we need to operate, and it is enormously rewarding to see that progress taking shape. We’re also proud that this investment is supporting Nova Scotia contractors and using materials sourced here in the province, ensuring that as we build the sanctuary, we’re investing in the community and Canadian expertise that are helping make it possible.”

The area being developed will provide the staging area for the major in-water work still to come, including installation of the sanctuary’s nets and bay pen.

With construction progressing, the Whale Sanctuary Project is now focused on securing the funding required to maintain that momentum and advance the next stages of sanctuary development.

The project is engaging with individual philanthropists, foundations, corporations, and other potential partners in Canada and around the world to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary. The funding will support the next stages of the project’s construction plan as work continues toward making the sanctuary ready to receive and care for whales.

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About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a seaside sanctuary at Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, for whales retired from entertainment and public display. The sanctuary will provide a natural ocean environment where whales can live with greater space, autonomy and choice while continuing to receive lifelong human care, including specialized feeding and veterinary support.

The Project is developing the infrastructure, expertise and partnerships required to provide a responsible alternative for whales who cannot be released into the wild but can experience a dramatically different quality of life in a seaside sanctuary.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

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PRESS STATEMENT

September 3rd, 2026 – Three beluga whale deaths at Shedd Aquarium in little more than a week should force governments, regulators and the public to fundamentally question an industry that continues to keep whales in captivity for entertainment purposes.

“The deaths of former Marineland Canada belugas Peekachu and Rain, alongside long-time Shedd resident Beethoven, are shocking and horrifying,” said Dr. Lori Marino, neuroscientist and founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “We cannot simply mourn them, wait for another necropsy and carry on as though there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the status quo. At some point, the world has to stop looking at each death in isolation and start questioning the system itself.”

Photo of a beluga whale during a show at Shedd Aquarium – By Sage Ross via Creative Commons.

The deaths come as the captive marine mammal industry has portrayed and celebrated the transfer of Marineland Canada’s whales to facilities in the United States and Europe as an international “rescue.”

In 2021, when Marineland Canada shipped five beluga whales to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, two of them died in the first six months.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling for full transparency about the health of whales transferred from Marineland, including what was known before transport, how animals were determined fit to travel and what additional safeguards are being taken for the surviving whales.

Facilities receiving whales from Marineland Canada must commit publicly that the animals will not be bred.

The fundamental failure of the captive whale industry to plan for the animals it captured, bred, and used for entertainment.
Crisis Not Limited to North America

Around the world, the captive whale industry is confronting the consequences of decades spent capturing, buying and breeding animals without any regard to what happens when facilities close, populations age, or keeping whales in captivity is no longer acceptable.

In France, Wikie and her son Keijo remain shuttered in Marineland Antibes in the South of France, caught by an industry determined to send them to another captive facility despite the French government having identified the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option. Their situation underscores the fundamental failure of the captive whale industry to plan for the animals it captured, bred, and used for entertainment. When facilities close, whales should not be left stranded for months or years while the industry searches for another set of concrete tanks willing to take them.

The Sanctuary Model

The Whale Sanctuary Project is building a seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia to provide a fundamentally different future for whales who cannot be released into the wild: lifelong professional care in a natural marine environment, with the space and autonomy that no concrete tank can provide.

But building that alternative requires urgent financial support.

The sanctuary is under construction, and the Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on philanthropists, foundations and people around the world who care about whales to help now so that it can be ready to receive animals.

“We know there is a better way, and we are building it,” added Marino. “But we need people who are appalled by what they are seeing to help us finish this sanctuary. If we want to stop this endless cycle of whales being trafficked from tank to tank, we have to build somewhere better for them to go.”

The deaths at Shedd and the continuing plight of Wikie and Keijo should make the urgency painfully clear.

The choice now is whether we allow the industry to keep shuffling whales between captive facilities or build the infrastructure necessary to finally break that cycle.

How many more whales must die in captivity around the world before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?

Moving whales from one concrete tank to another cannot be the long-term answer.

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Title photo by Sasha Rink/World Animal Protection

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PRESS STATEMENT

August 26, 2026 –The death of the beluga whale Peekachu, just two weeks after she was transferred from Marineland to Shedd Aquarium, is heartbreaking. It is also deeply concerning. There must be full transparency about what happened.

The public deserves to know what health assessments were conducted before Peekachu was approved for transport from Marineland, what those assessments showed, what health issues were identified following her arrival at Shedd, and when those concerns first emerged.

Shedd Aquarium should now commit to releasing the complete findings of Peekachu’s necropsy when they are available, along with sufficient information about her pre-transfer and post-arrival health assessments to establish a clear timeline of her condition.

Peekachu’s death is horrible, but the risks facing these whales are, sadly, not surprising. They spent decades in crowded concrete tanks under questionable care standards. Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld surely know that all of the whales coming from Marineland have pre-existing conditions. How and why was she cleared for transport?

How many more whales must die in captivity before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?
Is this not a repeat of what happened five years ago when five beluga whales were sent to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut? Two of them died shortly after arrival and a third died 22 months later. It also makes the question of breeding impossible to ignore. Canadian law prohibits breeding. SeaWorld and the two aquariums receiving belugas from Marineland should publicly commit that these animals will not be bred. The objective should be to provide the best possible lifetime care for the whales who already exist, not to create another generation destined to spend their lives in captivity.

Peekachu’s death brings forward a fundamental question facing the captive wildlife industry:
How many more whales must die in captivity around the world before we fundamentally rethink what their future should look like?

Moving whales from one concrete tank to another cannot be the long-term answer.

This tragedy reinforces the need for coastal sanctuaries like the one that the Whale Sanctuary Project is developing in Nova Scotia to provide captive whales with a fundamentally different future: one where they can receive lifelong professional care in a natural marine environment without being used for entertainment or breeding.

Peekachu deserved better. The remaining Marineland belugas deserve every possible safeguard, complete transparency about their health, and a future that does not perpetuate the cycle of captivity.

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Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

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Whale Sanctuary Project signs 20-year lease with Province of Nova Scotia, advancing North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary

Long-term marine lease provides certainty for the next phase of construction and capital fundraising.

WINE HARBOUR, NOVA SCOTIA (August 21, 2026) – The Whale Sanctuary Project has reached another major milestone after the Province of Nova Scotia formally executed a 20-year lease, renewable for an additional 20 years, for the marine sanctuary area at Port Hilford Bay in Indian Harbour on the province’s Eastern Shore, securing long-term stewardship of the coastal waters that will become the world’s first seaside sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales retired from captivity.

The agreement follows an October 2025 Order in Council (OIC 2025-288) approved by the Executive Council (Cabinet) of Premier Tim Houston, authorizing the Province to enter into the lease with the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Today’s announcement builds on the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in June and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, reflecting continued momentum toward creating a new model of care for whales retiring from marine parks.

“This is a landmark moment, not only for the Whale Sanctuary Project, but for everyone who believes there can be a better future for whales living in captivity,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “The lease provides the certainty we’ve been working toward for years. It allows us to move confidently into the next phase of construction, continue building the infrastructure needed to care for whales, and demonstrate that sanctuaries are no longer simply an idea, but an achievable reality.”

“This is a landmark moment for everyone who believes there can be a better future for whales living in captivity.”
Nova Scotia Power has completed bringing electrical service to the sanctuary site, and our general contractor is now beginning work to refurbish the wharf. The wharf will serve as the hub for the sanctuary’s whale care facilities and the staging area for installation of the bay pen and sanctuary barrier net that will provide whales with a safe, natural coastal environment.

The sanctuary will give retired whales the opportunity to experience natural seawater, tides and weather in a space more than 100 times larger than any tank, while still receiving lifelong expert veterinary and animal care.

“The execution of this lease represents much more than the completion of an administrative process,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It reflects a growing recognition that whales who have spent their lives in captivity deserve something fundamentally different. A seaside sanctuary offers the opportunity to prioritize their wellbeing, autonomy and dignity while providing lifelong expert care in a natural ocean environment.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project thanks the Province of Nova Scotia, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, local community members, donors, volunteers and project partners whose collaboration has helped transform the project from vision to reality and continues to build momentum toward welcoming the sanctuary’s first whale residents.

To support the Whale Sanctuary Project and help build a seaside sanctuary for whales retired from captivity, visit whalesanctuaryproject.org/donate. 

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

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Six More Marineland Belugas Sent to U.S. Aquariums as Whale Sanctuary Project Condemns Continued Captive Breeding

Four whales bound for Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and two for Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta as third airlift in three weeks moves animals from one concrete tank to another

CHICAGO / ATLANTA, August 14, 2026 – The Whale Sanctuary Project is raising concerns over the breeding programs of both Shedd Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium as six more beluga whales were removed from Marineland and transported this week.

Transferring beluga whales from one impoverished environment to another, only to be bred, should not be celebrated as the humane end to this crisis.

“Marineland’s collapse should be a turning point for captive belugas, not an opportunity to continue the cycle of forcing them to live in barren tanks while growing its inhumane breeding program,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “These whales needed immediate care and a safe place to go. But the long-term goal must be to end the cycle that creates more whales who will spend their entire lives in tanks. Institutions taking in these animals have a responsibility to ensure this crisis is not used to perpetuate that system.”

The latest transfer follows two earlier airlifts from the shuttered Canadian marine park. With this latest move, Shedd Aquarium is receiving four additional female belugas, bringing its beluga population to 16. The aquarium has a decades-long history of breeding belugas in captivity.

Georgia Aquarium has also participated in efforts to maintain a captive beluga population and has publicly described collaboration among accredited aquariums as important to sustaining that population.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on Shedd Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium to honor the intent of Canada’s prohibition on cetacean breeding by committing publicly that the Marineland belugas transferred into their care will not be bred. These whales should not leave Canada only to produce another generation born into captivity.

The Marineland crisis exposes a fundamental problem with the captive-whale industry: when marine parks fail, close or can no longer care for their animals, there are extraordinarily few alternatives available to whales who cannot simply be released into the wild.

That is precisely why seaside sanctuaries are needed.

“Calling these transfers a rescue does not resolve the larger ethical problem,” added Dr. Marino. “The question is not whether these aquariums can provide better care than a bankrupt and shuttered Marineland. They can. The question is whether lifelong confinement in an aquarium, and especially the continuation of captive breeding, is the best future we can offer these animals. It is not.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is building that alternative at Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia: a seaside sanctuary where whales retired from entertainment facilities can receive lifelong professional care in a natural coastal environment, supported by dedicated veterinary and animal-care teams.

But creating a sanctuary capable of receiving whales requires significant investment in infrastructure, animal care facilities and the systems needed to safely bring whales from captivity into a coastal environment.

The crisis at Marineland underscores the urgent need for an alternative to the industry’s tank-to-tank trafficking of whales. The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling on donors and supporters in Canada, the United States and around the world to help close the remaining funding gap and open the sanctuary.

In recent months, the organization has raised millions of dollars toward construction and development, bringing a 2027 opening increasingly within reach.

Additional funding will help close the remaining gap and ensure that the next whales in need have a genuine alternative to another life in an aquarium tank.

To support the Whale Sanctuary Project and help build a seaside sanctuary for whales retired from captivity, visit whalesanctuaryproject.org/donate. 

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Whale Sanctuary Project Condemns Plans to Breed “Rescued” Beluga Whales appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Marineland beluga transfers mark end of one crisis but hardly the ‘rescue’ industry suggests

Years of rejected retirement solutions and inadequate government planning left captive whales with no truly humane option

PORT HILFORD BAY, NOVA SCOTIA, July 21, 2026 — As Marineland Canada’s remaining 30 beluga whales begin their transfer to U.S. marine entertainment parks and aquariums, the Whale Sanctuary Project says the operation marks the latest chapter in the captive cetacean industry’s decades-long practice of moving whales between facilities rather than retiring them.

Rather than signaling a new model for animal welfare, the transfers perpetuate the same system of captivity that created the Marineland crisis in the first place.

“For years, we warned that this day was coming,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder of Whale Sanctuary Project. “We first approached Marineland in 2019 with a constructive proposal to retire whales to a seaside sanctuary before the situation became a crisis. That opportunity was rejected. These transfers are not evidence that the system worked. They are evidence that governments and the industry waited until there were virtually no good options left.”

For decades, captive whales have been treated as commercial assets, transferred back and forth for breeding, exhibition and other business purposes. The Marineland transfers should prompt governments to ask whether moving whales from one entertainment facility to another represents meaningful progress or merely prolongs captivity under a more favorable public-relations banner.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is developing North America’s first seaside sanctuary for retired whales in Nova Scotia. It will provide an alternative for whales who cannot return to the wild but deserve far more natural living conditions than those offered by conventional concrete tanks.

Canada has passed legislation bringing an end to the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, but the law does not provide for what happens to the animals when facilities close.

“Ending captivity is only half of the conversation,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of Whale Sanctuary Project. “Governments also need compassionate, long-term solutions for whales who are already living in captivity. Without credible retirement pathways, they will continue to face impossible choices whenever another marine park fails.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is calling for greater transparency around the transfers, including public disclosure of the veterinary assessment process, long-term monitoring of the whales’ welfare, and binding assurances that exported whales meet the requirements of Canadian law and will not be used in future breeding or entertainment programs.

The organization says the lessons from Marineland extend well beyond Canada. As aging marine parks close, governments around the world are struggling to determine the future of the whales and dolphins they leave behind.

Similar concerns are unfolding in Europe, where the future of the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes remains uncertain following the closing of the park in January 2026.

“If the only answer governments have when a marine park fails is to move whales to another marine park, then we have not solved the problem,” Marino concluded. “We have simply moved it. The next captive whale crisis is not a question of if. It is a question of where.”

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About Whale Sanctuary Project

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment and lifelong expert care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

The post Marineland Beluga Transfers: End of a Crisis but Hardly a ‘Rescue’ appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

By Joanne Jordan, June 24th, 2026.

WINE HARBOUR – Under bright blue skies along the scenic shoreline of Wine Harbour, the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) hosted a groundbreaking June 19, where ceremonial shovels turned the soil to mark the upcoming start of construction.

More than 60 people – including local residents, elected officials and Indigenous supporters – gathered at the Wine Harbour Wharf to help celebrate the milestone following years of research, planning and development.

Inside the sanctuary’s gated perimeter, attendees toured the site, where the land-based portion of the project will be built, and listened to remarks from Whale Sanctuary leaders and supporters.

Outside the property, a small group of protesters opposed to the project, some holding signs, gathered at the entrance road and along the gated perimeter. Signs with messages in opposition to the WSP were also posted along the road leading to the site.

Messages of gratitude

In welcoming guests, Whale Sanctuary CEO Charles Vinick thanked the many people involved in bringing the project to this point.

He offered special thanks to community liaison officer and coordinator Amy Simon (photo right, with daughter Austyn), affectionately known locally as “the whale girl,” noting she was the person who introduced project organizers to the Wine Harbour site.

“Amy has been our leader locally, and we are very grateful for all of her support,” Vinick said.

An emotional Vinick also thanked his wife, whom he described as “my rock,” for her understanding, patience and unending support throughout their years to­gether as he has worked to find a better future for marine life.

Collaborative journey

Vinick thanked support­ers and volunteers who dedicated countless hours and gave gener­ously of their time and energy to help make the project a reality.

“We wouldn’t be here without all of you,” he said.

He also thanked Indig­enous leaders for their support and guidance. “Throughout the years spent working on the project, engaging in in­formal consultation with the Mi’kmaw communi­ties “was a tremendous experience,” Vinick told the crowd.

“What we’ve learned together is how much we have in common,” he said.

Special guests from the Mi’kmaw community included former senator Dan Christmas, who represented Nova Scotia in the senate from 2016 to 2023; Mi’kmaw artist Allan Siliboy; and Shauna- Lee Maloney Wright of Sipekne’katik First Nation, who performed a traditional welcome song.

Her daughter, Aman­da Ruby Wright – whose Indigenous name coin­cidentally means “little whale,” – led a smudging ceremony before the ceremonial turning of the soil.

Bec Borchert, the marine protected ar­eas coordinator at the Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) Negotiation Office, spoke about the im­portance of consultation and discussions between development project organizers, including those involved with the WSP, regarding potential impacts – both good and bad – on Mi’kmaw Rights and Title.

She also empha­sized the importance of incorporating Mi’kmaw values, laws, language and governance oppor­tunities in the planning and development of the sanctuary.

Borchert said one of the important Mi’kmaw values is the principle of All My Relations, “which connects us to all living and non-living things in our environment – to the past, to the present and to the future.” She said this principle helps guide the steps needed to be taken to make projects like the WSP a reality.

As co-owners of the lands and waters of Nova Scotia, the Mi’kmaw community has a re­sponsibility “to speak on behalf of our kin and to stand up for marine life in our territory,” Borchert said.

“The WSP is one project that has made working together for mutual benefit absolutely easy.”

Championing the Cause

Guest speaker Wilfred Moore, a lawyer and former senator, introduced the legislation to protect whales and dolphins in Canada and prohibit keeping them in captivity for entertainment and for breeding purposes. Moore championed that legislation even after his retirement, until the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act passed in 2019.

Moore said that with “a great team” behind him and the support of his friend, the late lawyer, judge and sena­tor Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and sponsored the bill, he worked hard to see it passed.

And now, Moore said, “This is an opportunity for our province to show leadership.”

He acknowledged that the road hasn’t been an easy one and there has been opposition.

Moore appealed to those who are opposed to the Whale Sanctuary Project, suggesting it would be a positive step if people would work together.

“Just give us a chance,” he said.

To those who sup­port the project and are eager to see it completed, “Hang in there with us and we’ll get the job done,” said Moore.

Preparing the site

Vinick said it is realistic to project a spring or summer 2027 opening as the project continues to meet key construction and fundraising milestones, including site engineering and the fabrication and installation of nets, the bay pen and anchoring systems.

“We are proceeding with construction including installation of electrical power at the site, potable water, and refur­bishment of the wharf,” Vinick told The Journal.

The land where the buildings will be constructed is privately owned and, he added, the terms and conditions between the WSP and the province for the Crown lease of the sanctuary site have been agreed upon for signature.

He noted the refurbishment of the wharf area that wraps around the land where the groundbreaking was held “is among our highest priorities, not only be­cause that is the site for our land-side buildings, but even more importantly, because the wharf is the staging area for all in-water installation of the nets and the bay pen in the sanctuary waters.”

Vinick added, “We have always said that we will do everything possible to welcome whales when they need us. That remains our mantra today.”

Municipal Support

Councillor Scott Beaver, speaking on behalf of the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s, said “the WSP represents a unique vision, one that has attracted attention not only across Nova Scotia, but around the world.

“The project is an important investment in the region,” he added, noting the construction phase creating local employment opportunities, “and, in the years ahead, the sanctuary has the potential to bring visitors, research, education and economic activity to our beautiful Eastern Shore.”

Beaver said the dedication that led to the reality of the WSP reflects many of the qualities of the District of St. Mary’s. “Our strong communities, our connection to the ocean, and our commitment to preserving the natural beauty, that’s what makes this place so very, very special,” he said.

Correcting a wrong

Whale Sanctuary Founder and President Dr. Lori Marino said the sanctuary “is an opportunity for us to make right, what is wrong.” She added, “What was wrong was the idea that whales should be taken out of the ocean and put into concrete tanks for our entertain­ment. Whales are wild creatures, and they have their own lives to live, just as we do, and no one, no one, should take that away from them.”

Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick

Marino said the groundbreaking ceremo­ny marked a celebration of more than just the project.

“We are here to cele­brate our efforts to give back to [the whales] what was taken from them, a life in the ocean,” she said. “This will mean so much for the individual whales who get to come here, but it will be a shining example of what humans are capable of: coming together not just for our own sake, but for the sake of others, others who might look different than us but are persons in their own right.”

Marino added the proj­ect could be seen as an opportunity to reshape the relationship between humans and animals around the world.

Excited for the future

Speaking with The Jour­nal after the event, Greg Morrow, MLA for Guys­borough-Tracadie, said, “It’s exciting to get to this point … It’s been a long time coming.”

Morrow acknowledged that, although there have been a number of hurdles and “a bit of red tape” to overcome, “It’s here, it’s exciting, and it’s a great opportunity for the area.”

Helen MacDonald attended the groundbreaking ceremony with her husband, Hughie, a founding member of the Wine Harbour Port Authority who fished for more than 60 years from the very spot where the WSP is to be built.

“We’re so excited, it’s really wonderful,” Mac­Donald said.

The event concluded with refreshments and an opportunity for visitors to speak with presenters and ask questions about the sanctuary.

(You can download a PDF copy of this article here.)

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With a shared respect for the Wksitqamuk (Earth) and Mi’kmaw worldviews about the environment and all living things, this MOU serves as recognition of shared values in respect to marine animals and their long-term welfare in Mi’kma’ki.

“We’re pleased to further the relationship we’re building with the Whale Sanctuary Project to protect marine life,” said Chief Wilbert Marshall, Natural Resources Lead for the Assembly. “Through knowledge sharing, the integration of our values and understandings, we hope that this sanctuary will be a place to learn, grow and advocate for these important species, for generations to come.”

“Today’s agreement reflects a shared commitment to advancing education and related programming that respects both the science of animal welfare and the knowledge systems that have guided stewardship of these waters for generations” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “This agreement with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs codifies and strengthens the work we can do together to educate and communicate our shared respect for all life.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project works to bring an end to the exploitation of captive cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and is creating North America’s first coastal sanctuary for whales retired from aquariums and marine entertainment parks. With the MOU, the Assembly and the Whale Sanctuary Project hope to facilitate employment and skill-based training opportunities, as well as the integration and amplification of Mi’kmaw knowledge in education and outreach related to the sanctuary.

Construction mobilization is underway for the sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, while the Whale Sanctuary Project continues to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome its first whale residents. Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn has been in active consultation on this project since 2021.

In both western science and Mi’kmaw knowledge systems it is well understood that cetaceans are sentient, cognitively and emotionally complex beings. This MOU is a milestone for Mi’kma’ki as part of the global cetacean sanctuary movement and for re-building our relationship with the natural world and all our relations within it.

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Over the coming months, according to the U.S. agreement, 13 belugas will be shipped to SeaWorld San Antonio. Three will go to SeaWorld San Diego, two to the Georgia Aquarium, and ten to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

The other two are believed to be going to Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

“This collective of aquariums is well positioned for this extraordinary task, thanks to decades of beluga care experience and having collaborated on several successful beluga rescues in the past,” said Johnny Ford, a spokesperson for the Shedd Aquarium and the rest of the consortium of facilities.

Absent from the consortium is the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Five years ago, five belugas from Marineland were transferred there from Marineland. Two of them died within a few months, and a third passed away after that.

This outcome will at least be preferable to Marineland’s crowded and grossly sub-par conditions.
Since September 2024, when Marineland Canada closed its doors to the public, the company has been looking to sell the whales to another commercial facility or, when that approach failed, to be relieved of the cost of caring for them any longer. On more than one occasion, the management threatened to kill them if the Canadian government did not step in to facilitate a suitable transfer for all of them.

While this is a sad outcome, it will at least be preferable to the crowded and grossly sub-par conditions to which the whales have been subjected. And the facilities to which they will be distributed will be under more pressure than was the case at Marineland to be transparent about their health and welfare.

It is now seven years since the Canadian parliament passed Senate Bill S-203: The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. This groundbreaking legislation paved the way for other countries to pass similar laws. However, while these laws bring an end to the exploitation of whales and dolphins for entertainment, they do not provide for their retirement. There are many whales in need of retirement, and establishing sanctuaries for these animals is no small undertaking.

Our hearts go out to the beluga whales now leaving Marineland Canada. May they find a measure of better health and welfare at the parks and aquariums that will be receiving them.

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TV host and naturalist Nicolette de Vidar was present through much of the effort to rescue Timmy the humpback whale and return him to the ocean. On May 16th, she hosted a 90-minute discussion with five members of the rescue team who worked together to free Timmy (also known as Hope).

Timmy had stranded on sandbanks in Northern Germany waters. In her introduction, Nicolette notes that many people witnessed Timmy being gradually freed from the sandbanks. But what then happened on the barge that transported him to where he was released into the ocean has, until members of the team were ready to tell the story themselves, been a matter of rumor, hearsay and speculation.

By signed agreement with Stefan Meyer, the captain of the barge, Jeff Foster, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Whale Transfer & Rehab Coordinator, was designated the lead for all whale-related operations. Stefan was assigned responsibility for overseeing the barge and safety crew.

But protocols that had been agreed broke down. In one case, when Jeff requested that the tugboat retrieve his colleagues of the whale rescue team from the other boats to ensure a safe and properly coordinated operation, his request was denied multiple times by the tugboat captain.

In her video, Nicolette interviews the whale rescue team members about the specifics of what happened aboard the three boats and the barge. The team includes Jeff along with:

• Mike Partica, marine mammal expert and trainer specializing in the management of rehabilitation and release of dolphins and orcas;
• Kyra Wadsworth, animal caregiver and trainer of sea mammals, with experience in rehabilitation of dolphins, whales and other animals;
• Dr. Anne Herrschaft, Timmy’s lead veterinarian on the mission. (Anne could not be present for this interview);
• Dr. Kirsten Tonnies, German veterinarian who was also on Timmy’s rescue team;
• Sergio Bambaren, Peruvian writer and author of “The Dreaming Dolphin,” known by many as the “whale whisperer.”

Jeff has also written a detailed summary of the events discussed in this interview. The Whale Sanctuary Project has posted this summary on the blog here.

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The project to rescue this young humpback whale who had stranded on sandbanks in Northern Germany waters brought together people from countries far and wide for one purpose: to give him a chance. In the face of arguments that there was no hope, and that the whale should simply be euthanized or left to die, people joined together in an “all-out” effort to help a whale who continued to show himself to be determined not to give up.

What followed, throughout the many days of the rescue efforts in Germany, was a powerful reminder of the very best of humanity: compassion, determination, collaboration, and the willingness to fight for another living being simply because his life mattered.

The uncertainty surrounding Timmy’s release is understandable with all the contradictory stories in the media and even posted images of other whales. Worse yet, the ship’s captain and crew took it upon themselves to release the whale and did not permit the veterinarians and whale experts to conduct or even participate in this release. Only one was even allowed to observe the ship’s crew releasing the whale.

There may always be unanswered questions about whether Timmy sustained injuries during the release process. The treatment and conduct displayed by members of the ship’s crew that day was more than disturbing given the extraordinary care and professionalism that had surrounded Timmy throughout the rescue effort.

The young whale’s remarkable will to live, and the organizers’, funders’ and the rescue team’s efforts on his behalf, and the public’s support for his determination will not be diminished by the circumstances surrounding that day.

While the outcome of his release is not what everyone wished for, he was not left to slowly deteriorate on a sandbank. And we do know from his transmitter device that he swam freely in the open ocean again for several days, diving deep beneath the surface to 150 meters, experienced the water around him, perhaps hearing the songs of other whales, and living his authentic life once again, even briefly.

# # #

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PRESS STATEMENT

PORT HILFORD BAY, NS (May 15, 2026) — As construction continues on the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Nova Scotia site, the organization is responding to the Government of France’s decision regarding the future of Wikie and Keijo, the two orcas remaining at Marineland Antibes.

The Whale Sanctuary Project understands from the French Minister of Ecological Transition Mathieu Lefèvre’s statement that he has approved Marineland Antibes’ request to transfer Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo in Spain, contradicting his former statements and the position he outlined in the meeting held in February. This outcome is deeply concerning from both a legal and animal welfare perspective.

“This decision is devastating for Wikie and Keijo,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Allowing them to be transferred to Loro Parque zoo defies the Minister’s position that the Nova Scotia sanctuary is the only ethical, credible solution that is in keeping with the letter and spirit of the French law, which was intended to end the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment and breeding.”

The law explicitly prohibits these practices. However, Loro Parque continues to rely on performance-based programming and breeding, particularly following the deaths of four orcas at the facility since 2019. Transferring Wikie and Keijo into that environment risks perpetuating the very system the law was designed to phase out.

“This decision reflects the ongoing tension between policy commitments and implementation,” said Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Despite clear legal and ethical direction, there remains pressure to maintain outdated models of captivity. This only underscores the importance of building credible, humane alternatives that can support real change.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to align its work with the position previously articulated by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, which identified the sanctuary as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option that meets French legal requirements.

Construction planning and early mobilization activities remain underway in Nova Scotia, with initial work focused on core site preparation, including marine and utility infrastructure.

The capital campaign is continuing, with recent donor support contributing to near-term construction priorities. The Whale Sanctuary Project remains confident in its ability to secure the funding required to complete the sanctuary and support the long-term care of whales transitioning out of captivity.

“While this is tragic for Wikie and Keijo, it reinforces the urgency of the work ahead,” added Vinick. “We are continuing to build a sanctuary that can support whales in need around the world and provide a viable path forward as more governments and institutions move away from captivity.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project remains focused on delivering a long-term solution for whales transitioning out of captivity and is closely monitoring broader developments across the sector, including in Canada.

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About the Whale Sanctuary Project 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Media Contact:

Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com

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SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) explores the origins of life and intelligence and the mysteries of the cosmos. Through cutting-edge research, education programs, and public outreach, it strives to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe.

Dr. Marino’s work as a neuroscientist has led to major breakthroughs in our knowledge about the cognitive capacities of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Understanding how life and intelligence have evolved on our own planet helps scientists in the field of astrobiology explore how it may have evolved elsewhere in the cosmos.

Lori’s work brings to the foreground of the scientific community the urgency of bringing an end to the cruel exploitation of whales and dolphins, along with other animals, for human entertainment.

Among the questions she addresses in this episode of SETI Live:

• What makes whale and dolphin communication and intelligence scientifically compelling to the search for extraterrestrial life?
• Are we beginning to identify language-like structure in cetacean communication?
• What are the some of the ethical questions that arise as we learn more about intelligence in other animals?

This year’s Drake Award, which Lori receives this evening, affirms that any meaningful search for intelligent life beyond Planet Earth must be grounded in our ability to live in harmony with our fellow animals on this planet.

(Title image of Jupiter courtesy of NASA Goddard.)

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The release operation by the captain and his crew was conducted without the participation of the veterinarians, the Whale Sanctuary Project team, and the other experts who were caring for Timmy and were scheduled to conduct his safe release into the ocean.

In London, the Guardian newspaper, whose reports we have been following, last wrote that “The 10-metre long calf swam out of the barge and was later observed blowing through its blowhole and swimming freely “in the right direction”, according to Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative.”

And the Associated Press added that “the whale was released 70 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the coast of Skagen, Denmark” and that “Drone footage showed a whale swimming and spouting water near the barge, though it was not immediately confirmed that the animal was indeed Timmy.”

Shortly after the captain and his crew released Timmy, the funders of the rescue effort issued a statement in German. Here is the English translation:

Concerning the events this morning

Karin Walter-Mommert

May 2, 2026

We hereby state that we were neither involved in today’s release operation concerning the whale nor did we actively accompany it. Any consequences resulting from uncoordinated actions this morning concerning and around the whale shall be borne by the owner, the operators, and the crew members of the vessels Fortuna B and Robin Hood known to us.

We hereby expressly distance ourselves from the events and the manner in which the whale was set free. As we are still in the process of investigating, no names will be released at this time. We ask for your understanding.

For clarification: A second release attempt had been scheduled for May 2, 2026, naturally dependent on the whale’s health status.

Our team was to be brought to the barge in the morning, keeping in mind that every kilometer of safe transport in a north-westerly direction would increase the whale’s chances of survival.

Contrary to this arrangement, only one of our team members, Jeffrey Foster, was transferred to the tugboat by the ship crew, but not to the barge; the veterinarians were, for whatever reason, put off with

a promise of a later transfer, which never took place; and Jeffrey’s team members were also not picked up and brought to the barge by the ship crew as planned and scheduled.

On board the barge, none of the measures previously discussed, scheduled, communicated to us, and planned were then taken to get the whale off the vessel; neither was a required inspection by our veterinarians and examination of the whale allowed to take place.

Mr. Jeffrey Foster’s urgent request to have his teammates and the veterinarians brought on board immediately, as previously scheduled, was denied by the ship crew. Likewise, he was forbidden, during the course of these events, to use his mobile phone, under threat that it would be thrown into the sea.

To clarify: Jeffrey Foster did in no way participate in the actions of the ship crew. On the contrary — he tried to prevent the shipping crew from conducting their actions, but was hindered to do so.

Further details will follow after evaluation.

Karin Walter-Mommert
Walter Gunz

We will post further updates as they become available.

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Update April 30th: The rescue team with Jeff Foster and Mike Partica aboard the barge, is progressing toward the ocean. See CNN video here.

Update April 28th: The rescue team (with Jeff Foster in the water) guides Timmy onto the barge. Video courtesy of Bild.

Jeff Foster, the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator, with Mike Partica and Kyra Wadsworth, have joined other experts, veterinarians and numerous volunteers in Insel Poel, Germany in the effort to free the humpback whale Timmy, whom local citizens named after nearby Timmendorfer Strand and who is stranded in the Kirchsee, a shallow inlet connected to Wismar Bay, off Poel Island.

The Whale Sanctuary Project’s Whale Aid program provides a global outreach to organizations that need assistance, on behalf of whales in need of rescue or rehabilitation.

The Whale Aid Team was initially contacted for advice on how the stranded humpback could be refloated from sand bars on which he was stranded, and was invited by organizers of the rescue effort to join the effort to help Timmy. The team arrived on-site on April 23rd.

“It is very gratifying when the team that is working diligently to establish the whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia can apply their expertise and experience to help wild whales in need,” Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project, said. “Team members like Jeff, Mike and Kyra have tremendous skills and we have to do all we can to help when the need arises.”

Jeff has extensive experience with whales and dolphins. He managed day-to-day whale training and care during the Keiko Project, which returned the captive whale of “Free Willy” fame back to the ocean from where he had been captured decades earlier off the coast of Iceland.

In 2002, he also oversaw the rehab of Springer, a young orca who had become separated from her family off the coast of Vancouver and was found, emaciated, in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle. Once she was back to good health, Springer was returned to her home waters in the Johnstone Strait and was later seen again swimming with her family. Since then, she has given birth to two calves.

In 2010, Jeff was responsible for the Born Free Foundation’s Tom and Misha Project, in which he and Mike were instrumental in the reintroduction of Tom and Misha, the first bottlenose dolphins successfully released back into the wild. The two wild-born dolphins were being kept in a dirty swimming pool in Hisaronu, Turkey. Jeff and Mike and the team on site worked with Tom and Misha for two years before successfully returning them to the waters of the Mediterranean.

2018: Jeff Foster prepares to take a breath sample from J-50/Scarlet (Photo: Katy Foster)

In 2018, Jeff and his wife Katy coordinated much of the field work when the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) invited the Whale Sanctuary Project, along with several other organizations, to help Scarlet, a young orca who was part of the endangered Southern Resident population in the Salish Sea. Scarlet was emaciated and starving, and sadly, despite efforts to feed her and treat her, she did not survive.

A year later, in 2019, Jeff contributed his expertise to Whale Aid Russia, the biggest whale rescue in history, when, following tremendous pressure from Russian activists, the Russian government invited the Whale Sanctuary Project’s CEO Charles Vinick to bring a small team to Russia to work with the government to return to the ocean 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured illegally for sale to marine entertainment parks in China.

As we post this, Jeff, Mike and Kyra are still working with the team in Germany to do everything they can to free the stranded whale Timmy.

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NEWS RELEASE — PORT HILFORD BAY, NS (April 8, 2026) — As pre-construction and mobilization continue at the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Nova Scotia site, the organization is pleased to announce significant additional donor contributions, including a US $3 million donation. This latest funding provides additional funds for initial construction and adds momentum to the capital fundraising campaign to complete the sanctuary.

The funding will be deployed to support near-term construction activities and the development of key facilities as the sanctuary prepares to receive its first whales.

“This level of support is a clear signal that there is both urgency and belief in building a viable alternative to captivity in marine entertainment parks and aquariums,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “These funds allow us to move forward on critical infrastructure while ensuring we are building the sanctuary to the highest standards of care.”

Awaiting word from France

The announcement comes as the Whale Sanctuary Project continues to await clarity from the government of France on next steps regarding the future of the two mother-and son orcas Wikie and Keijo and the 12 bottlenose dolphins who are being considered for relocation to a habitat at the Beauval Zoo in France.

While no final determination for all 14 cetaceans has been communicated, the Whale Sanctuary Project remains prepared to support responsible outcomes.

“We stand ready to work in partnership with governments to support a safe and successful transition for whales like Wikie and Keijo,” added Vinick. “This is about aligning policy decisions with credible, welfare-first solutions.”

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition has previously identified the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical and welfare-focused option that meets French legal requirements. The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to prioritize animal welfare, scientific rigor, and long-term care outcomes for all cetaceans who can be retired from entertainment facilities.

“As a new ethic of respect and compassion takes hold, a new model is being created in how to care for animals of all kinds who have spent their whole lives in the small and impoverished environment of a concrete tank,” said Dr. Lori Marino, Founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Successful transfer of any marine mammals to sanctuary requires careful collaboration among the Whale Sanctuary Project and the present management and care teams. This begins with a thorough health assessment by independent veterinary experts and continues with the whales being conditioned for life in an ocean environment. The organization looks forward to collaborating with the government of France and Marineland Antibes to support the welfare of Wikie and Keijo.

Building a global pathway for whales transitioning out of captivity

Completion of the Nova Scotia sanctuary will signal the beginning of a new model for captive cetaceans around the world, as the need for sanctuaries grows more urgent. The Whale Sanctuary Project is closely monitoring developments related to the beluga whales at Marineland Canada, which has also closed to the public and whose 30 surviving beluga whales are in urgent need of care and new homes.

“Public opinion in Europe and the Americas no longer supports the exploitation of whales and dolphins,” concluded Vinick. “We need to develop fully engaged partnerships among governments, organizations, and the marine entertainment industry for whales and dolphins to be retired to more natural environments. Our role is to provide a credible, welfare-first pathway that makes these transitions possible.”

#  #  #

About the Whale Sanctuary Project 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. The organization is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks.

Note: The following is a downloadable pdf copy of the above news release

The post New Funding Commitments as France Continues Review of Options appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Whale Sanctuary Project today announced key milestones in its pre-construction mobilization at Port Hilford Bay, marking the next step toward building North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary.

Construction fencing is now installed on the 30-acre property adjacent to the sanctuary waters, and property clearing is now underway, signaling the transition from site preparation to active development. This initial mobilization marks Phase One of the sanctuary’s construction plan, focused on upland infrastructure in the lead up to wharf reconstruction.

Contractor Announced, Commitment to Canadian Materials

As construction begins, the Whale Sanctuary Project confirmed that its priority is to use Canadian materials and suppliers wherever possible throughout the build phase.

This commitment includes sourcing materials domestically when feasible, engaging Canadian engineering and marine specialists, and working with Nova Scotian trades and subcontractors to ensure the project delivers economic participation within Nova Scotia and across Canada.

In line with that commitment, the organization announced that it has retained R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd. as general contractor.

“This is a technically demanding marine build, and we’re confident in our ability to execute it responsibly,” said Boyd MacIsaac, President of R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd. “We know this coastline, we understand its conditions, and we’re committed to delivering infrastructure that meets rigorous environmental and engineering standards.”

Hiring R.J. MacIsaac Construction, Ltd reinforces the Project’s ongoing commitment to keeping the project activity rooted in the local economy.

“We’re committed to delivering infrastructure that meets rigorous environmental and engineering standards.”
The sanctuary infrastructure will be constructed on the 30-acre upland property adjacent to the sanctuary waters, including marine access improvements, operational facilities, and support systems necessary to safely house whales retired from captivity.

“We are now at the stage when all our years of studies, all our detailed engineering analyses, and our site modelling can be applied to final construction,” said Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “That work will ensure the highest standards of welfare for the whales along with safety and operational efficiency for the whale care team.”

Project continues to have significant regional support

As the Whale Sanctuary Project transitions into the construction phase, it continues to receive strong support from across the region.

Since first exploring Nova Scotia as a potential location in 2018, the organization has held more than two dozen public meetings and open houses, established a Community Liaison Committee, and welcomed more than 7,500 visitors to its Visitor and Operations Centre in Sherbrooke. Local volunteers have contributed thousands of hours to outreach, programming, and community events.

The Port Hilford Bay site itself was first suggested by Nova Scotians during early consultations, and local engagement played a central role in bringing the project to the Eastern Shore.

“People in this community stepped forward early, identified the sanctuary location and said they believed this was something Nova Scotia could lead,” said Amy Simon, Community Outreach Coordinator of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Seeing construction begin is a moment many local supporters have been working toward for a long time.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project will continue to provide updates and maintain open communication with residents as work progresses.

# # #

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The purpose of the meeting, Minister Mathieu Lefèvre said, was “to bring together all stakeholders” who are concerned with the future of the orcas Wikie and Keijo and the 12 dolphins at the now-shuttered Marineland Antibes. These stakeholders included “the operator, state representatives, scientific experts, associations, local elected officials, and potential care facilities.”

The Minister emphasized the government’s focus on “guarantees of animal welfare and safety” and “strict adherence to the legal framework established by the 2021 law,” which brings an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity in France for the purposes of entertainment.

Key people at the meeting were:

• Minister Mathieu Lefèvre, his chief Conseiller, Alexis Soiron, former minister Barbara Pompili, and other Ministry officials;
• Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP); along with our President Dr. Lori Marino; Dr. Naomi Rose (senior scientist for marine mammal biology at the Animal Welfare Institute, and WSP board member); and Jeff Foster, WSP Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator;
• Pascal Ferracci, CEO of Parques Reunidos, which is the owner of Marineland Antibes;
• Rodolphe Delord and Delphine Delord, owners of Beauval Zoo in France;
• Martin Böye, scientific director for marine biology at Loro Parque zoo in Tenerife, Spain;
• Muriel Arnal, President of OneVoice France, along with veterinarian David Perpiñan;
• Members of other French animal welfare groups, including C’est Assez and Sea Shepherd France.

Part One: The 12 dolphins

The first part of the three-hour meeting was devoted to the 12 dolphins at Marineland Antibes, whom the owners of the Beauval Zoo are looking to acquire. The zoo is owned by the wealthy and politically influential Delord family, and Rodolphe Delord showed designs of a roughly 30-million-euro dolphin habitat that he portrayed as being akin to a sanctuary, in that there would be no shows. The dolphins would, however, still be on display and subject to breeding, both of which are incompatible with an authentic sanctuary and with the stated principles governing French law. Therefore, most French animal welfare organizations oppose transferring the dolphins to Beauval Zoo.

Part Two: The mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo

The second part of the meeting was devoted to options for the two orcas Wikie and her son Keijo.

The Minister’s introduction included his confirmation and restatement that the whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia is the only option for Wikie and Keijo that is credible and in keeping with French law.

Whale Sanctuary Project CEO Charles Vinick gave a comprehensive presentation about the sanctuary and our four years of environmental studies, along with an overview of the plans for construction of the sanctuary enclosure, sanctuary buildings, bay pens, medical lift, etc. The team then answered questions that were primarily about the water temperature, the environmental studies, and the site’s ability to withstand severe weather events.

The presentation and Q&A were well received by almost everyone present; the main exception being members of the captivity industry, which is opposed in principle to any captive whales and dolphins being retired to sanctuary. The owners of Marineland are pressing for the orcas to go to Loro Parque zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands, which urgently needs to replenish its stock of orcas because four have died there since 2021. But rather than say this outright, they claimed that Wikie and Keijo will have better care at this zoo than at a sanctuary and that the water in Nova Scotia is too cold for orcas.

What is needed now to save these two orcas is the funding to have the sanctuary ready by the end of summer this year 2026.
The claim that the water is too cold is disputed by the fact that Wikie and Keijo are Icelandic orcas. Wikie’s mother and other family members were captured in Icelandic waters and are all adapted biologically and by evolution to a cold-water environment. Dr. Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute and veterinarian Dr. David Perpiñan provided scientific arguments to support our position that, with proper nutrition and conditioning, this will not be an issue. We also presented a statement from Dr. Jim McBain, retired VP of veterinary services for SeaWorld, saying that in his experience orcas adapt well to changes in temperature and that the temperatures of ocean waters in Nova Scotia are within the range that is appropriate for orcas.

Because the captivity industry sees the sanctuary as a threat to its business model, Wikie and Keijo have become the thin end of a potentially very large wedge. Beyond Marineland, Parques Reunidos also owns about 60 other parks and is itself owned by powerful investment groups, whose primary interest is in profit rather than animal welfare. For that reason, they are aggressively trying to keep the two orcas from being transferred to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia and even to prevent this sanctuary from being established at all.

The Minister pressed for Parques Reunidos, the owners of Marineland Antibes, to sit down for discussion with our team. But the owners were unwilling even to engage in discussion with us. And at the end of the meeting, the Minister announced a new deadline, the end of March, when it expects to make a final decision as to where Wikie and Keijo will go.

The Bottom Line: Funding

French law prohibits Marineland Antibes from transferring the orcas to another facility where they may be put on show or used for breeding. And from its first report, October 2024, when the ministry’s General Inspectorate called the Nova Scotia sanctuary “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects,” to its December 2025 announcement that “the park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada,” the government has never wavered in its view that the best outcome for Wikie and Keijo is the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

The challenge is no longer to do with objections that have been raised and fully refuted. What is needed now to save these two orcas is the funding to have the sanctuary ready by the end of summer this year, 2026.

If we can demonstrate that we have a confirmed path to the funding to be able to welcome Wilkie and Keijo by the end of summer, then the Ministry will be able to bring Parques Reunidos (the owners of Marineland Antibes) to the table to meet with us.

If we cannot provide evidence of immediate funding and a path to sufficient sanctuary construction funding to be able to take the orcas, Wikie and Keijo will likely end up in Loro Parque zoo, where they will continue performing and will be fully exploited in the zoo’s breeding program.

The stakes are high and time is short. While we have the funds to begin construction at the sanctuary site immediately, we do not yet have the funds to complete it.

Anything that a visionary donor or foundation can do to close this funding gap by the end of March will make a big difference. The result will not simply be a new life for Wikie and Keijo, but clear evidence around the world that the laws in France and Canada are truly taking effect and that the global exploitation of whales is, at last, an endangered industry.

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NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA [February 17, 2026] — The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) is set to enter the construction phase of its Nova Scotia ocean sanctuary, marking a major milestone as the organization transitions from planning to on-site implementation. 

Pre-construction planning and mobilization activities are underway, including early technical coordination and readiness work to position the site for construction. 

The Whale Sanctuary Project expects to begin construction when weather permits and proceed through a staged build plan toward an initial occupancy in the second half of 2026, with timing aligned to construction progress and capital. Staged milestones will prioritize site readiness, long-term sanctuary operations, and ensuring the facility is appropriately prepared to support the specific care requirements of whales received into sanctuary. 

Initial work will focus on core site mobilization and essential marine and utility infrastructure, as WSP continues to advance its capital campaign and engage potential partners. The start of construction signals a clear shift from planning to physical build-out. 

Each construction milestone brings the sanctuary measurably closer to being ready to safely welcome whales when transfer pathways are finalized.  

“This is a milestone we’ve worked toward for years,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “A coastal sanctuary offers something fundamentally different: a safe, protected environment designed for lifelong care. Our focus now is building the infrastructure that makes a humane retirement possible for whales transitioning out of captivity.” 

WSP Leadership in France as Discussions Continue on Future of Marineland Antibes’ Orcas 

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition continues to view the Whale Sanctuary Project as the most credible, ethical, and welfare-focused option for Wikie and Keijo that meets French legal requirements. 

The Whale Sanctuary Project is committed to supporting a responsible transition process that balances urgency with the preparation required to ensure a safe and successful outcome. 

Ahead of any transfer, the whales will need to receive a thorough health assessment at Marineland Antibes by the Whale Sanctuary Project and independent veterinary experts before being prepared for a safe and successful transition to the sanctuary. 

WSP looks forward to ongoing collaborating with the Government of France and Marineland Antibes for the welfare of Wikie and Keijo. 

Fundraising Campaign Continues 

The sanctuary’s fundraising campaign continues in parallel with this next phase of work, focused on securing the resources required to deliver a permanent, welfare-first sanctuary model for whales retired from captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks. Funds raised will support the infrastructure, animal care capacity, and long-term operational systems required to provide safe, lifelong care in a protected natural environment. 

The campaign reflects a growing international shift away from cetacean entertainment and toward humane retirement solutions. As more governments and institutions confront the long-term future of whales currently held in marine parks, WSP is engaging philanthropic and institutional partners to help ensure a credible sanctuary option exists to support lawful, science-led transitions when opportunities arise. Early-stage capital commitments and active partner discussions are helping advance the project toward full funding.  

The Whale Sanctuary Project remains confident in its ability to secure the funding required to deliver the sanctuary. 

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About the Whale Sanctuary Project
The Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, to provide retired captive orcas and beluga whales with a safe, natural environment for lifelong care. WSP is building the infrastructure needed to support humane, legally compliant transitions out of captivity in aquariums and entertainment parks. 

Media Contact:
Kari Vierimaa
Vierimaa Consulting Inc.
kari@vierimaaconsulting.com 

The post Whale Sanctuary Project Set to Enter Construction Phase appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The meeting will be hosted by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Matthieu Lefèvre, and will include the Whale Sanctuary Project, the owners of Marineland Antibes, members of Parliament and of the Ministry, the European Association for Aquatic Animals, and several French non-profit organizations.

Regarding the two orcas, Wikie and Keijo, the government is looking to build a consensus around its stated intention for them to be retired to the sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia. In its statement on December 13th, the government wrote:

“The park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada. As a reminder, the Spanish scientific authority has already refused to transfer the orcas to the Loro Parque de Tenerife in Spain, and moreover it would not be understandable for these animals to be exploited for spectacle purposes. The sanctuary’s solution is therefore today the most credible, the most ethical and the only one that complies with the requirements of animal safety and welfare. The transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.”

We understand that the owners of Marineland have not yet agreed to the orcas coming to Nova Scotia and have still been pressing for them to go to Loro Parque. So, the meeting in Paris is a critical next step in the process of retiring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.

The Minister intends to introduce us to our counterparts at Marineland. And we look forward to forging the kind of relationship that will work to the benefit of the whales. Wikie and Keijo have close bonds with their caregivers, and a close collaboration between our two teams will be essential to their future wellbeing.

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The Government formalizes decisions on the future of Marineland cetaceans

The Ministry of Ecological Transition is today taking a new decisive step regarding the future of Marineland animals, in order to guarantee their well-being, safety and respect for French law. After several months of technical analysis, inspections and exchanges with experts, the Government presents the following decisions:

The park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada. As a reminder, the Spanish scientific authority has already refused to transfer the orcas to the Loro Parque de Tenerife in Spain, and moreover it would not be understandable for these animals to be exploited for spectacle purposes. The sanctuary’s solution is therefore today the most credible, the most ethical and the only one that complies with the requirements of animal safety and welfare. The transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.

Marineland dolphins are not intended to be transferred to Spain. This option does not provide sufficient guarantees in terms of animal welfare and also exposes animals to a risk of commercial exploitation contrary to the spirit of the 2021 law. The dolphins will be kept temporarily on site, in basins deemed compatible with a temporary reception, pending the opening of the future ZooParc de Beauval center.

These decisions are based on DREAL inspections, scientific expertise and a clear legislative framework to protect cetaceans from exploitation. They also include the situation of the carers, who will benefit from business continuity, in particular through the project carried out by the ZooParc de Beauval.

“The state is acting responsibly and consistently,” said Mathieu Lefèvre, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature, in charge of the Ecological Transition. “After reviewing all the options, we are now making the necessary decisions to ensure the welfare of the animals. Dolphins will not leave for Spain, where they could be exploited again. As for the orcas, their place is at the sanctuary of Nova Scotia: it is the only ethical solution, credible and in accordance with the law. Our role is to protect these animals and to lay the foundation for an exemplary model of transition to marine sanctuaries.”

The ministry will continue in the coming months to implement the necessary administrative steps, in close collaboration with state services, the scientific community, NGOs and the site operator.

(To view pages in the pdfs below, click on arrows in the bar at the bottom of each page. And click on + or – to zoom in or out.)

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This follows in the wake of the Ministry of Ecological Transition reaching out to us, last week, to begin discussions about this possibility.

Over the past year, we have been working to help cetaceans in France, Canada and South Korea, where marine parks are being required by law to bring an end to having captive whales on display for the purposes of entertainment. Likewise, nonprofit organizations like One Voice in France and World Animal Protection and Animal Justice in Canada are advocating for cetacean sanctuaries. And we will continue to do everything we can to help the whales in all these situations and any others that arise.

To welcome any whales in 2026, we will need to have completed the necessary construction work by the end of summer. This is because the whales will need a few months to adapt to their new home before the onset of winter.

To accomplish this, we will need to adhere to a precise timetable that requires having the necessary funding at each stage. Right now, we have the funds to begin construction of the sanctuary, but we do not yet have the funds to complete it.

Accomplishing the goal of welcoming whales before the end of next summer will depend on a collaborative effort on the part of all parties: government agencies, owners, sanctuary, and benefactors and donors.

Together, we can make this happen!

The post French Government Affirms Effort to Bring Orcas to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This approach comes a year after the entertainment park Marineland Antibes closed its doors to the public and the government began working with Marineland to find a solution for the two mother-and-son whales.

The need to retire Wikie and Keijo from public performance was first prompted in 2020, when Minister Barbara Pompili announced a plan to bring an end to keeping cetaceans in captivity for the purposes of entertainment. In 2024, Minister Agnès Pannier‑Runacher ruled against Marineland Antibes sending the whales to an aquarium in Japan. And early in 2025, the Spanish government foreclosed the possibility of Marineland sending them to the Loro Parque zoo. Any possibility of finding a suitable location in Europe has now apparently also faded.

We appreciate the government reaching out to us, and we have responded that we will help in any way we can and will work with them to see if the Nova Scotia sanctuary can be a solution for Wikie and Keijo. Any such plan will require close collaboration among the Whale Sanctuary team, the government, and the care team at Marineland Antibes, with all three working together to do what is best for the whales.

We are currently in direct contact with the new Minister of Ecological Transition with a view to seeing if the Nova Scotia sanctuary can be a solution for the whales.

For more information and background:

Spain Rejects Plan to Transfer Orcas to Zoo in Canary Islands – April 2025

Whale Sanctuary Project Offers Help in Providing Solution for Orcas Feb 2025

Ministry Rejects Application to Bring Orcas from Antibes to Sanctuary – Jan 2025

French Minister Opposes Transfer of Wikie & Keijo to Aquarium in Japan – Nov 2024

French Government Prioritizes “Well-being” of Captive Orcas Wikie & Keijo – Oct 2024

Whale Sanctuary Project is “Most Credible Innovative Solution” – Oct 2024

= = =

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A newly published peer-reviewed paper in the journal PeerJ shows that, despite some limited improvements for bottlenose dolphins in accredited facilities, serious welfare challenges persist for captive cetaceans, especially for orcas and belugas.

The paper provides the most comprehensive review to date of the challenges faced by captive cetaceans. While acknowledging species-specific variations and some areas of progress, the authors present clear evidence that captivity continues to compromise the health and welfare of all cetaceans held in marine parks and aquariums.

“The current state of captive cetacean welfare shows that, while incremental improvement can be made, there are some aspects of marine park and aquarium living that remain incompatible with well-being and flourishing,” stated lead author Dr. Lori Marino.

The findings echo growing concern among scientists and the public, who increasingly question the ethics of confining such intelligent and socially complex animals for entertainment and display. The authors conclude that cetaceans are fundamentally unsuited to life in captivity – both ethically and practically.

The paper was co-authored by six animal behavior and welfare experts:

Lori Marino, Ph.D., neuroscientist and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project,
Catherine Doyle, M.S., Director of Science, Research, and Public Policy, Performing Animal Welfare Society,
Heather Rally, D.V.M. medical director, ThriveWild,
Lester O’Brien, Palladium Elephant Consulting,
Mackenzie Tennison, M.A., University of Washington,
Bob Jacobs, Ph.D., neuroscientist and emeritus professor at Colorado College.

Note: While Dr. Lori Marino is the lead author of this paper and also President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, this paper is not a publication of the Whale Sanctuary Project but of the six scientists personally.

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In 1861, the American showman PT Barnum captured two beluga whales off the coast of Labrador and shipped them to the American Museum in New York where they died a day or two later. Barnum discounted these deaths as not posing a problem since there were thousands more to be found and captured in the St. Lawrence Seaway.

When a fire destroyed the Museum and killed the animals, this put a temporary halt to Barnum’s spectacles. But Barnum’s efforts had already ignited interest among entrepreneurs to create more cetacean aquariums and circuses.

A beluga whale shipped by PT Barnum from the St. Lawrence Seaway, Canada, to Newcastle, England, in 1903

A hundred years later, in 1961, an orca was captured off the coast of California and taken to Marineland of the Pacific, where she died two days later. Four years later, Shamu, a calf captured in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle, went on show at SeaWorld San Diego. And August 1970 saw the start of the infamous Penn Cove massacres, which began with 70 orcas being herded into nets in Puget Sound. Those who survived this brutal invasion were put on show. The Southern Resident orcas never recovered and are now officially listed as an endangered population.

While we cannot erase these appalling crimes against nature, we can certainly bring an end to the continuing capture, breeding and exploitation of these psychologically complex, sensitive animals.

The creation of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia is the first step toward our vision of a world in which all cetaceans are treated with respect, and where none are confined to concrete tanks for our entertainment.

Thank you for helping to bring this vision to fulfillment.

The post Righting an Original Wrong appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The creation of the sanctuary in Nova Scotia is an essential step in the larger mission of bring an end to the use of cetaceans as a form of entertainment.

What will it take to build a comprehensive solution – a global movement – that can bring an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity?

Coastal sanctuaries for cetaceans are orders of magnitude more complex and expensive to establish than land-based sanctuaries. That’s why the Whale Sanctuary Project is collaborating with other sanctuary efforts: specifically, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which is working to retire its dolphins, and the Sea Life Trust beluga sanctuary in Iceland.

Global Federation: These three pioneering efforts are paving the way for many more sanctuaries to come. And building on our joint experience in these and earlier projects (see Whale Aid section below), this collaboration has already produced guidelines and best practices that have been adopted and published by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries for all future cetacean sanctuaries.

Cooperation with other sanctuary efforts

We will demonstrate what this global movement can become by sharing our operational plans and forming partnerships with other organizations. Beyond our collaboration with the National Aquarium and Sea Life Trust, we have established an extensive network of collaborations with NGOs in Canada, the United States and globally.

Collaborative efforts will be key to building a global sanctuary movement.
Rehoming whales and dolphins to sanctuary also necessitates working with the entertainment parks and aquariums that are the legal owners of the whales and dolphins, and with the caregivers, trainers, veterinarians and other staff who have close, positive relationships with the animals.

Collaborative efforts like these will be key to building a global sanctuary movement. And close working relationships with other NGOs are also essential to creating solutions for the hundreds of captive whales and dolphins.

Whale Aid programs

Members of our team have over the past several decades pioneered successful rescue and rehabilitation efforts, and we plan to continue expanding this effort globally. Past efforts include:

• In 2019, our Whale Aid Russia team worked successfully with local NGOs and with the Russian government to return to the ocean 98 orcas and belugas who had been captured illegally for sale to theme parks in China;
• In 2018, under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Whale Sanctuary team members Jeff Foster and Katy Laveck Foster joined an emergency effort in the Pacific Northwest to try to save the life of the young orca J-50, known as Scarlett.

Other Experience

• Whale Sanctuary CEO Charles Vinick and Animal Transfer & Rehab Coordinator Jeff Foster served respectively as Director of the highly publicized Keiko Project and as Director of Field Operations and Research for Keiko.
• In 2022, Charles Vinick and Pritam Singh co-founded Friends of Toki with the mission to return Tokitae, the orca also known as Lolita, from the failing Miami Seaquarium to an ocean habitat in her home waters in the Pacific Northwest. (Toki died in 2023 from lung infections and a longstanding kidney condition after 51 years of captivity.)
• Jeff Foster also oversaw the successful capture, rehabilitation and reintroduction of Springer, an orphaned killer whale found in Puget Sound. Jeff also led the rehabilitation and release of Tom and Misha, two formerly captive bottlenose dolphins, back into the wild in the Aegean Sea, in what is considered the first successful reintroduction of its kind. And he led the humane capture and rescue of sea otters during the Exxon Valdez oil spill and was recognized for his rescue work following the 2005 tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina. Throughout his career, Jeff has led and coordinated transports of many cetaceans.

Next: Righting an “Original Wrong”

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Bringing the whales to the sanctuary falls into essentially three phases:

Health & behavior 

In coordination with the on-site care staff, we will be conducting health and behavior evaluations, treatment, rehabilitation and conditioning at the marine park or aquarium where the whales are currently located. This work is to ensure that they are healthy enough for both transport and relocation, and to facilitate a smooth transition from their former facilities to the sanctuary waters.

The initial health & behavior evaluation must be conducted by independent veterinarians, who will also supervise any treatments that are indicated.

Once the whales’ behavioral baselines are understood, they will receive individually tailored rehabilitation and training programs. These will include activities that promote bonding with new caregivers while they are still at Marineland since they will have developed close bonds with the people who have been caring for them for many years, some of whom may join us on the team at the sanctuary. Every effort will be made to include in our conditioning efforts aligning pool temperatures to be closer to that of the sanctuary waters and introducing acoustic elements and other stimuli they will experience in the sanctuary.

Conditioning for transport will involve activities that allow the whales to gain comfort and familiarity with the transport process, like practicing being guided into and out of the stretchers used during transport.

Transport

Transporting the whales to sanctuary entails loading the whales (in their stretchers) into their transport boxes that are filled with water, loading the boxes onto a truck at the original captive care facility, truck transport to an airport, air transport, and then truck transport to the sanctuary site.

Throughout the process, whales will be closely monitored by veterinary and animal care team staff.

Care of the whales at the sanctuary

Upon arrival at the sanctuary, whales will be introduced to a bay pen so they have time to familiarize themselves with the space and the feel of the ocean. Veterinarians and animal care staff will always be working with the whales and closely monitoring their wellbeing.

Once the whales are released into the wider sanctuary space, veterinary and animal husbandry teams will manage their continuing care, including feeding and enrichment, as well as regular medical care.

Next: Toward a Global Sanctuary Movement

The post Care of the Whales Before and After Coming to the Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In this post, we break down the sanctuary construction process and its estimated costs, as well as the process and estimated costs for rehabilitating and transporting the first whale residents.

The capital (i.e. onetime) costs are estimated to be in the range of $12-15 million USD. Beyond construction of the sanctuary itself, these costs will include rehabilitating, conditioning, and transporting the whales. Monthly costs during the construction process will likely be in the low seven-figure (USD) range.

Note that at this stage, construction costs are estimates. The precise costs of specific works will be finalized as we receive bids from various contractors.

Similarly, costs of whale conditioning, rehabilitation and transport to the sanctuary cannot be determined until specific candidate whales are identified and initial veterinary evaluations have been conducted. Based on our team’s experience, we will then have rough estimates as to what these costs will be. They will include, but are not limited to:

• number of whales to be cared for and transported from the marine park or aquarium;
• number of staff required on site at that facility;
• location of the whales’ current facility and cost of housing staff there;
• duration of the rehabilitation and conditioning process.

Work already completed:
Basic bay pen design and engineering,
facilities design,
anchoring engineering,
indigenous impact study,
environmental site assessments.

The timetable below assumes the best possible case of having all necessary capital funds in hand to complete each phase. At time of posting this timetable, we do not yet have these funds.

Months 1 to 3: Wharf reconstruction
Mobilization (setting up equipment, staff, and infrastructure),
Removal of old wharf and buildings;
New wharf construction; floating dock; dredging; geotechnical; construction management;
Power, potable water and septic system;
Final building design & engineering;
De-mobilization (removing all resources after the job is done).

Months 4 to 5: Site remediation & net fabrication
Includes capping old mine areas;
Net pen and perimeter net fabrication (off-site).

Months 6 to 8: On-site construction and marine infrastructure installation

The operating (i.e. continuing annual) costs. While capital costs remain rough until we have the funds in hand to get precise, in-time estimates from contractors, we can say, based on known costs in today’s market, managing the sanctuary and caring for the whales once they are on site will amount to approximately $1.5 to $2 million USD per year.

Next: Care of the Whales Before and After Coming to the Sanctuary

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We are often asked questions like “Do you have all the permits you need?”, as though a project like this one simply needs a set of permits before embarking on all the work. However, that’s not quite how it happens. So, the following is a brief outline of some of the key interactions between the project and the various departments and levels of government.

The Order in Council: When the Nova Scotia government issued its Order in Council on October 21st, 2025, to confirm the recommendation of the Minister of the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables to issue the lease to the Whale Sanctuary Project for the Crown lands comprising the Whale Sanctuary, this did not include or necessitate a permit. It was a confirmation that we had met the requirements of the Department’s Offer of Lease and a directive to the Department to issue the lease.

Environmental tests, permits & conclusions: Some of the requirements for the Lease involve demonstrating that the sanctuary environment will not pose a risk to future whale residents and that the whales, in turn, will not pose a risk to the local flora and fauna. When we conducted three years of environmental testing, this was not for the purpose of receiving a permit. The only actual permit we needed was to collect core samples from the seabed for analysis. (For details on these, go here.) When we had completed all the necessary tests, third party independent experts prepared a Marine Environmental Risk Assessment (MERA), which concluded that the site in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, poses negligible risks to future whale residents and that the whales, in turn, will pose no risk to their new environment and the many species who call it home. The details of the tests and the conclusions of the experts are laid out in this 437-page document.

Construction permits: Now that we are entering the construction phase of establishing the sanctuary, we will apply for building permits for each of the buildings and the construction work as needed in the zone that the municipality of St. Mary’s has designated in their master plan as the Whale Sanctuary Zone. This is all standard operating procedure for a construction project, and in some cases it is the contractors themselves who submit a specific application – anything from placement of a septic tank to connection of electricity to the buildings.

License to transfer whales: When it comes to transporting the whales, we will require an Introduction or Transfer License to move aquatic organisms within a province or between provinces from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) for each individual whale.

We cannot know which individual whales we will be seeking permits for until each of them individually has been evaluated by a team of independent veterinarians. As part of this process, we will want to ensure that no family bonds or social bonds are broken up – e.g. that mothers and daughters are not separated, as routinely happens when whales and dolphins are transferred from one theme park to another.

Next: Sanctuary timetable

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With a clear path ahead, we can now advance the capital fundraising campaign for construction.

Work completed to date

Over the first three years of the Whale Sanctuary Project (2017 to 2020), we reviewed 130 potential sites before announcing Port Hilford Bay as our preferred site for the sanctuary. We then began a four-year program of environmental site assessments (ESAs), biodiversity surveys, weather and acoustic monitoring, and more. In 2024, independent expert consultants who reviewed this work concluded that:

• the site represents a healthy long-term habitat for future whale residents;
• the whales, in turn, will have no deleterious impact on the native flora and fauna;
• the water column in the sanctuary’s water space is clean, and metal remnants from gold mining that ended in the 1930s are sequestered in the site’s submerged soil and therefore pose negligible risk to future whale residents and the ecosystem.

The legal and regulatory requirements that span federal, provincial, local and tribal agencies and include ESA reports, risk management plans, and benthic impact reports have been submitted to the appropriate agencies.

We have conducted further geotechnical surveys to determine layout and design details for landside and water-based infrastructure. Additional infrastructure will provide power for the bay pens and medical systems, marine operations and animal care building, and a staff/administrative building.

Next steps

The bay pens: As the centerpiece of veterinary and animal care, the bay pens serve a number of critical functions. They include the medical lift for treating whales who need special care; they serve as a reception center where newcomer whales can adapt to life in their ocean environment; and they are the facilities where whales can be housed whenever they need to be in smaller, contained areas.

Our initial plan was to build a single large offshore bay pen: a large floating structure in the middle of the sanctuary’s water space, accessible only by boat, and particularly well-suited to orcas. However, the new inshore design will make animal care processes more efficient, accessible and safe, and with the dramatic global rise in commodity prices the inshore design will be far more cost effective.

Refurbishing the site’s old wharf

The existing wharf, which has served the needs of local fishers for decades, needs complete renovation. The new wharf and adjacent land will be the hub of sanctuary operations. It will support the development of inshore bay pen systems, including the medical lift. It will also include a boat launch and provide access to sanctuary waters for the daily care and feeding of the whales, along with maintenance of the environment and perimeter net.

Next: What “Permits” Are Needed?

The post Progress at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Whales

We are focused on helping the orcas and beluga whales who have been dominating the news over the last year. They are Wikie and her son Keijo at Marineland Antibes; the 30 beluga whales at Marineland Canada; the belugas Bella at LotteWorld Aquarium and LuVi at Aquaplanet in South Korea.

The urgent need of these whales was precipitated by governments in Canada, France and South Korea passing laws and regulations bringing an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity as a form of entertainment. These laws are, of course, very positive and welcome developments. However, if there are no sanctuaries to which the animals can be retired, their present owners are understandably going to be pressing to send them to entertainment facilities in countries that still permit their use.

The only way forward is a collaboration among all parties – owners, non-profits and governments – to work together toward solutions.

Marineland Canada

Photo of beluga whales at Marineland Canada by Sasha Rink / World Animal Protection Canada

After the latest reported beluga death at Marineland Canada at the end of August, there are now reported to be 30 surviving beluga whales there. Most or all of them are believed to be in poor and worsening condition. The park has closed, and the property is for sale. Many, but not all, of the hundreds of animals have been transferred to zoos.

On October 1st, we learned that the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) had denied Marineland permits to export their 30 surviving beluga whales to a theme park in China. Marineland subsequently threatened to kill the whales unless the government either reversed itself on the permits or paid Marineland to care for them in their concrete pools.

Marineland threatened to kill the 30 beluga whales unless the government either reversed itself on the permits or paid Marineland to care for the whales.This was greeted with public outrage, and the Whale Sanctuary Project has joined with other Canadian humane organizations to press Marineland to release as many as possible to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia and identify appropriate solutions for all of them. This may include placing some at aquariums in Canada and the United States and caring for others temporarily on site at Marineland until permanent homes can be identified.

We have heard that Marineland Canada is considering sending the surviving whales to theme parks in China. But the Whale Sanctuary Project is pressing Marineland to release as many as possible to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, and we are working with other Canadian humane organizations to put in place a solution for the remaining belugas. This may include placing some at aquariums in Canada and the United States and caring for others temporarily on site at Marineland until permanent homes can be identified.

Marineland Antibes

Since January 2025, when Marineland Antibes closed to tourists, mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo have been languishing in a small, dilapidated pool with nothing to do but swim in circles.

Photo of Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes by One Voice

Marineland’s plan had been to send Wikie and Keijo to an aquarium in Japan, where they faced the possibility of being separated from each other and used for breeding. The French government foreclosed that option but agreed to Marineland sending the pair to Loro Parque zoo in the Spanish Canary Islands. However, at the last minute, the Spanish government stepped in and rejected the transfer.

In 2024, in its review of the various options for Wikie and Keijo, the Inspectorate of the French Ministry of Ecology had concluded that the Whale Sanctuary Project was “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.” But early in 2025, the government began considering sanctuary locations in the Mediterranean. Veterinarians and other experts, however, have warned that Mediterranean waters are too warm for orcas, especially Wikie and Keijo, who are Icelandic orcas.

While the sanctuary in Nova Scotia remains the only validated option for this mother-and-son family, the government is still investigating other solutions in Europe.

LotteWorld and Aquaplanet in South Korea

LotteWorld has signed a Letter of Intent with the Whale Sanctuary Project to transfer the lone beluga whale Bella to the Nova Scotia sanctuary as soon as we can be ready to receive her. We are also approaching Aquaplanet with a view to retiring the beluga LuVi.

The common factor in all of these situations . . .

. . . is that they have been precipitated by laws and regulations that are bringing an end to keeping whales and dolphins in captivity for the purposes of entertainment. But while these regulations are enormously encouraging in themselves, they do not offer solutions for the future of the whales.

So, there is an urgent and immediate need not only for us to complete and open the sanctuary in Nova Scotia, but also for non-profit organizations, the marine parks, and the governments that regulate them to work together to provide retirement homes for the hundreds of captive whales and dolphins.

Next: Progress in work at the sanctuary.

The post The Whales Who Are Candidates for the Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On October 21st, 2025, the Nova Scotia government issued an Order in Council, confirming the report and recommendation of the Minister of Natural Resources, to issue the lease to the Whale Sanctuary Project for the Crown lands comprising the Whale Sanctuary for a term of 20 years with an option to renew for a further 20-year term.

This means we now have a clear path to begin construction and to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome the first whales.

In this series of posts, we explain what the Order in Council means and what are the three major aspects of what comes next:

• The whales who are prospects for coming to the Nova Scotia sanctuary;
• Recent progress at the sanctuary and how you can support the capital costs of construction; terms & conditions; permits; health and behavior evaluations and medical care of the whales at their present locations; transportation and introduction to their new home; continuing care at the sanctuary;
• How the growing collaboration among non-profit organizations, marine parks and aquariums, and governments at all levels is paving the way for a global effort to bring an end to the captivity of whales and dolphins and to retire them to sanctuary.

Next page: The Whales.

The post Nova Scotia Sanctuary – Status Report Fall 2025 appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We are updating this page regularly with news items from major media to keep you informed about this crisis while we work with ally organizations in Canada to create solutions for the 30 surviving beluga whales at Marineland Canada.

October 23rd, 2025: Ontario Solicitor General claims Marineland’s 30 beluga whales are not in the province’s jurisdiction. Presses federal government to approve permits for some of the whales to go to China and adds that “maybe some can go to Nova Scotia [sanctuary].”

October 18th, 2025: Ontario NGO Animal Justice files complaint with the Niagara Regional Police, calling for intervention to ensure Marineland does not kill the surviving belugas and warning that killing them one by one would cause the others profound psychological suffering. They present a detailed action plan to ensure a better future for the whales.

October 16th, 2025: Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says it has reviewed the situation of the beluga whales at Marineland and is calling for a staged, veterinary-led triage and emergency-care plan for individuals beluga to determine what is in the best interest of each animal.

October 15th, 2025: Animal lawyers urge the Ontario government to use its power under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS) to intervene and protect the 30 beluga whales at Marineland who could potentially be “on death row.” Colin Saravanamuttoo, executive director of World Animal Protection Canada, notes that Ontario has primary jurisdiction and that “This game of chicken between Marineland, the province and Ottawa is totally unacceptable.”

October 14th, 2025: A former trainer at Marineland, who was fired earlier this year, speaks out about the conditions that the beluga whales are living in. She tells the Canadian Press that the tanks “are in desperate need of repair with their painted walls peeling and concrete chunks falling into the water” and that the water system breaks down regularly.

October 11th, 2025: Marineland representatives have told Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls that the company has restructured and borrowed money to continue to buy food for the belugas, dolphins, sea lions, seals, deer and bears — but it’s only a matter of time before it runs out. Ultimately, the mayor says, Marineland and the provincial and the federal governments will need to work together to come up with and agree on a solution.

October 9th, 2025: Mayor Diodati of Niagara Falls (where Marineland is located) says the federal government needs to “help us find a solution … We need all hands on deck, everyone needs to row the boat, we all take responsibility for the soft landing of these whales … to work expeditiously to make sure that they get to a sanctuary.” (Video here.)

October 7th, 2025: Marineland appears to pull back from its threat to kill the belugas if the government will not provide funding. The National Post quotes this statement that it received from the company: “Marineland is actively working with the provincial government to find a suitable solution that ensures the health and wellbeing of our 30 beluga whales. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to do so.”

October 6th, 2025: In response to Marineland Canada repeatedly pressing the Government for a permit to export their beluga whales to China or to pay for their care, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson writes: “The fact that Marineland has not planned for a viable alternative despite raising these whales in captivity for many years does not place the onus on the Canadian government to cover your expenses.”

October 3rd, 2025: Marineland Canada says it is running out of money and that without financial support from the federal government, it will have to kill the 30 beluga whales at its shuttered park. (See the full letter here.)

The introduction of orcas, belugas, and dolphins in the 1970s transformed Marineland into one of Canada’s top tourist attractions. At its peak, the park reportedly drew hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, generating substantial revenue from ticket sales, concessions and merchandise. When, in February, Marineland succeeded in its bid to sever its entertainment park from the rest of its property, the park positioned itself to sell its very large swath of land near Niagara Falls, which is considered to be some of the most valuable real estate in Ontario.

(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with ally organizations to press for life-affirming options that must begin with on-site independent health evaluations for each individual whale.)

October 1st, 2025: The federal government has denied a request from Marineland to send its remaining beluga whales to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom aquarium in China. In a statement to the press, Minister Joanne Thompson of the Department of Fisheries & Oceans said that the government’s decision is consistent with the 2019 law (Bill S203, the Ending Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act) that bans whale and dolphin captivity for the purposes of entertainment and forbids breeding. “To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” she said.

“All whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for entertainment purposes,” she said, adding that she was “looking at other decisions that really speak to the health and well-being of the whales.”

(We at the Whale Sanctuary Project are working with our community partners and government to move the sanctuary forward.)

September 26th, 2025: The situation at Marineland is “terrible,” says Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “They have a responsibility to take care of these whales. They need to make sure that they’re healthy.”

September 4th, 2025: Another beluga whale and a harbor seal have died at Marineland. This means a total of 20 beluga whales and the orca Kiska have died there since 2019.  The CBC reports that a group of trespassers apparently “stirred the belugas into a frenzy, the sources said, which led to several younger belugas attacking an older one. The older beluga died a few days later despite efforts by Marineland staff to treat the whale.”

June 17th, 2025: Marineland Canada has begun selling all of its rides. Rides Plus LLC confirmed it is helping to sell the rides that remain in the park. A press release from Amusement Today says the rides are available to be bought by amusement operators, entertainment companies and other qualified buyers.

June 5th, 2025: Marineland Canada says that with the busy summer tourist season approaching, it hasn’t decided if it will re-open this year. “As Marineland has repeatedly publicly stated, we continue to be actively engaged in a sale process and transition to new ownership,” says the statement. “The long-term health and welfare of the animals remains Marineland’s priority in the transition process.” But the CBC reports that “As of Tuesday, [Marineland’s] main phone number wasn’t working, its Facebook page was taken down and its website made no mention of its reopening date.”

February 18th, 2025: At a public hearing, Marineland asks the City of Niagara Falls for permission to divide its property so that it can secure third-party financing that “requires the owner to remove the marine animals from the property expeditiously.” Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, also addresses the meeting and lays out the urgency of finding new homes for all 31 whales, including transferring as many as possible to the sanctuary that the WSP is establishing in Nova Scotia.

February 5th, 2025: Another beluga whale has died at Marineland. The company says it euthanized Eos, a seven-year-old beluga whale, after its “hard-fought battle with multiple medical conditions.” The following week, Member of the Provincial Parliament Wayne Gates calls for the provincial and federal governments to “make sure the animals at Marineland are taken care of, that they’re safe, and that they’re transported where they have to go.”

January 14th, 2025: As news of an impending crisis at Marineland Canada starts to spread around the world, the British newspaper The Guardian reports that “over the past few years, the park has taken a decidedly dark turn as there has been a string of deaths among the world’s largest captive beluga population. Last year, five belugas died at the facility bringing the total number of whales and dolphins to die there since 2019 to more than 20.” The paper notes that journalists say it is “impossible to get a clear sense of why so many whales have died in such a short period of time.” And it notes that Marineland has said publicly that it is actively looking for a buyer.

The post Updates on the Beluga Whales at Marineland Canada appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This morning, the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) denied Marineland Canada’s application to export their 30 surviving beluga whales to a marine entertainment park in China. DFO Minister Joanne Thompson said that she could not “in good conscience” approve the export and that “to approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment.” The Whale Sanctuary Project fully supports this compassionate decision.

In 2019, Canada passed legislation to bring an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity as a form of entertainment. The law also mandates that the Minister can issue an export permit only if it is for the purpose of conducting scientific research or if keeping a cetacean in captivity elsewhere is in the best interests of its welfare.

“The first step is for independent veterinarians to conduct comprehensive health evaluations of each beluga.”
Other governments around the world have been taking similar action in response to the growing public outcry against the exploitation of these cognitively complex animals whose intelligence and emotional sensitivity rivals our own. It is time to bring an end worldwide to the capture, breeding and use of whales for entertainment

What will happen now to the whales and dolphins at Marineland?

“The first step is for independent veterinarians to conduct comprehensive health evaluations of each beluga, as well as the dolphins at Marineland,” said Charles Vinick, Chief Executive Officer of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It is only with the knowledge of each individual’s health and welfare that responsible decisions can be made about what is best for them. These belugas have entertained millions of people and earned millions of dollars for Marineland’s owners. These whales deserve a dignified, supportive and compassionate retirement.”

The post Permission Denied for Marineland Canada to Export Beluga Whales to Entertainment Park in China appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The paper describes the growing need for ocean-based sanctuaries for captive cetaceans in response to increasing concerns about the welfare of these animals in marine parks and aquariums.

It proposes that ocean-based sanctuaries for cetaceans, which more closely mirror the natural environment to which cetaceans have adapted over millions of years, are a better option than concrete tanks for governments and organizations seeking to re-home captive whales and dolphins who cannot be released into the ocean.

These characteristics distinguish science-based sanctuaries from commercial operations that call themselves sanctuaries but are engaged in exploitation.The Whale Sanctuary Project, National Aquarium and Sea Life Trust, who are all engaged in establishing sanctuaries for whales and dolphins, worked together to produce the first foundational document for defining and implementing authentic cetacean sanctuaries and science-based professional accreditation guidelines.

These guidelines were formally adopted by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) in 2023 and can be viewed here.

Valerie Taylor, executive director of GFAS, writes: “As public attitudes continue to shift and dolphin and whale exhibits close around the world, there’s an urgent need for real alternatives – places that offer not just exemplary care, but space, choice, and a more natural life. True seaside sanctuaries can provide all of that, and now we have a way to recognize and support them.”

The paper describes three signature characteristics of authentic cetacean sanctuaries: place, principles, and practices. These characteristics distinguish science-based sanctuaries from commercial operations that merely call themselves sanctuaries but are engaged in exploitation.

• Fundamental to place is a natural environment. Authentic sanctuaries, for all wild animals, are places designed to not only allow the residents to survive, but, more importantly, to flourish.
• The foundational principle for all sanctuaries is to prioritize the well-being and autonomy of the residents. Sanctuaries free the residents to spend their days largely unfettered by human interests.
• And practices are consistent with traditional marine parks in terms of providing high quality veterinary care, regular health assessments, food, and safety. However, an important distinction is that in authentic sanctuaries breeding is prevented in order to bring an end altogether to keeping wild animals in captivity.

The creation of these standards advances accountability and transparency about what constitutes an authentic sanctuary and heralds a new stage in our understanding of and relationship to these highly intelligent, complex mammals.

The Whale Sanctuary Project, the National Aquarium, and SEA LIFE TRUST are all currently engaged in different phases of establishing accredited cetacean sanctuaries. The paper’s authors (Lori Marino, Charles Vinick, Katy Foster, Jeff Foster, Rob Hicks, Graham McGrath, John Racanelli, Janesse Brewer), all experts in the field of cetacean science at the forefront of the sanctuary movement, are proud to see their work made available through a publication as distinguished and respected as PLOS Biology. They share the collective vision of authentic cetacean sanctuaries becoming the standard of care for captive dolphins and whales until no healthy cetaceans are kept in any form of captivity.

About PLOS Biology: PLOS (Public Library of Science) Biology, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of biology, is designed to advance science and the communities who depend upon it and to transform research communication to fit the research process. Evolving article types and policies empower authors to share the full story behind their science with a global audience of researchers, educators, policy makers, patient advocacy groups, and the public.

The post Peer Reviewed Paper Calls for Accredited Cetacean Sanctuaries appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

At the end of last week, the Spanish government rejected what appeared to be a firm plan to transfer orcas Wikie and Keijo from Marineland Antibes to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands.

Marineland Antibes, which closed its entertainment park in January, had been preparing to transfer Wikie and Keijo to the Spanish zoo this week. Following this announcement, however, French Minister of Ecology Agnès Pannier-Runacher ordered Marineland to care for the animals at its facility in France until another solution can be found.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work with the French government, with Marineland Antibes, and with any and all other organizations to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia.

Last September, in its formal recommendations to the French government, the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Ecology called the Whale Sanctuary Project the best sanctuary solution for Wikie and Keijo.

It remains the only viable solution. And we remain ready to work with the French government and with Marineland Antibes to bring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.

While we press ahead to complete construction at the sanctuary site, we remain committed to collaborating with our colleagues at One Voice,  with the management and caregivers at Marineland Antibes, and with other NGOs to assist in caring for Wikie and Keijo in their concrete pools.

In its 52-page report to the Department of Ecological Biodiversity, the French Inspectorate stated with respect to the Whale Sanctuary Project:

“The solidity of the team and the dossier [they filed], the fact that the project was initiated several years ago, well before the sole question of the future of the orcas at Marineland in Antibes, the medium and long-term projection, make it the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.”

And after reviewing all the plans that were submitted, the Inspectorate concluded:

“Concerning orcas, [the Inspectorate] considers that only the Nova Scotia sanctuary project, supported by the Whale Sanctuary Project, meets the criteria of the [government’s Call for Expressions of Interest] in terms of technical quality, feasibility on time and financial sustainability, even if the project is experimental in nature and carries an inherent share of risk.”

The decision of the Spanish government to reject Marineland’s plan to send Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo is late in coming. But it is the right decision. And it brings ever greater urgency for all of us – government, marine parks, nonprofit organizations, and benefactors – to work together to give these highly intelligent, social and emotionally sensitive beings the immediate care they need and then to retire them to sanctuary as soon as possible.

The post Spain Rejects Marineland Antibes Plan to Transfer Orcas to Zoo in Canary Islands appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes: In our blog post on February 16th, we reported that the French government had rejected our proposal to retire the mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo from the entertainment park Marineland Antibes, which closed in January, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The reasons given by the Minister of Ecology were that a “panel of experts” had told her that the sanctuary waters would be too cold for the orcas – a point which we swiftly refuted with scientific evidence – and that the sanctuary would not be ready in time to accommodate the fact that Marineland Antibes now wants to transfer Wikie and Keijo out of their facility immediately.

While Marineland’s intent is to send the two whales to another commercial facility, the Minister posted on Instagram that she wanted to create a sanctuary “in collaboration with Italy, Spain and Greece.” We responded to this by pointing out that all available data on the temperature ranges suitable for orcas indicate that Mediterranean waters will be too warm for Wikie and Keijo. We added that, regardless, we would still offer our assistance to any viable sanctuary solution and collaborate with any other organization that can provide an alternative to the whales being consigned to another tank environment.

We have heard nothing further from the government, and sources in France believe that Marineland Antibes is expected to send Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands as soon as can be arranged.

The 31 beluga whales at Marineland Canada: Meanwhile, a similar situation is unfolding across the Atlantic, where the future of Marineland Canada (no relation to Marineland Antibes) remains uncertain. The management is looking to consign all 31 belugas, along with dolphins and other marine animals to another entertainment park or aquarium as quickly as possible.

We are in urgent discussions with other animal welfare organizations and legal experts with a view to a hold being placed on any of these animals being exported to other facilities while we explore how many we might be able to accommodate at the Nova Scotia sanctuary and how best to provide for the care of the others.

We will update you on this as soon as we have further news.

The post The Two Marinelands appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Today, February 16th, 2025, the Whale Sanctuary Project issued the following statement regarding the French Ministry of Ecological Transition’s expression of interest in creating a sanctuary in collaboration with Italy, Spain and Greece as a possible solution to the plight of the orcas Wikie and Keijo at Marineland Antibes:

To move to the next page, hover over the embedded pdf and click on the arrow.

We also sent the following related letter to Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher:

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The post Whale Sanctuary Project Offers Help in Providing Sanctuary Solution for Marineland Antibes Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In a letter to the Whale Sanctuary Project, dated January 16th, 2025, and received on Monday,  January 20th, Mme. Célia de Lavergne, Directrice de l’eau et de la biodiversité at the Ministry of Ecological Diversity, writes that the government has decided not to accept our application, submitted in April 2024 as part of an official Expression of Interest, to retire the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The Director writes that our application was evaluated by a panel of scientific experts. However, not one member of this panel ever reached out to us to discuss any concerns they might have had. And we cannot help but question why the Ministry would reject the relocation of Wikie and Keijo to a natural seaside sanctuary without discussing any of this panel’s concerns with us.

(Richt-click or use cmd+ on Mac or Ctrl Ctrl in Windows to magnify these images.)

Our proposal also provided enough time for independent veterinarians to conduct an essential assessment of Wikie and Keijo’s health – physical, mental and emotional – and to treat any conditions. During that time, we proposed that the Whale Sanctuary team would complete the fundraising needed to be ready to welcome the whales while engaging in a collaborative relationship with the orcas’ current caregivers and preparing the whales for their transport.

We also welcomed the opportunity for some of Wikie and Keijo’s current caregivers to travel with them and to continue their caregiving work as part of our team in Nova Scotia.

However, crucial time was lost in the nine months that the Ministry allowed to elapse before replying to our application. On the day that we received the Ministry’s letter, January 20th, 2025, we requested a call to learn more about the timeframe requested by Marineland, the scientific issues raised about the water temperature in Nova Scotia and its suitability for orcas, and the scientific experts who reviewed our Expression of Interest.

The Ministry responded in an email, saying simply:

“After careful review, we regret to inform you that your project could not meet the scheduling requirements of Marineland, which ceased its operations in January 5, 2025. This timeline constraint made it impossible to align with the necessary conditions for the project to proceed.”

This nine-month delay in responding to our Expression of Interest foreclosed the option of retiring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary.

Through subsequent phone conversations with our contacts at the French government, we have learned that the only remaining option for Wikie and Keijo is to be sent to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands, Spain. We were told that under French law, the government can prevent the whales from being sent to Japan, but they cannot prevent a permit to send Wikie and Keijo to another park in the European Union (EU) that meets the regulatory and welfare laws in the EU, of which France is a member. The French government would have to develop another legal reason for preventing the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo.

We have asked the French government to consider organizing a meeting with the owners of Marineland Antibes, or even Loro Parque, so that together we can all identify a solution that best serves the welfare of Wikie and Keijo. We have offered to cover the costs of care for Wikie and Keijo to remain at Marineland Antibes while we complete fundraising and construction at the sanctuary. But, per our sources at the French government, Marineland refuses to consider any agreement with a sanctuary. Marineland is aware of our offer but prefers to move the whales out on a timeline that is as fast as possible.

Loro Parque has a history characterized by poor husbandry decisions, lack of transparency, imprudent practices regarding orca breeding and infant care, and an overall inability to provide enough space or enrichment for adequate orca welfare. (See our white paper, Report on Orca Welfare at Loro Parque: Past and Present, here.) Given the poor welfare record of Loro Parque, it would be a tragic mistake for the Ministry to dismiss the opportunity the sanctuary holds for Wikie and Keijo to lead healthier lives.

It is not too late for the French government to convene all of us – the government, Marineland Antibes, and the Whale Sanctuary Project – to do what is best for Wikie and Keijo.

In the best interests of Wikie and Keijo, we urge the Ministry to reconsider its decision.

The post Ministry of Ecological Transition Rejects Application to Bring Orcas from Marineland Antibes to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The results of these analyses are presented in the PDF document below. Based on the analyses and expert recommendations, we have concluded that sanctuary’s chosen site in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, poses negligible risks to future whale residents and the whales, in turn, will pose no risk to their new environment and the many species who call it home.

The report below focuses specifically on the research and analyses to determine potential risks posed to the sanctuary’s residents and the native marine ecosystem. It includes the following contents:

I. Summary of Whale Sanctuary Site Marine Environmental Analyses (PDF p. 3)

• Environmental Site Assessments (PDF p. 4);
• Marine Ecological Risk Assessment Conclusions (PDF p. 5-6);
• Scientific Literature Review (PDF p.7);
• Marine Expert Consultation (PDF p.8);
• Consultation and Analyses with Arsenic Expert Dr. Ken Reimer (PDF p. 9-10);
• Conclusions (PDF p. 11).

II. Marine Ecological Risk Assessment (MERA) conducted by Dillon Consulting Limited (PDF p. 12-427)

• Marine Ecological Risk Assessment (PDF p. 13-136);
• Appendices (PDF p. 137-437).

III. Assessment of Potential Arsenic Impacts by Dr. Ken Reimer (PDF p.428-437).

Here is the complete report:

The above work represents just one aspect of a much larger and comprehensive array of studies undertaken over the past several years. These have included:

• acoustic studies of the marine environment;
• water quality and water temperature analyses throughout all seasons;
• impact assessments during hurricanes;
• seasonal wave, tide, and current measurements;
• hydrodynamic modeling of the sanctuary waters;
• migratory bird analyses; flora and fauna review;
• eel grass productivity and location analyses;
• an archaeological resource impact assessment (ARIA);
• terrestrial and marine geotechnical surveys.

Findings of these reports are discussed in posts on our website as follows:

A Deep Dive into Environmental Analyses

Diving into the Final Environmental Site Assessment

Site Geography and Environmental Analyses

The post Conclusions of Marine Environmental Site Analyses at the Whale Sanctuary Project Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Here’s a shoutout to just a few of the hundreds of people and organizations who have made a difference to the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project in 2024:

Muriel Arnal and her team at One Voice, France, have been working for many years to give whales and dolphins a chance to be retired to sanctuary. In addition to their legal and advocacy work in France, their advice and support have been key to the possibility of retiring Wikie and Keijo, the mother-and-son orcas at Marineland Antibes, to sanctuary.

Hyung-Ju Lee, the founder of AWARE in South Korea, reached out on our behalf to LotteWorld Aquarium, which led to our signing a joint Letter of Intent “to enter a dialogue concerning the relocation of the beluga whale known as Bella” to the sanctuary.

The Honourable Wilfred Moore has been a guiding hand in much of our work to establish the sanctuary in Nova Scotia since his retirement from the Canadian Senate in 2017. Hon. Moore is best known for having introduced the bill that went on to become the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which became law in 2019.

Muriel Arnal, Lori Marino & Hyung-Ju Lee, Wilfred Moore, Jane Goodall, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sylvia Earle, Schluter School students.

Dr. Jane Goodall, in her letter in February 2024 to the French government, strongly endorsed the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for the relocation of the orcas Wikie, Keijo and Inouk from Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia. (The death of Inouk, just a month later, only added urgency to the need for Wikie and Keijo to be retired to sanctuary.) Many thanks, too, to Dr. Sylvia Earle and Jean-Michel Cousteau for their support of the outreach to the French government.

The 4th-Grade Students at Schluter Elementary School in Haslet, Texas, were featured by NBC TV news when they sent handwritten pleas to the Minister of Ecology in France. Their letters and drawings explained why the orcas Wikie and Keijo should go to an ocean sanctuary rather than to a zoo in the Canary Islands or an aquarium in Japan. Their teacher, Rachel Friend, has been championing the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project for the past few years through her Wild for Whales learning program.

The Volunteers in our local town of Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, contributed more than 1,400 hours of their time, energy and incredi­ble passion for whales this year. From welcoming people to the Operations & Visitors Centre to setting up and running the booths at street fairs and other events across the province, they are an integral part of establishing the sanctuary.

Representatives of the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) are forming a working group with us. It is intended to foster ongoing collaboration and cultural exchange through the sanctuary’s future Interpretation Centre.

Local Fishers, Luna Sea Solutions, and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq planned and supported the successful deployment of the Wine Harbour Buoy, the first near-real time wave buoy on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. Part of a growing network of buoys around Nova Scotia, the Wine Harbour Buoy provides environmental data that is key to our monitoring of the sanctuary site and improves the quality and availability of marine weather information for fishers, oceanographers and the many other communities who live, play and work on the water.

And to all of you who support the Whale Sanctuary Project – whether with major grants to the capital campaign or with your regular donations, large or small. Every donation matters. We greatly appreciate them and together they make this work possible.

Many thanks, too, to the volunteers and advocates of all ages and backgrounds. Your support of this pioneering work has been at the heart of all the progress this year in the myriad of steps that go into the development of the sanctuary.

Thank you again, and a healthy, happy and successful New Year to all.

The post 2024: A Team Effort to Help the Whales Who Need It Most appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

On Friday, November 22nd, Loro Parque Zoo reported “the loss of our beloved 29-year-old male orca Keto.” The previous day on social media, they had warned that he had been seriously ill for several weeks.

In a brief eulogy, the zoo wrote: “For the Loro Parque family, Keto was not just an ambassador of his kind, but an irreplaceable being who left an indelible mark on our hearts.”

And in the wake of Keto’s death, the zoo may be able to replenish their diminishing collection of orcas with the two surviving orcas at Marineland Antibes: Wikie and her son Keijo.

Keto’s history as an “ambassador”

While Loro Parque Zoo’s statement that Keto’s death was a blow to his caregivers was undoubtedly true, we have to ask what it means to say that a captive orca is, or can ever be, an “ambassador” to the audiences who come to see him perform.

That is especially, and tragically, true for Keto, in that the single “message” that Keto ever delivered to the world beyond his tank is that a stressed, aggressive orca in a concrete tank is a bomb waiting to go off. And on  December 24th, 2009, that bomb exploded when the 6,600-pound orca dragged his trainer, Alexis Martínez, to the bottom of the pool and killed him.

More on that in a moment. But first, what does the death of Keto mean for Wikie and Keijo, the surviving mother-and-son orcas at Marineland Antibes in the south of France?

What it could mean for Loro Parque Zoo to acquire Wikie and Keijo

For Loro Parque, with the death of yet another orca – the fourth in the last three years – Wikie and Keijo could represent an opportunity to replenish their “stock.” And given the whales’ relatively young ages, Wikie and Keijo could make good breeders for the zoo.

And since French law is bringing an end to displaying whales and dolphins in France, the zoo might be able to obtain a new pair of “beloved ambassadors.”

What drove Keto to kill his trainer?

Writing in Outside Online after Keto had killed Alexis Martinez in 2009, journalist Tim Zimmerman noted that for several months before the attack, Martínez had been telling his girlfriend that all was not well at the zoo’s Orca Ocean exhibit, telling her “there was a lot of aggression between the killer whales and that they sometimes refused to obey commands, disrupting training and the shows.”

The young novice was feeling especially concerned about the upcoming Christmas show. “My job is especially risky, and I really need to be well rested and ready,” he’d said. “With everything that is going on, something could happen at any time.”

And just a short time later, it did happen.

Keto at Loro Parque Zoo

Born in 1995, Keto had spent his life being shuttled among entertainment parks: from SeaWorld Orlando to SeaWorld San Diego, and then to SeaWorld San Antonio before being sent to Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands.

Now aged 10, he had arrived on a wide-body transport plane along with Tekoa, a young male from SeaWorld San Antonio, and two young females, Kohana and Skyla, who had been separated from their mothers at SeaWorld Orlando for the move. Zimmerman writes:

“The four Loro Parque killer whales also struggled to adapt to one another. In the wild, most killer whales live in family groupings, or pods, with a well-organized matriarchal structure. Keto, Skyla, Kohana and Tekoa were all bred and born in marine parks, but they had been removed from their established social structures at SeaWorld San Antonio and SeaWorld Orlando.

Keto was already stressed and angry. He dragged Martinez to the bottom of the pool and killed him. “Without the ties of family or language, marine park whales have to sort out an ad hoc social pecking order, often through bullying and aggression, which sometimes results in a relatively stable grouping and sometimes not. The social structure was likely complicated at Loro Parque because there was no mature and clearly dominant female to establish order.”

In 2009, as Loro Parque hurried to open its new Orca Ocean exhibit, experienced SeaWorld trainers from the United States were being rotated in and out of Loro Parque to help train the new staff. Among them was Dawn Brancheau, who formed a close friendship with Alexis Martinez during her visit from SeaWorld Orlando.

But Keto was already stressed and angry, and soon after Brancheau returned home to the U.S., Keto dragged Martinez to the bottom of the pool and killed him.

Even more tragically, just a few months later at SeaWorld Orlando, the stressed and depressed orca Tilikum would kill Brancheau. And while her death would spark shock around the world, Loro Parque managed to prevent the death of Martinez from being widely reported.

But if Loro Parque could keep the death of one its trainers under wraps, they could not hide the death of the orcas: Victoria, a 10-year-old female, in 2013; Skyla, a 17-year-old female, in 2021; Ula, a 2-year-old female in 2021; Kohana, a 20-year-old female in 2022; and now Keto.

In the wake of all these deaths, Wikie and Keijo represent potential new “ambassadors.” (On its website, the zoo is now calling itself the “Loro Parque Animal Embassy.”)

The options now for Wikie and Keijo

Until recently, the French government was considering three possible options for Wikie and Keijo: the Kobe Suma aquarium in Japan (with which Marineland Antibes had already entered into a contract), Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands, or retirement to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

On November 25th, the French Minister of Ecology took the Kobe Suma aquarium off the table when she announced that she would not permit them to be shipped to an aquarium in Japan.

That leaves two choices for their future: to be put on display at Loro Parque Zoo, where Wikie could also be bred, or to retirement to the true, natural “orca ocean” of the Whale Sanctuary.

Our ability to demonstrate that we can raise the remaining funds needed to complete the sanctuary and to care for the whales could help tip the scale in favor of the Whale Sanctuary.

That’s why, as we approach the end of 2024, we are laying out the full picture of the options for Wikie and her son Keijo.

Your donation of whatever size – large or small, one-time or sustaining – is what it will now take to demonstrate that we can complete the sanctuary and welcome these two surviving whales.

Your urgent and immediate Holiday gift can be the gift of a new life for them beyond their wildest imagining.

Thank you for your continued support.

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The post What Kind of “Ambassador” Was the Orca Keto at Loro Parque Zoo? appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

“I have heard the warnings from NGOs about the future of the two orcas at Marineland. Japanese parks are subject to legislation that is less protective of animals than in Europe. In addition, traveling 13,000 kilometers would obviously be dangerous for their health.

“So, I have decided to oppose the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Japan.”

This is good news for the whales, and Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher clearly appreciated all the messages from NGO’s, global leaders and children.

Going forward, this decision presents two options for Wikie and Keijo: Retirement to the Whale Sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia; or transfer to Loro Parque Zoo at the Tenerife tourist resort in the Canary Islands.

Our team is working on all fronts to welcome Wikie and Keijo in mid-2025: from diplomatic efforts with government officials and collaboration with other NGOs, to finalizing design and engineering plans and readying the site for development.

The decision between sanctuary and marine park now likely hangs on whether the Whale Sanctuary Project can raise the remaining funds to be ready to welcome Wikie and Keijo in mid-2025. This fundraising effort for Wikie and Keijo must demonstrate we can actualize our plan as soon as possible.

We invite everyone who cares about this mother and her son to spread the word about their story and to donate what you can to give them a new and better life in an ocean sanctuary.

Thank you for supporting this work.

The Whale Sanctuary Project
https://whalesanctuary.org
info@whalesanctuary.org

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In the kind of world we want to see for all whales and dolphins, the orca Wikie would have been born among her family in the North Atlantic Ocean. She, in turn, would have raised her own sons, Moana and Keijo, with the help of her mother, her aunts and her sisters. And all of this would have been the great joy of her life.

In reality, though, that’s not what happened. Wikie’s mother and father would be captured and sold to Marineland Antibes in the South of France. And Wikie, in due course, would give birth to two children, not in the ocean but in the same concrete tank in which she’d grown up.

It seemed that Wikie and her offspring would never know life in the ocean. But right now, in the wake of the French government’s decision to bring an end to the use of whales and dolphins as entertainment, Wikie and her surviving son Keijo have a chance to live at the ocean sanctuary we’re establishing in Nova Scotia.

For that to happen, decisions have to be made by France’s Ministry for Ecological Diversity and by the owners and staff of Marineland. And funding has to be secured by the Whale Sanctuary Project for the completion of the work being done to prepare the sanctuary for the whales

Life at the sanctuary will be as close as is possible to what they would have experienced growing up in the ocean. It will be a new life that will make up for so much of what went before.

If, however, they are sent to another theme park or zoo, it will be the same kind of life in a concrete tank that Wikie and her whole family have known over the last 40 years. What follows is a brief history of those years:

Wikie’s family tree

The history of Wikie and her extended family, since they came into captivity, is a tangle of broken relationships and inbreeding.

Her mother Sharkane and her father Kim 2 were captured at different times in Icelandic waters and were sold to Marineland Antibes in the South of France. Some of the other whales among the two pods were also sold to Marineland and some were sold to entertainment parks in Japan, the United States and Spain.

In 1993, Sharkane would give birth to Shouka, in 1999 to Inouk, and in 2001 to Wikie. In 2002, Wikie’s sister Shouka would be shipped to Six Flags in Ohio and then to Six Flags California, where she would live for 10 years before being transferred to Sea World San Diego, where she is still alive.

The sanctuary is the only way forward that meets all the French government regulations.Freya, who came from Kim 2’s group and was mated with him, would give birth, over 12 years at Marineland, to four stillborn calves and to one survivor: Valentin.

Kim 2 would die of pneumonia in 2005 at the young age of 24. Valentin would survive another 10 years. He was Wikie’s half-brother and is generally assumed to have been the father of Wikie’s second son, Keijo, who was born in 2013.

Two years later, in October 2015, Valentin’s life would end shockingly after violent storms swept through Southern France, flooding the marine mammal tanks. Photos showed all five orcas swimming around in muddy waters. The following week, Valentin died, apparently from a sudden twist in his bowels.

In 2011, Wikie had given birth to a son, Moana, sired by Ulises through artificial insemination. It was the first artificial insemination of a whale in Europe. Ulises had been captured from the same Icelandic waters as Freya and Sharkane and had been sold to the Rioleon Safari Park in Spain and then to the Barcelona Zoo before being shipped in 1994 to SeaWorld San Diego. As of this writing, he is still living there.

Inouk, Keijo, Wikie, Moana, Valentin and Freya in a performance at Marineland Antibes.

Moana died in 2023, aged 12, from acute bacterial sepsis. Among orcas, the bond between mother and son is exceptionally strong. So, perhaps the presence of her second son, Keijo, would have been a comfort to Wikie. But more tragedy was to come.

Early the following year, 2024, her brother Inouk perished from subacute fibrinous enteritis peritonitis, leaving Wikie and Keijo as sole survivors of their family at Marineland.

It is to the great credit of the French government that the recommendations of the General Inspectorate favor sending Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia over sending them to another entertainment facility.

A fork in the road

And so it is that Wikie and Keijo are approaching a fork in the road where their fate comes down to two options:

If the final decision is for mother and son to go to an entertainment park – whether that be the Kobe Suma SeaWorld in Japan or Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands – they will find themselves in yet another concrete tank and with whales they don’t know and may not be able to communicate with. It is also likely that Wikie will be used for breeding, which would be contrary to the French decree that’s designed to bring an end to keeping whales captive.

The other option is for the Ministry to approve the recommendation of the government’s Inspectorate and for Wikie and Keijo to come to the sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia. That decision will need the full cooperation of Marineland Antibes and its staff. And it also depends on our securing the necessary funding to complete the first phase of sanctuary construction: the installation of a bay pen and land-based facilities.

The sanctuary is the only way forward that meets all the French government regulations and gives Wikie and Keijo the kind of life where they are cared for in a dynamic, stimulating ocean environment filled with plants and animals, and given as much autonomy as possible. They will never be used for breeding. They will never be separated.

These two orcas have surely faced lives of trials and tribulations. But if their stars finally line up – with a collaborative relationship among Marineland Antibes, the government and the Whale Sanctuary Project, along with the funding to complete the sanctuary – their future can be bright indeed.

Your donation, large or small, brings us ever closer to the day we welcome them to their new home.

It will be a home and a future that will make up for so much of what went before.

The post For Wikie and Keijo, a Fork in the Road Ahead appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of the Honourable Murray Sinclair. The Anishinaabe former senator, judge and leader in Canada’s justice system has passed away at the age of 73. His legacy is one of empathy, justice and compassionate action for human and non-human societies.

Beyond his work leading Canada’s landmark Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he was a beacon of change for animals with his work in Parliament on Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.  Originally introduced in 2015 by Sen. Wilfred Moore, the bill took nearly four years to work its way through Parliament and was voted into law in 2019.

Taking Bill S-203 further, in 2020 Senator Sinclair partnered with Dr. Jane Goodall to introduce the Jane Goodall Act to create some of the strongest protections for animals in captivity in the world. The bill also aims to phase out the captivity of elephants and great apes in Canada.

Here is an excerpt from Sen. Sinclair’s speech about Bill S-203 in 2018. (You can watch the full speech here.):

“We need to remember what this bill is really about: whether whales, dolphins and porpoises should be kept in captivity. When thinking about this, the bottom line is let’s not forget the creatures living in the concrete tanks, and let’s not forget the wild cetaceans who may yet face violent capture from their family groups for the purpose of display for human entertainment. That’s what this bill is about and why it matters so much.

“We are all related. Not just you and I, but you and I and all life forms of creation”

“Given the scientific knowledge presented by experts about the biological characteristics and needs of cetaceans during the study of this bill, it is evident that it is cruel to keep cetaceans in captivity. We, I believe, do not want to be cruel. We should not allow others to be either.

“In my community, the Anishinaabe recognize that we are all related, not just you and I, but you and I and all life forms of creation. As living things, we are connected to each other. We depend upon one another. Everything we do has an effect on other life forms and on our world. That is why we use the term “nii-konasiitook,” all of my relations, when addressing each other.

“So bear in mind why we are here. We are here to take care of our nation, to take care of our land, to take care of the people and to take care of all that is part of this Creation.

“So n’gwamazin: Be strong and steadfast in your beliefs. Nii-konasiitook: Take care of all of our relations.”

Rest in peace.

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It was a crisp morning on October 23rd, when a crew that included members of the Whale Sanctuary team steamed several miles offshore to deploy the Wine Harbour Buoy – the first near-real time wave buoy on the Eastern Shore.

The new buoy is part of a growing network of connected buoys around Nova Scotia that will improve the quality and availability of marine weather information and will benefit the many communities who live, play and work on the water.

Building and maintaining a coastal sanctuary for whales requires constant monitoring of the environment in and around the sanctuary site. What, for example, do we need to know when a storm is brewing offshore? How might rises in global temperatures and sea levels affect the sanctuary and its inhabitants over the long term? Accurate environmental information is essential to the safety of the whales and the people caring for them.

And so, as part of developing the Whale Sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, we’re grateful to have a collaborative effort with the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, which owns the buoy; with Luna Sea Solutions, which collects and communicates reliable oceanographic data straight from the ocean to a mobile app; and with the local fishing community with whom we’ve been working over the last four years.

Click on the image above to open the Luna Ocean app. Then use the search bar (near top right) to enter “Wine Harbour buoy” (be sure to use correct Canadian spelling of “Harbour”) and view environmental info live from the local region. And zoom in and out to see all the wave buoys off the coasts of North America.

The Wine Harbour Buoy will fill a critical data gap between Halifax Harbour to the south and Chedabucto Bay to the north since, before now, the nearest wave buoys were several hundred kilometers away.

You can use the app to monitor wind, wave and temperature data yourself.The buoy is already active, capturing wave, wind and temperature data every half hour. It updates a website/app every hour by satellite connection and it calculates in-depth marine forecasts so users can anticipate oceanographic conditions up to a week in advance.

For the sanctuary team, working with the First Nations community, the oceanographers, and the local fishers who took us all out on their boat had a further significance in the shared common interest that brings us together. We’re grateful to our partners for the generous donations of their time and expertise that went into making this deployment a success.

To stay in touch with the near-real time data and forecasts offshore, visit https://lunaocean.app where access to reliable ocean data is free and available to everyone.

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18 October, 2024

Mme Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister
Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Energy, the Climate and Risk Prevention
246 Boulevard Saint Germain
75007 Paris
France

Madame Pannier-Runacher,

We wish to commend the French government for conducting a rigorous Inspector General analysis regarding the different options for the future of the two orcas and 12 bottlenose dolphins currently held at Marineland d’Antibes, in line with French law that no more animals be kept in dolphinariums by 1 December 2026.

We applaud the Inspector General’s release of its report in late September 2024 and its findings that the best option for the orcas and dolphins is for them to be relocated to seaside sanctuaries, which offer them the strongest chances for a successful future.

We further applaud the specific recommendations that the two orcas (Wikie and her son Keijo) be relocated to the Whale Sanctuary Project’s facility in Nova Scotia and the 12 bottlenose dolphins be relocated to the Ionian Dolphin Conservation Sanctuary.

We fervently hope that the Ministry will proceed to adopt these recommendations. We fully support such a decision and believe it will be a landmark step forward for captive cetaceans and animal welfare standards.

Sincerely,

Jane Goodall
Sylvia Earle
Jean-Michel Cousteau

FRENCH VERSION:

Le 18 octobre 2024

À l’attention de Madame la Ministre Agnès Pannier-Runacher
Ministère de la Transition écologique, de l’Énergie, du Climat et de la Prévention des risques
246, boulevard Saint-Germain
75007 Paris
France

Madame la Ministre,

Nous tenons à féliciter le gouvernement français pour l’analyse rigoureuse de l’Inspecteur général des différentes options concernant l’avenir des deux orques et des 12 grands dauphins actuellement prisonniers du Marineland d’Antibes, conformément à la loi française stipulant qu’aucun animal ne doit plus être détenu dans les delphinariums d’ici le 1^er décembre 2026.

Nous saluons la publication du rapport de l’Inspecteur général fin septembre 2024 et ses conclusions selon lesquelles la meilleure option pour les orques et les dauphins est de les transférer dans des sanctuaires marins, lesquels leur offrent les meilleures chances futures de s’épanouir.

Nous saluons également les recommandations visant à placer les deux orques (Wikie et son fils Keijo) dans les installations du Whale Sanctuary Project en Nouvelle-Écosse, et les 12 grands dauphins dans le Ionian Dolphin Conservation Sanctuary.

Nous espérons vivement que votre ministère adoptera ces recommandations. Nous soutenons pleinement une telle décision, dont nous pensons qu’elle constitue une avancée majeure pour les cétacés captifs et les normes en matière de bien-être animal.

Veuillez agréer, Madame la Ministre, l’expression de notre très haute considération,

Jane Goodall
Sylvia Earle
Jean-Michel Cousteau

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Dr. Jane Goodall

In a letter to the French Government on February 29th, 2024, Dr. Jane Goodall strongly endorsed the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for the retirement and relocation of the orcas Wikie, Inouk and Keijo from Marineland Antibes, a marine theme park in the south of France, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

The death of Inouk, just a month later on March 28th, only underscores the urgency of transferring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary.

Since the beginning of this year, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been in discussion with the French government about the future of this family of orcas. Three years ago, the government banned the importing or breeding of whales and dolphins and set in motion a ten-year plan to end keeping them in captivity at all.

The French government’s decree was very good news for all cetaceans, but it did leave open the question of what would happen to whales who are currently on display in France. And while Marineland’s plan to send the orcas to an aquarium in Japan complies with the letter of the government’s decree, the prospect of the whales being simply moved from a concrete tank in one country to a concrete tank in another is very troubling and not in keeping with the spirit of giving captive whales and dolphins a better life.

The Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal continues to be that Marineland Antibes join with us and with the French government in a unique collaboration to retire the remaining two orcas, Wikie and Keijo, to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Goodall’s letter to the French Inspection Générale de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable only adds further urgency to this effort.

Here is the text of Dr. Goodall’s letter, and a pdf of the letter follows this text:

29 February 2024

Mr Olivier Robinet
Inspecteur Général Milieux, ressources et risques |
Inspection Générale de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable
France

Dear M. Robinet,

Endorsement of the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposal for relocating Orcas from Marineland Antibes to a suitable location

I am writing to you in support of the proposal being made by the Whale Sanctuary Project to transfer the three orcas Wikie, Inouk and Keijo from Marineland Antibes to the sanctuary the organization is establishing in Nova Scotia.

Having spent my life studying and working with mammals of all kinds, I am persuaded that it would be harmful for the orcas to be sent to another entertainment facility – this one in Japan – and that the Nova Scotia sanctuary offers them the opportunity to spend the rest of their lives in a natural setting while still receiving human care.

Much of my own focus has been on chimpanzees, who are highly intelligent, social animals who need a complex environment. When I set up sanctuaries in Africa for chimpanzees, critical voices said this could not be done. However, nowadays the Jane Goodall Institute cares successfully for some 200 chimpanzees in sanctuaries in Africa. Orcas, too, are intelligent, emotionally sensitive, and highly social. They cannot thrive in a setting that deprives them of the ability to explore a natural environment and choose how to spend their days without being burdened by having to entertain human audiences. Demanding orcas to perform day after day the same circus tricks for dead fish is no longer keeping up with our values and standards of animal welfare. Not only I, but many people agree that this must stop globally.

A sanctuary environment will provide them with their first-ever opportunity to live out their lives in a stimulating environment where they have the space they need to swim and dive, and, most importantly, to begin to have a level of autonomy and choice in how they spend their days. I recommend that the Ministry do all possible to ensure that these orcas can be moved to the cetacean sanctuary in Nova Scotia. My staff work closely with the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we fully support their high professional standards of animal care.

Sincerely,

Dr, Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace.

A pdf of the letter is embedded below:

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In response to the urgent need of three orcas held in Marineland Antibes, a French marine entertainment park, the Whale Sanctuary Project has developed an accelerated plan that would bring the whales to the sanctuary we are establishing in Nova Scotia in early 2025.

The three whales Wikie, Inouk & Keijo are a genetic family – a mother and her son and her brother – who have been slated to be shipped to a Japanese aquarium, where they will be used for breeding purposes and potentially split apart among different facilities. Such a move would be traumatic for these three orcas, animals known for their cognitive and emotional complexity and deep family bonds. The move would also be inconsistent with legislation recently passed in France to ban the keeping of cetaceans in captivity.

There has been an outcry against this news amongst the French public and other NGOs, and the French government has stepped in to consider alternatives to sending the whales to Japan.

We are fast-tracking sanctuary development with an accelerated plan.Given the urgency of this situation, we are lending the Whale Sanctuary Project’s expertise in rescue, sanctuary and international diplomacy to this effort. We are in ongoing discussions with the French Ministry of Ecology and Biodiversity as it assesses the Nova Scotia sanctuary as a preferred option for the welfare of these orcas.

Jane Goodall has written a letter to the ministry advocating for this sanctuary as the best possible solution for these whales.

We understand that the whales can probably not be moved before early 2025. While the French government’s assessment continues, we are moving forward to be ready to receive these whales at the earliest possible time.

We have already completed much of the necessary work and are fast-tracking sanctuary development with an accelerated plan that includes the design and fabrication of a large bay pen to house the whales prior to the completion of the full perimeter net and the construction of temporary land-based facilities to accommodate staff until full construction is complete.

(Photo courtesy of  ppa_Inherently Wild.)

The post Bringing Wikie, Keijo & Inouk to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

In a significant move toward marine conservation and animal welfare, the SWIMS Act has been reintroduced to the United States Congress by Representatives Adam Schiff, Ron Wyden, Jared Huffman and Suzan DelBene. This legislation aims to put an end to the future capture and breeding of whales for public display.

Over the last 15 years, public opinion has changed considerably regarding keeping whales in concrete tanks for the purposes of entertainment. The reintroduction of the SWIMS Act reflects this evolution and is a critical step forward in addressing these concerns.

Re. Adam Schiff (D. Calif)

In the news release from Rep. Schiff’s office, the lawmakers say that the legislation reflects a shared commitment to animal welfare and marine conservation.

“Whales should be living free in the ocean, not the confines of a concrete tank,” Rep. Schiff notes. “The SWIMS Act would protect these magnificent creatures from lives trapped in captivity and prevent the cruel practice of breeding whales for public display.”

And Rep Huffman adds: “The science and tragic real-life experiences have shown us time and again that marine mammals suffer from being in captivity – often being exploited and abused. But our laws and practices don’t reflect that. We must finally make the humane changes that have been needed for decades.”

The legislation emphasizes the need for a more humane approach to the treatment of captive whales, highlighting the detrimental impact on their physical and psychological well-being.

“Whales should be living free in the ocean, not the confines of a concrete tank.” Rep. Adam SchiffThe SWIMS Act also specifically allows exemptions for animals being transported to a sanctuary setting or released to the wild, requiring that Section 102 of 26 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 be amended to make it “unlawful to export any orca, beluga whale, false killer whale, or pilot whale except for the transport of such species to a marine mammal sanctuary with a determination by the Secretary that the transportation to such sanctuary is in the best interest of the individual marine mammal; or for release to the wild.”

And it adds that “the term ‘sanctuary’ means a place of refuge where marine mammals live in a captive setting as close as possible to their natural environment; are prioritized individually with respect to well-being and autonomy; and are not used for profit or breeding for the purpose of public display.’’

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), which has played an important role in advocating for the SWIMS Act, notes that the SWIMS Act represents a crucial step toward ending the public display of captive whales and acknowledging the inherent cruelty and ethical concerns associated with keeping these intelligent beings in confinement.

“Science increasingly supports the conclusion that we cannot provide conditions in a concrete enclosure to accommodate the size, wide-ranging nature, and physiological and social needs of these four species,” says Dr. Naomi Rose, AWI’s marine mammal scientist and a member of the board of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “The SWIMS Act would compel marine theme parks and aquariums to focus on educational and conservation opportunities that do not perpetuate the unnecessary suffering of these animals.”

The reintroduction of the SWIMS Act represents a collaborative approach toward a more compassionate and sustainable future for these highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive animals.

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A joint press release to French media from One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project, February 1st, 2024.

The French animal defender organization One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project, a U.S. non-profit organization, have agreed to work together toward Inouk, Wikie and Keijo, the three orcas at Marineland Antibes, being retired from commercial display and transferred to a coastal sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The agreement comes in the wake of the judicial court of Grasse calling for a pause on the transfer of orcas from Marineland Antibes to Japan pending an independent expert assessment and the Ministry of Ecological Transition launching a consultation process to study non-commercial solutions for captive whales. In light of these initiatives, our organizations now propose a collaboration with Marineland and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.

“The Whale Sanctuary Project is the only current sanctuary project that can accommodate orcas,” said Muriel Arnal, President of One Voice. “We have cooperated on projects for several years and are now working together in offering to partner with Marineland to retire the whales to a more natural environment that will be most beneficial to their health and welfare.”

Wikie, Inouk and Keijo at Marineland Antibes. Copyright Nikola Krtolica

Collaboration an essential ingredient

The Whale Sanctuary Project emphasizes that the success of retiring the orcas to sanctuary will depend on a fully collaborative effort among the staff and management of Marineland, the Whale Sanctuary team, One Voice and other partners, along with government agencies.

This approach is modeled on earlier collaborative ventures. In 2019, the Whale Sanctuary Project worked with the Russian government, Russian animal protection groups and One Voice to successfully return to the ocean 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured illegally for sale to marine entertainment parks in China.

“Organizations that in the past might have been working against each other can successfully work together with shared values of respect and care for the animals.” And in 2023, members of the Whale Sanctuary team worked hand-in-hand with Miami Seaquarium staff through Friends of Toki, in a joint effort to return the orca Toki (also known by her display name Lolita) to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, from where she had been captured in 1970. (Sadly, Toki died from chronic conditions including renal disease and pneumonia before she could be moved.)

“The impact of what was a first-ever, formal collaboration between a marine entertainment park and the animal protection community to care for a whale on site at a marine park cannot be underestimated,” said Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “It demonstrated that different organizations that in the past might have been working against each other can successfully work together with shared values of respect and care for the animals.”

Whale Sanctuary Project lease area, Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia

The sanctuary

The coastal sanctuary that the Whale Sanctuary Project is establishing is situated in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia. This protected bay will offer its resident whales more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of water space with depths up to 18 meters, allowing the whales to swim, dive and experience a natural seaside environment. They will be able to explore the seafloor, chase birds on the surface and spend their time in nature while benefiting from human care for the rest of their lives.

It will also ensure that the family group stays together. “Orcas are highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and socially bonded animals,” said Dr. Lori Marino, founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “In the ocean, they live in strong family groups and their emotional and behavioral health is intimately connected with their social group.”

“They will not be stressed by being confined in a small space with orcas with whom they have no relationship.
A sanctuary will provide the best chance they have for a successful life.”Transporting whales to a new situation inevitably causes stress. But any such stress is multiplied exponentially when their destination is another entertainment facility where they must try to accommodate to living long-term in a concrete tank with orcas with whom they are entirely unfamiliar.

“By contrast, at an authentic sanctuary like at Port Hilford Bay,” Dr. Marino explained, “they will be able to stay together as a unit and not be stressed by being confined in a small space with orcas with whom they have no relationship. A sanctuary will provide the best chance they have for a successful life.”

Sanctuary standards

The sanctuary is being designed according to standards prepared jointly by the National Aquarium, Sea Life Trust and the Whale Sanctuary Project, and published by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

The National Aquarium is currently establishing a sanctuary in the Caribbean for its six dolphins, and Sea Life Trust operates a sanctuary in Iceland for two beluga whales who came from an entertainment park that was acquired by its founding partner Merlin Entertainments Group. Merlin Entertainments has a policy of not using cetaceans at any of its marine entertainment parks.

An accelerated plan

Given the urgency facing Wikie, Inouk and Keijo, the Whale Sanctuary Project has developed an accelerated approach to provide the absolutely necessary elements for accommodating the whales before completing the full sanctuary plan.

Phase One of the accelerated plan will include the engineering, fabrication and installation of a bay pen of approximately 6,500 square meters, along with temporary staff quarters and facilities, so that the orcas can be moved to sanctuary. In Phase Two, permanent sanctuary facilities are installed, along with the perimeter net surrounding the 404,000 square meters (100+ acres) of sanctuary water space.

Environmental studies

Over a three-year period since announcing the selection of Port Hilford Bay, the Whale Sanctuary Project has been conducting comprehensive environmental studies to ensure the suitability of the site for whales – and equally to be sure that the presence of the whales will not be detrimental to the local flora and fauna.

One of these studies is specific to Nova Scotia because of historical gold mining that took place across the province from the 1880s through the 1930s. Analyses of soil, water and invertebrate species at the site concluded that while the water throughout the bay is clean, the area onshore where there was once a stamp mill will need to be capped with soil, gravel or concrete at any places that may be disturbed by construction. There are also levels of arsenic sequestered in a small area of the seabed and in some samples taken from invertebrates that inhabit the seabed. We are engaged in consultations with scientists and other experts to determine whether mitigation is required.

A global sanctuary movement

Over recent years, public opinion has fueled a global movement to bring an end to keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity for the purpose of entertainment.

There are already hundreds of first-class sanctuaries all over the world for land animals, including for elephants, big cats, bears and great apes who had spent their earlier lives in zoos (both public and private) and circuses. In working cooperatively and in collaboration with the entertainment industry, we look forward to a time when cetaceans are no longer confined to concrete tanks and have all been retired to authentic sanctuaries.

Contact : Jessica Lefèvre-Grave
presse@one-voice.fr

#             #             #

Appendix A

About the Whale Sanctuary Project

Mission: We work to transform the way people relate to whales and dolphins by bringing an end to their exploitation and by creating seaside sanctuaries, assisting with international marine mammal rescues, and advancing whale and dolphin science.

Website: https://whalesanctuary.org

Dr. Lori Marino, President and Founder, is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence.

Formerly on the faculty of Emory University, she is internationally known for her work on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales. In 2001, she co-authored the ground-breaking study that offered the first conclusive evidence for mirror self-recognition in bottlenose dolphins.

Charles Vinick, Executive Director, is known for his work as director of the Keiko Project, a pioneering effort that marshaled public and media support to reintroduce to the wild the captive orca made famous through the Free Willy films.

For 25 years, he worked closely with Jean-Michel and Jacques Cousteau (during his lifetime), managing the work of The Cousteau Society and Ocean Futures as well as serving as director of Parc Océanique Cousteau in Paris.

About One Voice

Mission: Through its in-depth work, which is submitted to the authorities, and its advocacy, One Voice has forged close links with the French Ministry of Ecology and members of parliament, and in recent years has obtained a ministerial decree and then a law aimed, among other measures, at bringing an end to dolphinariums in France. The association remains vigilant, beyond announcements and good intentions, to ensure that animals remain at the center of concerns.

One Voice also organizes rescues, such as the release of six dolphins captured in Haiti to be sold to dolphinariums, in cooperation with the Haitian government. It proposes solutions, notably by financing shelters and the creation of sanctuaries for animals that it has taken to court.

Muriel Arnal is the founding president of One Voice. She saw the suffering of exploited animals from a very young age when she discovered small circuses and zoos. Her admiration of the fight to save the gorillas and their natural habitat led by Dian Fossey as well as her meeting with Théodore Monod, who would be a supporter of the association, led her to create One Voice in 1995 for the ethics of animals and the planet. Having lived abroad, the participation of the association in big international coalitions was obvious to her: on animal experimentation (ECEAE), on fur (Fur Free Alliance), on dolphinariums (Dolphinaria-Free Europe). One Voice defends individuals, with a vision of uniting in our fights: for the animals, for humans, and for nature.

Website: https://one-voice.fr/

Contact

For more information and to schedule interviews with the Whale Sanctuary Project or One Voice, please contact:
Jessica Lefèvre-Grave
presse@one-voice.fr 

Appendix B

Background Notes re. the Whale Sanctuary Project

Whale sanctuary 100+ acres net placement – artist rendering

The Whale Sanctuary Team

The Whale Sanctuary team comprises experienced staff who have designed, built and installed sanctuary systems and bay pens. Out team provided special care for the orca Toki (also known by her display name Lolita) at the Miami Seaquarium and has been involved in cetacean rescue and rehabilitation work around the world.

The team’s executive director Charles Vinick is known for having directed the Keiko Project, a pioneering effort in the late 1990s that marshaled public and media support to reintroduce to the wild the captive orca made famous through the Free Willy films. His earlier work also included 25 years with Jean-Michel and Jacques Cousteau during which he managed the work of The Cousteau Society and Ocean Futures as well as serving as director of Parc Océanique Cousteau in Paris.

Our staff and advisory board include renowned cetacean scientists; orca trainers and veterinarians experienced in orca transport and conditioning; consultants and contractors who have fabricated and installed net enclosures and related infrastructure; and a network of contacts in government, the scientific community and environmental organizations who are available to help evaluate all aspects of developing and operating a whale sanctuary.

Site search and development

Selection of Port Hilford Bay as the most suitable location for a whale sanctuary came at the end of a three-year search that examined more than 130 sites on both sides of the North American continent and focused on three main factors: the essential physical criteria of land and water; potential impacts on and from local wildlife; and community interests, including concerns of local residents and commercial and recreational interests.

Port Hilford Bay was the one location that met – indeed exceeded – all three criteria when, in 2020, the citizens of nearby Sherbrooke approached the site selection team with its recommendation of the bay as a prime location.

Site development began with a host of environmental studies that included water levels, temperatures, tidal flows and water pressure through all seasons, acoustic doppler current profilers, multibeam sonar, a benthic survey, a complete hydrodynamic model of the region around the sanctuary, and a study of soil and water samples to see what mitigation measures might be necessary regarding heavy metals that are routinely found in tailings from historic gold mining in Nova Scotia (per press statement above).

More about the accelerated plan to meet the needs of Wikie, Inouk and Keijo

Phase One of the accelerated plan will include the engineering, fabrication and installation of a large bay pen, along with temporary staff facilities, so that the orcas can be moved to sanctuary while permanent sanctuary elements are installed.

The bay pen is a netted enclosure of approximately 6,650 square meters, that can be separated into two distinct spaces. It includes a medical lift in the middle section of the bay pen for veterinary care. It has net sides and is anchored to the sea floor providing the whales with enriching access to the flora and fauna on the bottom and introducing them to their ocean environment.

The bay pen includes a perimeter walkway and is structurally engineered so that boats and floating structures can be moored to it.

Phase Two calls for the full perimeter net to be installed encompassing the full 100-acre sanctuary waters and permanent sanctuary facilities to be constructed. The bay pen will then become an isolation area for necessary animal care, veterinary care and a facility for new arrivals before they are released into the full sanctuary.

Permits, leases and funding

The Whale Sanctuary Project has received and executed an Offer of Lease from the Canadian government’s Department of Natural Resources & Renewables. The Offer of Lease makes available a total water space of 201 acres that includes the 100-plus acres for the whales; the space needed for the anchoring system, a small island that provides shelter to the waters during storms, and a security zone. The lease will take effect after all permits have been issued.

A purchase agreement is in place for 30 acres of sanctuary lands, and the requisite funds are being held in a dedicated escrow-type fund pending completion of permitting.

The Wendy McCaw Foundation has pledged $5 million to be released upon completion of permitting. These funds will be used for construction of the sanctuary or for care of the whales over a ten-year period. We are in the process of securing further pledges contingent upon knowing that marine entertainment facilities are willing to work in partnership with us to retire their whales to the sanctuary.

Full details of sanctuary finances are available from the Whale Sanctuary Project’s “Form 990” as submitted annually to the U.S. government.

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The post One Voice and the Whale Sanctuary Project Propose Collaboration with Marineland Antibes to Retire Three Orcas to Sanctuary appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Officially designated J-60, the newest member of the J pod of the Southern Resident orcas will soon receive a proper name courtesy of the Whale Museum on San Juan Island, which gathers votes from the local whale lovers.

Photo of J-60 by Maya Sears under NMFS Permit 27052

Scientists are celebrating the news of the birth cautiously: Many baby orcas do not survive long due to toxic pollution and a lack of chinook salmon to eat. J-60’s mother is believed to be a first-time mother, which would mean her mother’s milk may have accumulated a significant dose of pollutants over the course of her 19-year life. But she’ll also be getting a significant dose of love and support from her family members, who will be guiding her through everything she needs to know about caring for her newborn. Orca life is all about family.

The same is not the case on the other side of the world at the Moskvarium Aquarium in Russia, where 11-year-old orca Naya has just given birth to a daughter. According to a post on the Moskvarium’s Instagram:

“After 10 hours of hard labor … our specialists delivered Russia’s first killer whale birth in an artificial habitat. It was not easy, but thanks to teamwork everything ended well … Now the main task is for Naya to recover from difficult birth, to establish milk feeding, and the cub to develop without abnormalities and get stronger.”

Photo of Naya and her daughter by Moskvarium.

Life has already been hard for Naya. Last year, her two tank mates, Narnia and Nord, died early deaths. The Moskvarium then announced they would no longer participate in the capture of marine mammals from the ocean:

“Employees of the Moskvarium Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology, as the country’s leading experts in their field, took part in the development of draft law N40333-8 “On Amendments to the Federal Law in Fisheries and the Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources”, advocating a complete ban on the extraction (catch) of marine mammals for cultural and educational purposes.”

Neuroscientist Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, notes that neither the newborn nor her mother will have the kind of loving family support that J-60 and her mother are experiencing in a natural environment, surrounded by their large extended family.

“The little orca in Puget Sound came into a world filled with love and support from his mother and relatives, a large extended family. He will enjoy being part of a vibrant Southern Resident orca community. He will learn how to be an orca amidst the safety of his social group, and he can look forward to being part of a multi-generational population of orcas who will travel together, play together and help each other.

“Naya’s daughter will have none of that. She is born into an impoverished empty world with only her young inexperienced mother as support and nothing to do and no one to play and socialize with. She and her mother have a bleak future unless they are transferred to a sanctuary.”

We wish both newborns good health and long life. And our special wish for Naya and her daughter is that as the sanctuary movement spreads around the world, they will both have the opportunity to be retired from the misery of life in a concrete tank.

The post A Tale of Two Baby Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

David was a dedicated animal advocate who supported many efforts. He was passionate about elephants and was a longtime supporter of the Performing Animals Welfare Society and the executive producer of the beautiful 2012 documentary How I Became an Elephant about the ongoing movement to save Asian elephants.

He gave a better life to donkeys in India and to dogs in rural North Carolina through his gifts to PETA. He championed the cause of animals in biomedical research and spay-neuter clinics around the globe. He initiated clerkship programs for young animal attorneys, helping to create the burgeoning field of animal law. And so much more. Wherever there was a need, he was there.

David had a deep concern for whales and dolphins who are confined at entertainment parks. He played a key role in the work of the Whale Sanctuary Project and was one of our most generous and committed donors.

I will miss our conversations and the world will miss an exemplary animal advocate.

Rest in peace, David.

Dr. Lori Marino.

The post In Memory of David Reuben appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

We have received the results of some recent environmental studies we’ve been conducting at the sanctuary site in Nova Scotia. The last of these studies, an Environmental Site Assessment III (ESA III), was completed in July, when a team of divers took samples of soil from the seabed so that we could send them for laboratory analysis.

The ESA series is important because it relates to historical gold mining that took place across Nova Scotia from the 1880s through the 1930s. We understood, when we selected Port Hilford Bay as our location-of-choice for a whale sanctuary in North America, that there were remnants of gold mine tailings on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands. This meant we needed to study soil and water samples to see what mitigation measures might be necessary regarding heavy metals – specifically mercury and arsenic ­– that are routinely found in those tailings.

Prior to the ESA III study of submerged soils, we had already studied sanctuary lands along the shore, and we had tested samples of water, both in the ocean and in the freshwater streams around the bay. Here is what we’ve learned from all of this work:

Sanctuary waters: The water column – meaning all water throughout the bay – is clean and has no detected contaminants. Laboratory analyses have shown no traces of any heavy metals or other contamination.

Sanctuary lands onshore: Samples taken by our consultants have found no concerning level of mercury. There is an area around an old stamp mill on land that has levels of arsenic that will require us to cap any areas that are likely to be disturbed by construction.

Submerged soils in the seabed: Laboratory analyses found levels of arsenic sequestered in the soils, but no concerning levels of mercury.

The concern about submerged soils is whether people or whales would be potentially harmed by the presence of the level of arsenic in the submerged soil, primarily through ingesting invertebrates that inhabit the ocean floor. So, we conducted studies for three species of invertebrates: clams, mussels and rock crabs. We did not find clams in any areas of Port Hilford Bay where whales could contact them. Mussels tested acceptable for human consumption. Levels of arsenic in rock crabs tested above Nova Scotia guidelines for human consumption. So, we are continuing to research how this may apply to whales since different species of mammals metabolize minerals in different ways.

Next steps: We are engaging a Site Professional to develop our site plan, including any mitigation. On sanctuary lands, recommended mitigation procedure will be to cap any area that may be disturbed by construction work for buildings, parking, etc. with a layer of soil, gravel or paving. Regarding submerged soils and the possibility of whales ingesting an animal that has elevated levels of any metal of concern, we will be engaging toxicologists to investigate whether there is any risk that the whales could ingest a level that could be harmful and if so, what mitigation may be needed in submerged soil.

We’ll continue to update you as we finalize plans for any required mitigation work and as we press ahead toward final site development.

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The post Update on Results of the ESA III Study and Laboratory Analysis appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Dear Friends,

The loss of yet more orcas and beluga whales at entertainment parks this year has only increased the urgency of completing the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Almost every week this year has brought more news of the dire situation in which captive whales find themselves – both at home and abroad.

• Kiska, the lone orca at Marineland Canada, died in March after having seen all five of her calves perish in her concrete tank. She was 46 years old. Marineland has not disclosed how many beluga whales there may also have lost their lives this year.
• Fifty-seven-year-old Tokitae succumbed in August at the Miami Seaquarium despite the heroic collaboration to prep her for return to her home waters.
• Twelve-year-old Moana passed away in a crumbling tank at Marineland Antibes in France in October. His remaining family of three orcas is scheduled to be sent to Japan, where they will likely be distributed among two or more entertainment parks.
• And Nord and Narnia, two young orcas at Russia’s Moskvarium Aquarium, both died of gastrointestinal diseases, leaving 11-year-old Naya alone and pregnant.

The urgency of this situation means that we can no longer proceed step by step, as we have been doing until now: through the permitting process; then sanctuary design and construction; followed by negotiation with marine parks and aquariums.

Instead, we must work on all fronts simultaneously so that we can be ready to welcome the first whales on their timetable, not ours. 

Donate now so we can be ready to welcome the first whales.While staff facilities can be temporary structures, even trailers, we must be ready to fabricate and install the nets and a smaller bay pen that will be the initial space for the whales.

And that is the focus of our fundraising efforts right now.

Your Holiday donation will support this next phase of establishing the sanctuary as we press ahead to make ready the initial space for the whales.

This summer, we completed three years of mandatory environmental studies that are essential to obtaining permits to begin construction. (The key steps are included in this “Timeline.”) This work has taken time and funding, and it has been essential, not only to the health and safety of the whales, but to getting the permits that are required to begin construction.

Thank you for all you have done to bring us to this point.

Who might be the first whales to come to the sanctuary?

Here are some of the whales from around the world who are clearly on our radar:

Inouk, Wikie, Keijo and Moana at Marineland Antibes. (Nikola Krtolica, OneVoice.)

Three orcas in France: Inouk, Wikie and Keijo are members of the same family as 12-year-old Moana, who died this year at Marineland Antibes. All they have now is each other. And the plan may be to split them up in separate facilities in Japan, probably next March. If that is the case, we can’t imagine a worse outcome for this family.

Animal protection groups in France are asking Marineland and the government to keep the family together. And they’re raising support to have them come to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia. At our end, we would need to demonstrate, by early in the New Year, that we can give them the home they so urgently need.

And your support is the key to our being able to do that. 

Bella at the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul.

Two beluga whales in South Korea: Luvi and Bella were captured in Russian waters and have been living at separate facilities, both of which are eager to move them to sanctuaries.

The government has also approved the move. But again, we can’t do it without you.

The beluga whales at Marineland Canada: There are 30-plus beluga whales at Marineland Canada. Six months ago, the Mayor of Niagara announced that this sprawling facility and its surrounding property is up for sale and that he wants the best possible outcome for the whales.

Two years ago, we held preliminary discussions with Marineland Canada about the possibility of transferring whales from their facility to the sanctuary at the appropriate time. But when the Niagara police charged Marineland with using whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, which is now prohibited by law in Canada, Marineland broke off further discussion.

However, the potential sale of the facility, along with the mayor’s commitment to the animals, presents a new opportunity for the belugas.

Next steps

Completing the sanctuary, even in stages – with the bay pen and nets installed, along with temporary support facilities – depends on having the funds: both for construction and to guarantee the transportation and initial care of the whales.

Your support is the key to this. Please donate today so we can be ready to welcome the first whales.

Public opinion is demanding change.

A growing number of marine parks and aquariums are themselves concluding that conditions at many facilities are intolerable and that it is time to plan for an end to keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks.

Not long ago, a similar change in public opinion led to sanctuaries being established for land animals of all kinds: elephants, chimpanzees, lions and tigers, bears and many more.

And just eight years ago, the famous Ringling Brothers circus bowed to public opinion and announced the end of all its animal acts. And when the new “Greatest Show on Earth” returned, it drew bigger audiences than ever … and with no animal acts!

The success of zoos and circuses that have changed their business model represents an opportunity for marine entertainment parks. They, too, can not only survive without whale and dolphin acts; they can thrive. And that’s our reason for wanting to work with them, not against them, to bring this about.

Of course, no single sanctuary can accommodate all the whales who need to be retired from concrete tanks to coastal sanctuaries. That’s why, as the first of its kind, the sanctuary in Nova Scotia will be a proof of concept for many more to come, just as was the case for elephants, big cats and chimpanzees.

For whales coming to the sanctuary, a whole new life awaits

• 100 acres of water, with all the natural contours of a bay and seafloor that will allow the whales to use their echolocation abilities to explore their environment;
• a living habitat, replete with fish and other ocean creatures to provide all the variety and stimulation their complex brains need in order to thrive;
• and 24/7 care from an expert team including world-class veterinarians.

Together we can begin to fulfill the dream of a time when no whales are being kept in concrete tanks anywhere and that they can all have a life that will, to the greatest extent possible, make up for what went before.

Please send your donation today. And, if you can, select the sustaining donor option with a monthly pledge that’s comfortable for you and that will sustain this work over time.

Thank you again for your support, and we wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and a peaceful New Year to come.

               
Lori Marino, President                                          Charles Vinick, Executive Director

The post How We Can Give Sanctuary to the Whales Who Cannot Wait appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

• The report, as received and released by the Miami Seaquarium, of veterinary pathologist Dr. Judy St. Leger, who led the necropsy;

• A statement from Tokitae’s lead consulting veterinarians Tom Reidarson, DVM, and consulting veterinarians James McBain, DVM retired, and Stephanie Norman, DVM.

The necropsy was led by veterinary pathologist Dr. Judy St. Leger, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology with more than 20 years of experience in marine mammal pathology. She has worked with free ranging orcas and orcas in professional care; has published five peer-reviewed papers on the matter and is coauthor of the Killer Whale Necropsy Guidelines. Dr. St. Leger rigorously led the necropsy with the presence of a Veterinary Medical Officer for the NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center and leader of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program; and was supported by a team of highly skilled pathologists.

Having reviewed the results of the necropsy, Drs. Reidarson, McBain and Norman issued the following assessment:

The post Tokitae’s Necropsy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

History of the ESA Series

The series had begun with an ESA I, which is a general assessment of whether samples of soil and sediment should be taken for analysis. The reason for doing an ESA I was that when we were first considering Nova Scotia as a possible location for the sanctuary, we learned that there had been historical gold mining in several regions of the province from the 1880s to the 1930s and that there might still be remnants of gold mine tailings on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands.

During our two-year site search, we had researched 130 possible locations in British Columbia, Washington State and Nova Scotia. We’d found beautiful locations in British Columbia, but they were all too remote to be practical. And off the coast of Washington State, by contrast, either the human population was just too dense, or the sites were not available. It was therefore clear that the West Coast was not an option for this first whale sanctuary.

In Nova Scotia, however, there was one location that rose to the fore above all others: Port Hilford Bay, Wine Harbour, where we found an excellent site and a welcoming community. And after local consultations, we concluded that any issues related to historic gold mining could be mitigated, just as is the case in many other coastal locations in the province. (For details on how we conducted the search and the basic criteria by which we judged each location, go here.)

One location that rose to the fore above all others, where we found an excellent site and a welcoming community.Our decision to pursue Port Hilford Bay as the best location in North America prompted extensive environmental studies. These included analyses of currents, tidal flows at multiple depths; flushing rates; benthic surveys of flora and fauna; storm tracking and seasonal changes over two years, and many more. (Examples of some of these are described here.)

The last of these environmental studies is the ESA series, which comprises analyses of soils, submerged land and the waters along the shore of the sanctuary site to understand everything that may be necessary to develop the sanctuary site including any remediation work. Based on our understanding that there had been a gold stamping mill in this location, the ESA I led directly to an ESA II sampling and analysis of land-based soil and groundwater.

The ESA II began in the spring of 2022 and our consultants sent us the results six months later in September, noting that areas that contain elements that might be disturbed by construction work can be mitigated by covering them with a layer of soil, gravel or concrete.

Their report also recommended a geotechnical “review of subsurface conditions at the site in relation to the site development plans” and a follow-up study to analyze terrestrial groundwater. The results of this, which we received in May 2023, led to an ESA III study of submerged soils and invertebrates.

The ESA III study

The ESA III study began in July 2023 with a professional dive team collecting 18 core samples from the seabed.

The study team was joined by Wayne T. Joy of Deep Perspective Diving, who volunteered his time to join the team. Wayne’s remarkable photos of the fish, the crabs and all the other animals, grasses, sea plants and diverse life forms demonstrate what a robust and vibrant seascape it will be for whales coming from marine parks.

Summary of the work

A total of 27 sediment samples were collected from several locations across the site, including the on-site pond and surrounding wetland areas. The team collected a total of 21 marine sediment samples, including three coastal/intertidal locations, along with six terrestrial sediment samples.

Twelve of the marine sediment samples were collected into Shelby tubes (i.e., cores) that were 25cm long. In the other six cases, where insufficient sediment thickness or if bedrock or other large granular sediment was encountered, the available surface sediments were collected directly into glass sample jars provided by the laboratory. All Shelby tube sediment samples were kept in cool storage prior to submission to the laboratory.

Alexandra Vance, our Nova Scotia Project Manager, supervised the work and explained the work of the dive team in the following Q&A.

Q: This has been a long series of studies. It even took three months after the end of the second ESA II for us to be able to start the ESA III. What was the delay?

A: There are all kinds of unexpected delays in a project for which the governmental agencies have no precedent. In this case, because the ESA III studies would involve taking core samples from the seabed, we needed two separate permits from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables – one for sediment and water, and another for invertebrates. We applied for the marine sampling (sediment and water) permit back in April 2022, but it expired in December before we got our marine invertebrate permit, so we had to re-apply. We got the permit renewed in June 2023 and brought the dive team to the sanctuary site to execute the sampling in July.

There are all kinds of unexpected delays in a project for which the governmental agencies have no precedent. Q: How long do results generally take for these kinds of tests?

A: Our consulting firm told us that it would likely be six weeks for the laboratory to get back preliminary results and that those would be very crude results, just a large Excel file with lots of numbers. It would take a few more weeks to synthesize those results into a report that we can actually interpret. So, I’d say we’re looking at mid-October at the latest.

Q: What are we expecting to see in the results?

A: We’re probably going to see some level of metals near the shore adjacent to where we know there was the gold stamping mill. So, we would expect that some of these will have washed into the water from rainfall and general run off. And we would expect to see some deposition in the ground water on that shoreline adjacent to the gold stamping mill and in the adjacent submerged soil. Which is why we’re doing these analyses.

Q: What steps will we have to take regarding whatever we find?

A: We already know about the areas that are on land. Government standards require that any areas that are going to be exposed will need to be covered with a layer of soil, gravel or concrete.

You obviously can’t do just that in the ocean. That’s why we want to know whether some of the soil has washed away and if so, how much of it may have washed away.

Q: Talk a little about the core samples that we took.

A: We took samples from the seabed that went about 25 centimeters deep. You can see them in the photo that one of the divers took. It’s a metal tube with two rubber caps: one on top and one on bottom. You take that metal core tube, place it on the seabed at the bottom, and use a rubber mallet to hammer it in. Then you put the top cap on to keep the soil from leaking out when the tube is pulled from soil before the bottom cap is attached to the tube.

The divers had to try different things to use as mallets because using the same one at each place didn’t always work, especially when they got to harder mud. But they definitely got the hang of it by the end.

Q: There’s a lot of gear involved in the diving work. Can you explain some of it?

A: There’s two different kinds of scuba. One is where you bring the air tank on you; the other is where it’s on the surface or in this case, the air tank is on the boat. The orange, the blue and the yellow lines have his air (called the umbilical), his communications, and a rope that‘s tethered to him.

In one of the photos, you can see he’s got two lights, one on either side of his helmet. One of them has a camera on top of that. And inside his helmet is a two-way communication so he can speak freely back to the captain on the boat.

And in another photo, you see the captain talking to him and watching the video in real time. So, the diver would hold something up and be asking is this one of the invertebrates you want to look at? And I’d be right there next to the captain and saying no, not that one … yes, that one. So, we were actually able to identify exactly what we needed in real time without having the diver bring samples to the surface. We wanted to cause as little disturbance as possible, and to be the least invasive we possibly could to these wonderful creatures.

Incidentally, the photographer wasn’t wearing that gear with the umbilical. His diving suit is very self-contained.

Q: So, back to the core samples.

A: At the lab, they’ll be analyzing both the top half and the bottom half of the core samples separately, so we’re not just homogenizing the entire sample. In each case, we’ll be able to see if there’s a difference between surface sediments and bottom sediments.

Q: Did you select the places where the divers took the core samples based on the geography of the sanctuary site and what we already know from our earlier studies of the tidal flows and currents?

Exactly. If you look at a map of those 18 sample sites, they’re all within our proposed boundary of the site and we have a good relatively randomized swath of our whole site.

Q: Is it possible that ESA III is going to lead to an ESA Four?

A: No. This is the final stage of the ESA series we’ve needed to do – both to meet the governmental requirements in Nova Scotia and to satisfy our own need to be sure that the site is suited to the care of whales. We’ve done lots of other environmental studies, too, and some of them have involved several years of testing – like water temperatures and flows through all seasons over a period of years. There may well be more work to do, but completing the ESA series certainly represents a major milestone.

Also: Take a virtual tour of the sanctuary site – or four of them by boat, by air and by land.  

The post Diving into the Final Environmental Site Assessment appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Plans were actively moving ahead for her to be returned to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, from where she was captured in 1970. But suddenly, last week, she took a turn for the worse, and despite all medical efforts to help her, she went into renal failure.

For many years, Toki has led the way in turning public opinion away from using whales and dolphins as a form of entertainment. Pressing most vigorously for her return has always been the Lummi Nation of the Pacific Northwest, for whom she was always “a member of our family under the waves.” Indeed, it was at the request of the Indigenous-led Sacred Lands Conservancy that the Whale Sanctuary Project developed the beginning of an operational plan for them to accomplish this.

A new life for Toki began to look increasingly possible in March 2022 when a Mexican company, The Dolphin Company, announced that they had purchased the Seaquarium. Their CEO, Eduardo Albor, even commented that his own daughter had told him that Toki should not be living in a concrete tank.

As confidence grew that she could, indeed, be retired from the Seaquarium, environmentalist and philanthropist Pritam Singh and the Whale Sanctuary Project’s Charles Vinick co-founded the non-profit Friends of Toki organization to collaborate with Albor toward enabling Toki to return home. And Albor agreed to having a team of independent veterinarians assess Toki’s health and prescribe treatment as needed.

Over the next few months, although an underlying condition caused her some occasional relapses, Toki’s health greatly improved. As recorded on the Friends of Toki website, she was increasingly energetic, and her care team of veterinarians and trainers thought she could be moved to a seaside sanctuary in her natal waters.

The need for marine parks to work with the sanctuary movement toward retiring their whales is urgent. As news circulated that she might be returned to her home waters, in March, Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts football team, stepped forward to lend his leadership and financial support for the work that would be involved.

And so, in the past few weeks – and after 16 months of world-class care from veterinarians and from caregivers who included members of the Whale Sanctuary team – Toki was not only more physically fit, she was also being introduced to her sling for transport and elements of the new environment in which she would live.

But ultimately it was not to be. Following her death, Toki’s body was lifted from the pool by the very sling that would have transported her home. And plans are now underway by the Lummi Nation and others to bring her back to the Pacific Northwest for a traditional farewell.

As news of Toki’s passing continues to spread around the world, the Jane Goodall Institute is calling for an immediate worldwide ban on the capturing, keeping, and breeding of cetaceans in captivity.

The need for sanctuaries across the world is urgent, as is the need for marine parks to work with the sanctuary movement toward retiring their whales.

It is our aspiration for Toki, as her legacy, that the whale sanctuary we’re establishing in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, be just the first of many more to come.

The post Tokitae the Orca’s Legacy appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This afternoon, Friends of Toki posted the following heartbreaking news:

“Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort, which her full Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively.

“Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon from what is believed to be a renal condition. Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family.

“Those who have had the privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.”

We share in the grief it brings to all of us around the world who were working for her safe return to her home waters.

May she rest in peace.

The post Tokitae the Orca Has Passed Away appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) has adopted and published the first ever set of best practices for cetacean (whale and dolphin) sanctuaries. (See the press statement here.)

The new guidelines are the product of a pioneering collaboration between the Whale Sanctuary Project, the National Aquarium, Sea Life Trust, and Merlin Entertainments.

Accreditation standards for sanctuaries that care for land animals – including elephants, great apes and big cats – have been in place for many years. And now, as public opinion demands an end to keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks for the purposes of entertainment, coastal sanctuaries are being established for their retirement.

The new standards provide the answer to a critically important question: What constitutes a true, authentic sanctuary? And how do you know that a facility that calls itself a sanctuary really is what it claims to be?

Until now, there have been no generally recognized standards for what differentiates a sanctuary from any other facility that houses whales and dolphins.

“These guidelines were established through the combined efforts of top cetacean experts,” says Valerie Taylor, executive director of GFAS, in a press statement issued this week. “They signal a defining moment for the future of captive cetaceans across the globe.”

Four questions you can ask

Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and a neuroscientist with expertise in the psychology of cetaceans, explains that the new guidelines expand on four simple questions that anyone visiting a facility that houses whales and dolphins – or indeed any other kind of animal – can ask themselves:

• Does it engage in trained performances?
• Does it allow visitors to have direct contact with the animals, e.g., swim-with-dolphins programs, petting pools, etc.?
• Does it allow breeding?
• And overall, does it have any priorities other than the well-being of the animals?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it isn’t an authentic sanctuary.

The fact is there are numerous facilities, all over the world, that call themselves sanctuaries in order to attract well-meaning tourists who pay to ride the animals, swim with them, and so forth. Those activities require putting the well-being of the visitors ahead of that of the animals.

“That’s why it’s so important that we have firm standards by which authentic sanctuaries can be accredited,” Dr. Marino explains.

Three aspects of an authentic sanctuary

The new standards define three aspects of an authentic sanctuary: the place where they are located, the principles on which they’re founded, and the practices by which they are governed. Each of these have to prioritize the well-being of each sanctuary resident over human interests.

Place: An authentic sanctuary sets out to approximate a natural cetacean habitat to the fullest extent possible. So, it should be located in a large, natural, coastal area that promotes diverse, natural behaviors and relationships, while conserving the natural ecosystem of the habitat itself.

Principles: At an authentic sanctuary, the welfare of cetaceans takes priority over all other considerations, including visitors, caregivers, scientists and donors.

Practices: Authentic cetacean sanctuaries provide human care (feeding, veterinary check-ups and treatment) essential for health and safety, as do traditional marine parks. Sanctuaries therefore represent the best of both worlds for captive cetaceans.

About the team that formulated the new standards

For the past two years, leaders of the National Aquarium, the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Merlin Entertainments and its sister charity Sea Life Trust have worked together to establish science-based standards that derive from their experience and their aspirations for the animals they serve.

Merlin Entertainments: Since the 1990s, Merlin Entertainments, a British company that specializes in amusement parks, has followed a policy of not having whales and dolphins at any of their facilities. So, when it took over the Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai in 2012, it set about providing a new home for the three beluga whales who were on display there, funding and supporting the work of its partner, the nonprofit Sea Life Trust, to build a sanctuary in Icelandic waters. And while one of the whales did not survive long enough to be retired, the other two, known as Little Grey and Little White, were transferred to their new home in 2019.

“We have seen first-hand the gargantuan effort, cost and sheer amount of care and passion that these sanctuaries take to create and beyond that, to maintain,” says Rob Hicks, Global Director of Animal Welfare at Merlin Entertainments. “They are years in the making and need to be supported and run by a whole network of amazing and dedicated people.”

Sea Life Trust beluga sanctuary

Sea Life Trust is Merlin Entertainment’s nonprofit partner, working globally to protect the world’s oceans and the amazing marine life that lives within them.

The organization’s vision is of a world where our seas are healthy, protected, and full of diverse life.  We own and operate marine wildlife sanctuaries, run inspiring conservation campaigns, and fund projects and education programs that champion the need for plastic-free oceans, sustainable fishing, effective Marine Protected Areas, and an end to over-exploitation of marine life.

The Whale Sanctuary Project works to transform the way people relate to whales and dolphins by bringing an end to their exploitation and by creating seaside sanctuaries, assisting with international marine mammal rescues, and advancing whale and dolphin science.

Right now, with your help, we are creating a gold-standard coastal sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, where cetaceans (whales and dolphins) can live in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat. It is being designed to serve as a model for many more that can then be built all over the world in the coming years.

“Sanctuaries are one of the most important ways we can make reparations to these intelligent, beautiful animals for decades of exploitation,” Dr. Marino says. “That’s why we’re so gratified to be working with other experts and scientists who share the vision of a world in which no dolphins or whales are used for entertainment but are treated with the respect they deserve.”

The creation of this sanctuary is the first step toward our vision of a world in which all cetaceans are treated with respect and are no longer confined to concrete tanks in entertainment parks and aquariums.

Concept design for National Aquarium sanctuary

National Aquarium: In 2016, John Racanelli, President and CEO of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, announced the aquarium’s intention to move the dolphins in its care to an oceanside sanctuary. “As we embarked on this ground-breaking work,” he says, “we quickly determined this was about more than our dolphins alone; it concerned all captive cetaceans.”

John and his team have worked closely with the Whale Sanctuary Project and Sea Life Trust. “It was imperative that we work with other experts in the field to outline the places, principles and practices that would define authentic cetacean sanctuaries. We have a duty to the animals in our care to ensure that when they move, it is to a new home designed around their social, physical and emotional needs, one that comes as close as possible to their native habitat.”

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries: The Global Federation was founded in 2007 by animal protection leaders in response to what they saw in the virtually unchecked and often hidden exploitation of animals for entertainment and profit. Since then, the organization has facilitated the establishing of standards for many other kinds of sanctuaries, including for elephants, great apes, big cats and companion animals.

Executive Director Valerie Taylor looks forward to the new cetacean standards paving the way for many more whales and dolphins to be retired from entertainment facilities. “Like all authentic sanctuaries,” she says. “These ocean havens will be ‘Cetacean Welfare First,’ meaning that the animals’ wellbeing, rather than visitor experience or company profit, will always be the priority in animal care, sanctuary design and overall operations.”

The “Standards for Cetacean Sanctuaries” are published here. And the Global Federation’s press statement can be downloaded here.

The post Professional Standards Published for Whale & Dolphin Sanctuaries appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

“You can’t see a whole lot from aerial photography,” Alexandra Vance explains. “You’ve really got to get in the water if you want to understand the health of the marine environment that the whales will be experiencing and interacting with.”

Alexandra is the Whale Sanctuary’s new project manager for Nova Scotia, and her expertise is especially valuable as we move toward completing the final environmental studies and submitting the results to federal and provincial authorities and Mi’kmaw rights holders and representatives. The multiple studies we’ve been conducting over the past two years are all part of the rigorous and detailed process of permitting that’s required prior to construction.

In this case, Alexandra was conducting her first in-water field survey to advance our understanding of key areas in sanctuary waters and to identify species of marine vegetation. This time she was free diving, without scuba gear. In subsequent dives, she and dive team members will conduct more extensive surveys of sediment structure and size, shallows, depths, slopes and assess the marine vegetation throughout the whole 100 acres of sanctuary waters.

“What I wanted to understand most of all about the sanctuary environment,” Alexandra says, “was the general health of the marine flora and fauna. This includes how long lived some of the marine vegetation is.” Older growth would suggest that Barachois Island, which forms part of the sanctuary boundary, has been acting as a barrier and protector to the seabed behind the island. Newer growth suggests that there may have been some recent disturbance in this part of the bay. So, by observing the marine vegetation with regard to its health and longevity, we can see how well protected the overall environment is for the whales.

“The vegetation is very healthy, and the overall marine ecosystem has been well protected from natural disturbances like hurricanes.”What Alexandra found was, indeed, healthy, long-lived marine vegetation in most areas, along with some more recent younger and sparser marine vegetation in a few others, and some sandy banks close to shore. She also found lots of species like crabs, fish, sea stars and periwinkles. “That means the vegetation is very healthy,” she explains, “and that the overall marine ecosystem has been well protected from natural disturbances like hurricanes. And that’s primarily because it’s been well protected behind the island.”

Alexandra is especially well-suited to her work for the Whale Sanctuary. “I spent my childhood playing marine biologist on the shores of the Maritime provinces with the Atlantic Ocean all around. That’s what shaped my lifelong passion for marine science and conservation.” She went on to achieve a BSc with a double major in Biology and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University. And after that, for her master’s degree in marine management, she researched the relationship between eelgrass and bivalve aquaculture at various spatial scales. “It all gave me a special insight and appreciation for the complexity of local marine ecosystems.”

The updated information we gathered from this underwater survey is an essential part of our work with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans and with Mi’kmaw rights holders and representatives as part of the permitting process. It also helps us understand what the whales will experience in their new life at the sanctuary.

Although environmental surveys will always be a necessary aspect of our annual work, once permitting is completed, Alexandra will assist in coordinating the construction of the sanctuary net, the various buildings (animal care, veterinary, maintenance, etc.) and infrastructure.

The post Taking a Dive at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

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Miami Seaquarium, Philanthropist Jim Irsay and the Friends of Lolita Announce Historic Initiative; Join Forces to Return Beloved Orca, Lolita, from Miami Seaquarium to Her Home Waters

For the first time ever, a private company with marine mammals under human care and an animal welfare organization, create a legally binding agreement with one goal – bring the opportunity to return Lolita, the sole killer whale at Miami Seaquarium, to her home waters – with all of these efforts supported by a generous financial contribution from a leading philanthropist.

Miami, FL – March 30, 2023 – The Miami Seaquarium, which recently came under the management of The Dolphin Company, the most experienced company with marine mammals in the world, has entered into a formal and binding agreement with Friends of Lolita, a non-profit organization co-founded by environmentalist Pritam Singh, to bring to life the dream of returning Lolita to an ocean sanctuary. This extraordinary collaboration has the life-transforming possibility to change Lolita’s future thanks also to a generous contribution from philanthropist Jim Irsay, the owner & CEO of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company; Pritam Singh, environmentalist, philanthropist and co-founder of Friends of Lolita; and Jim Irsay will work together to make the relocation a reality.

‘It has always been our commitment at The Dolphin Company that we place the highest priority on the well-being of animals, above all else,” said Mr. Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company. “Finding a better future for Lolita is one of the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium. With the help of Jim Irsay and Pritam Singh, we are bringing that dream, the dream of returning Lolita to her home waters, closer than ever.”

“I am excited to see that, regardless of different positions, we can make this extraordinary agreement happen based on mutual respect and confidence between all parties,” added Mr. Albor. “Working with the same objective, many other organizations can achieve great things when both parties focus on common goals, rather than different views, and make feasible something that before was a hopeless dream by accepting each other as allies. We have the same goal and now the world will see, amazing things are possible when we listen and work together.”

“The story of Lolita the orca has been near and dear to my heart. I am proud—and enthusiastic—to play a role in finally returning Lolita to her native Pacific Northwest,” said Jim Irsay, Owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts.

“It is a sacred privilege to share in the mission of caring for and bringing home Lolita, our beloved one,” said Pritam Singh, Co-Founder of Friends of Lolita. “My thanks to all the team, particularly Eduardo Albor, Jim Irsay and Raynell Morris, for all their efforts and support.”

The impact of this first-ever, formal and binding agreement demonstrates that different organizations, that in the past might be working against each other, can successfully work together, proving that maintaining strong ethics, and respect for the animals under their care, means a better outcome for every animal.

“We certainly hope that animal welfare leaders around the world can find common ground as we have here in the case of Lolita,” added Mr. Albor.

We are working toward and hope the relocation will be possible in the next 18 to 24 months. At present, Lolita receives round-the-clock care by a team of dedicated, highly-skilled, medical, nutrition and behavior experts. Her most recent independent health and welfare assessment completed by Dr. Tom Reidarson, DVM DACZM, Dr. James McBain, DVM retired and Dr. Stephanie Norman, DVM, Ph-D indicated that her energy, appetite and engagement in daily activities is becoming reasonably stable.

“The leadership of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, since the transfer of ownership of Marine Seaquarium, has been instrumental in bringing our worlds together,” added Mr. Albor. “With the support of all parties, the continued health of Lolita and approvals from the appropriate authorities, we are all committed to giving this beautiful orca a new home and a peaceful future.”

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Press Contact:

The Dolphin Company, press@thedolphinco.com
Friends of Lolita, cvinick@mac.com
Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts, steve.campbell@colts.com

About Miami Seaquarium and The Dolphin Company:

For more than 28 years, The Dolphin Company has provided “the experience of a lifetime” to more than 16 million visitors in its 32 parks, dolphin habitats and marinas around the world. With presence in Mexico, the Caribbean, the United States, Argentina and Italy, The Dolphin Company offers exciting activities that provide unique, memorable experiences while raising awareness among its visitors about the importance of animal welfare and the preservation and care for the environment.

About Friends of Lolita:

Friends of Lolita, Inc. is a Florida non-profit corporation co-founded by philanthropist and environmentalist Pritam Singh and Charles Vinick with leading marine mammal scientists, Dr. Roger Payne, Dr. Diana Reiss, and Lummi elder, Raynell Morris. In an extraordinary collaboration with The Dolphin Company, Friends of Lolita is leading this wonderful effort to return Lolita, the orca also known as Toki, from the Miami Seaquarium back to an ocean habitat in her home waters in the Pacific Northwest. With renowned marine mammal veterinarians Dr. Jim McBain, Dr. Tom Reidarson and Dr. Stephanie Norman, and a team of experienced trainers, it is a sacred privilege for Friends of Lolita to share in the mission of providing the best care and quality of life for Lolita.

About Jim Irsay:

Indianapolis Colts Owner & CEO Jim Irsay this year embarks on his 52nd season with the organization and the NFL. His affiliation with the Colts dates back to 1972 when his father, Robert Irsay, acquired the team. Irsay took the helm of the franchise in 1995, becoming sole owner in 1997. Going into his 29th season as the leader of the Colts, Indianapolis has earned 10 division championships, two Super Bowl appearances and the team’s fourth world championship with a victory in Super Bowl XLI. Irsay also oversees the team’s extensive community and philanthropic efforts. Under Irsay’s leadership, the Colts have been committed to improving the lives of people in Indiana and beyond by helping build a healthy, inclusive and compassionate community through meaningful outreach, projects and partnerships.

The post Historic Initiative to Return Orca Lolita to Home Waters appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The conference will convene local leaders, residents, community and national organizations interested in the health of the orca Tokitae (aka “Lolita”), including Miami-Dade County officials and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Friends of Toki was founded in February 2022 by entrepreneur and conservationist Pritam Singh and Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Its mission is to collaborate with The Miami Seaquarium, The Dolphin Company and Mayor of Miami-Dade County in providing the best care and quality of life for Tokitae, the orca who has been in captivity at the Seaquarium for more than 50 years.

Note re. funding for Tokitae: While several members of the Whale Sanctuary Project are participating in Tokitae’s care, funding for this work, including for staff time, is covered fully and exclusively by Friends of Toki’s co-founder Pritam Singh. The Whale Sanctuary Project is neither raising nor accepting funds for this work.

Friends of Toki to Host a Conference in Downtown Miami about the Status of Tokitae, the Orca living at Miami Seaquarium

Media contact: Charles Vinick, charles@friendsoftoki.org

MIAMI, FL – On Tuesday, December 13th, Friends of Toki (formerly known as “Friends of Lolita”) will host the “Toki: Present and Future” Day of Listening conference, at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami. The conference will convene local leaders, residents, community and national organizations interested in the health of the orca Tokitae (aka “Lolita”), including Miami-Dade County officials and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to report on all that has been done for Toki in the last eight months by Friends of Toki and so many others, all in collaboration with The Dolphin Company; we must begin to openly talk, and listen to one another, about her future,” said Pritam Singh, founder of Friends of Toki. “For years, people who have been concerned about her future have been communicating on social media and in small groups. It is time to have these conversations more widely so that we can all understand the issues and explore the possibilities.”

Under the leadership of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County successfully oversaw the transfer of ownership of the Miami Seaquarium to The Dolphin Company. Mayor Cava also worked with both Friends of Toki and The Dolphin Company to allow an independent veterinary exam to assess the orca’s health.

“The partnership between The Dolphin Company and the Friends of Toki has led to additional veterinary care for Tokitae (“Lolita”) and marked a new era of transparency at the Miami Seaquarium,” said Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County. “This conference will generate both good will and good ideas, cementing trust through conversation with residents and stakeholders. Together, we’ll continue working to ensure the highest quality care for Toki.”

Since April, Friends of Toki and The Dolphin Company have created an unprecedented collaboration to share their expertise, personnel and resources to care for Tokitae. “Friends of Toki are very grateful to Mr. Eduardo Albor, the CEO of The Dolphin Company, for his remarkable support of all of these efforts,” added Mr. Singh.

“In these last few months, with the financial support of Pritam Singh, Friends of Toki have provided additional veterinary care for Toki, assisted in upgrading her life support systems to improve the water quality in her pool, and created an expanded enrichment plan now being implemented with our experienced staff and her Miami Seaquarium training team,” stated Charles Vinick, co-founder of Friends of Toki. “At the conference, we will present an expansive report on Toki’s health including everything that is being done to provide her with the highest quality of life we can in the circumstances in which she has lived for so many years.”

The entire conference will be livestreamed for the public and there will be a public comment session from 1PM to 3PM where everyone is welcome to come and share their ideas about Toki’s future.

Interested individuals and organizations who would like to attend the conference are invited to contact info@friendsoftoki.

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Three years later, what a pleasure it is to see Zina, one of the orcas from that infamous “whale jail”, swimming confidently in the Sea of Okhotsk with a full pod of other orcas.

This video clip, excerpted from the new BBC nature series “Frozen Planet II” and narrated by David Attenborough, was captured by members of a film crew off the east coast of Russia. While filming an orca pod, they suddenly notice that one of the whales is sporting a satellite tag at the base of her dorsal fin. Could this really be one of the whales from the Whale Aid Russia rescue?

Zina is sporting a satellite tag at the base of her dorsal fin.

Yes, the tag indicates that she is indeed one of them. And Grigory Tsidulko, a member of the film crew who was also a member of our Whale Aid team, notes that visual identifiers on her body are a clear match to a photo of Zina that was taken at the “whale jail” (as Russian media first dubbed the facility).

What we cannot know for sure is whether the pod is her original family or if she’s been adopted by a new one. Either way, she is clearly integrated with the family, and everyone who was involved in this remarkable rescue effort will have their hearts jumping for joy to see this.

More about Zina and the other whales in a moment. But first, a brief cautionary note on the commentary in this video clip:
These 97 whales were excellent candidates for being returned to the open ocean because they had spent their formative years growing up with their families and had only been in captivity for a period of months. The situation is very different for whales who were born in concrete tanks or have lived most of their lives in captivity, and have not grown up in a natural family, nor even learned how to care for themselves. They cannot – as is suggested in the video – be released into the open ocean. The right solution for them is to be transferred to sanctuaries, where they can enjoy a life that’s close to nature while still receiving human care.

More about Whale Aid Russia – the biggest whale rescue in history

The full story of Whale Aid Russia is told here. It goes roughly as follows:

Whales at the whale jail were beginning to suffer from frostbite.

In November 2018, the Russian media became aware of a largely secret operation being conducted in a quiet area of the country’s Far East coast known as Srednyaya Bay, about 115 miles north of Vladivostok. The compound included a series of small, netted enclosures containing more than 100 orcas and beluga whales. The pens were already starting to freeze over and the beluga whales were beginning to show signs of frostbite.

As news of this “whale jail” began to spread through the Russian media and, in turn, the international media, vigorous protests erupted at home and abroad. A network of Russian animal protection groups launched a petition that quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Letters of protest poured into the Kremlin.

As soon as the Whale Sanctuary Project learned about the whale jail, our executive director Charles Vinick, Jean-Michel Cousteau of Ocean Futures Society, David Phillips of Earth Island Institute, and Roger Payne of Ocean Alliance wrote to President Putin, offering our collective assistance in assessing the condition of the whales with a view to helping return them to the ocean.

Governor Oleg Kozhemyako (left) with Charles Vinick and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Our team was then invited to Russia, initially by Oleg Kozhemyako Governor of Primorsky Territory, where the whales were being held. Subsequently the federal government issued visas to the team to come to Moscow and meet with the Department of Natural Resources & the Environment and other agencies to determine what could be done for the whales.

After those meetings, we traveled to Vladivostok, on Russia’s Far East coast, where Gov. Kozhemyako, introduced us to his team so that we could assess the welfare of the whales during our visit to Srednyaya Bay, where the whale jail was located.

We reported that we had identified no scientific reasons why animals at the whale jail could not be rehabilitated and released.Following the visit, we provided a detailed report to the Russian government, concluding that “we have not identified any scientific reasons why any individual animals cannot be rehabilitated and released.”

Shortly after this, and in consultation with our Whale Aid team, the government began a rehabilitation program in preparation for the whales to be returned to the region of the Sea of Okhotsk, from where they had been captured.

President Putin announces the return of the first whales to their ocean home.

On June 20th, 2019, President Putin announced on Russian TV that the first group of orcas and belugas had just begun their journey back to the ocean. Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev added that the government also intended to clamp down on the capture of whales.

And on November 10th, the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries & Oceanography reported that it had carried out the release of the last 31 whales.

The rescue and release of 97 captive whales was a remarkable and historic achievement, in which many people played a key role, including:

• The Russian activists who brought the plight of these whales to the world’s attention and maintained steady pressure for their release;
• The expert members of the international team assembled by the Whale Sanctuary Project to assess the health of the whales in their sea pens and recommend protocols for their release;
• The Russian scientists whose expertise was critically important to the releases;
• Our Executive Director Charles Vinick, who steered the whole Whale Aid Russia operation;
• Jean-Michel Cousteau, who opened doors to the highest levels of the government;
• And the generous supporters of the Whale Sanctuary Project, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Check out the full story of Whale Aid Russia on the Whale Sanctuary Project website here.

The post Orca from 2019 Whale Aid Rescue Spotted with Pod appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Port Hilford Bay, where the Whale Sanctuary site is located, is a sheltered area. But over the past two years of environmental assessments, starting with Hurricane Teddy in September 2020, we have been monitoring all kinds of weather and taking photos and video at two specific locations so we can see all the variations in wave heights and surges.

Taking these kinds of observations is just one of the many environmental site assessments that are essential to the viability of the sanctuary and to the safety of the whales and their caregivers who will live there.

Many of them are also required by law.

Over the last two years, these studies have included documenting water depths, testing the water chemistry, salinity, and temperature gradients, and studying currents, tides, waves and surges. (Check out this post for examples of some of them.)

We do this not only to understand the environment for the whales and the sanctuary infrastructure, but to provide data to government agencies for the many permits that are required for a project of this magnitude. Some of these data require documentation through every season over a two-year period.

Governmental requirements in Nova Scotia.

Development projects in Nova Scotia require various levels of environmental site assessment and the Whale Sanctuary Project is no exception. In addition, in the areas where we will be constructing our support buildings, we need to know the structural integrity of the land, the depth of the water table and, frankly, everything that could impact our building footprints and the work we will be doing on site.

Our test results have shown that we have good water quality.For a whale sanctuary, the health and welfare of the whales is the highest priority. So, our initial studies, starting in 2020 and continuing through every season, focused on water quality. Our water quality sampling in the bay and in areas where freshwater drains into the bay have been extensive, and our test results have shown that we have good water quality.

We’ve known since we selected Port Hilford Bay for the sanctuary site that the community of Wine Harbour was an area of historical gold mining from the 1880s to the 1930s. So initially, members of our team reviewed the publicly available data and the government records on where the gold mining was concentrated.

We engaged consultants to conduct an environmental site assessment.

Specifically, we wanted to know where gold mines shafts were located, where remnants of gold mine tailings remain on the 30 acres of sanctuary lands, and what impact, if any, these could have either on the soils or on the submerged soils in the waters where the sanctuary will be located.

To complete these analyses, we engaged consultants to conduct an environmental site assessment – an ESA II – on the 30 acres of land as well as on the submerged land within the sanctuary 100-acre footprint. The land-side work has been completed and has identified mine shafts that have been filled, others that remain unfilled, and analyzed soils in test pits dug throughout the property. The results of this work now enable us to move on to an ESA III to see whether there are any land-side areas that may require any site mitigation for our buildings.

Permits for permits

In preparing to take the 18 core samples of submerged soils (a core is similar in size to a 16 oz water bottle) our consultants were surprised to learn that a permit from the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables (DNRR) would be required for this work. We applied for the permit in April with our consultants assuming this would be a straightforward permit and that they could do their work in May or early summer. Unfortunately, it took almost five months, until late August, for DNRR to let us know that in advance of issuing the permit to take these 18 core samples, we would be required to undertake an Archeological Resource Impact Assessment (ARIA) as a part of First Nation consultation. We have now initiated the ARIA and will have to see how long that takes and when the permit for the 18 core samples can be issued.

The whale sanctuary is a first-of-its-kind project and there is no existing documentation that outlines all the necessary steps.(One might reasonably ask why we didn’t learn of this earlier. The answer is that the whale sanctuary is a first-of-its-kind project in North America and there is no existing documentation that would outline all the necessary steps. This is the case for us, and it is the case for the agencies that are required to oversee and permit each aspect of the project approval. This example demonstrates how complex and time-consuming the process is.)

Meanwhile, we have embarked on more detailed work on those areas where we already know there was historical gold mining. Our research to date indicates that that any contamination that may exist in these areas can be mitigated for our development purposes.

Geotechnical engineering

Other tests of soil, rock and sediment, known as geoengineering, include learning where and how best to anchor the net that will surround the sanctuary waters.

Our perimeter net will extend approximately one mile through the water, from Rocky Point and around the 100 acres of sanctuary water to the tip of Barachois Island. It will be a state-of-the-art structure that has to be anchored to the seabed and constructed in a way that can comfortably withstand hurricane-force winds and currents, as Nova Scotia experienced in Hurricane Fiona. (For more about the net and the structure that supports it, along with other diagrams, go here.)

Our local geotechnical engineers are working with net system designers to align the net systems design with local conditions based on the hydrodynamic model of the currents, water levels, wave action and sediment transport of the bay that we conducted in 2021 and with the LIDAR study conducted in 2022 to make a digital 3-D representation of the sea floor of the sanctuary.

When will all these studies be completed?

As a member of our Advisory Group, Steve Huxter, recently summed it up in a social media post:

“I’ve been the project manager for a wildlife research study, and a factor that takes time is the approval and permitting process through multiple stakeholders and regulatory networks, not the least of which are Municipal, District, County, Provincial and Federal (multiple ministries) governments. The support of the Port Hilford community and any First Nations stakeholders are equally important … Once submitted, the various ministries will come back with questions, and the back-and-forth with government agencies is seldom as timely as we would like. The data that is needed must be gathered through seasonal changes … Otherwise, the study lacks rigor and accuracy.”

As the first sanctuary of its kind anywhere in the world, this is a pioneering effort that began with a two-year search on both sides of the North American continent for the most suitable location. Everything we learn, as we complete each stage of the project, is not only essential to the construction and operation of this sanctuary; it will also act as a blueprint to inform the creation of other much-needed sanctuaries for captive cetaceans throughout the world.

So, while our objective is still to welcome whales by the end of 2023, we all need to bear in mind that in any new, pioneering effort, there are always considerations that require adjusting our schedule as we go along (as we have had to do through two years of covid-related delays).

The view ahead

None of this work can happen soon enough for the whales who are languishing in concrete tanks and are subject to intolerable conditions.

Yet it is essential to get everything right for the health and safety of those very whales when they are introduced to an entirely new life.

It is also the law.

Earlier this year, we received and executed the Offer of Lease from the Department of Natural Resources & Renewables, which makes available to the sanctuary a total water space of 200 acres. This includes 100-plus acres for the whales, Barachois Island, a security zone around the sanctuary, and the space needed for the anchoring system. The lease requires that all permits be issued, and that various terms and conditions be met.

This is also an expensive project, and one that is only possible thanks to our generous supporters who make possible each stage of the site development work.

We greatly appreciate the grants we have received to purchase the sanctuary lands, the recent pledge of $5 million that will enable us to begin construction as soon as permitting is complete, and the support of the many individuals who donate to the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we look forward, as you do, to welcoming the first whales to their new life.

The post Update on Environmental Assessments at the Sanctuary Site appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit the taking, importation, or exportation of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales and false killer whales for the purpose of public display. It further amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit any breeding of these species for future public display.

The bill also specifically allows exemptions for animals being transported to a sanctuary setting or released to the wild.

The SWIMS Act was introduced by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and is co-sponsored by Reps Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), and Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.).

Rep. Adam Schiff

“Whales are among the most intelligent, fascinating, and beautiful creatures in the world,” said Rep. Schiff. “And they deserve to live freely in their natural habitats – not in captivity where their lives are defined by the four walls of a concrete tank.”

SeaWorld announced in 2016 that it would stop breeding whales and that those now in captivity will be its last. “The federal government should expand on this example,” said Senator Feinstein, “and prohibit all new captive whales for purposes of entertainment.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project has formally endorsed the SWIMS Act. “We are very pleased to be supporting this bill,” said Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Whales are among the most cognitively complex of all animals. Confining them to life in a concrete tank is truly unbearable for them.”

Other organizations endorsing the SWIMS Act are the Animal Welfare Institute, Animal Defenders International, Born Free USA, Nonhuman Rights Project, Michelson Center for Public Policy, Cetacean Society International, Compassion Works International, Earth Island Institute, Endangered Species Coalition, FOUR PAWS USA, Oceanic Preservation Society, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Performing Animal Welfare Society, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Three years ago, Canada passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which phases out the captivity of all cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in Canada, except for rescues, rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or cetaceans’ best interests. At a webinar last month, Dr. Marino brought together some of the people who worked on that bill for a discussion of whether such a bill could be passed in the United States.

“It took four years of hearings and debates in the Canadian Parliament,” she noted. “But the final vote in the House of Commons was overwhelmingly in favor. Now we have the opportunity to end captivity of whales in the United States and we thank Rep. Schiff and his colleagues, and we look forward to a time when all orcas and beluga whales who are on display in the United States have been retired to sanctuaries.”

Here is the full text of the SWIMS Act:

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In the webinar, Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Charles Vinick, our Executive Director, answered questions ranging from when the sanctuary will be ready to welcome the first whales to how they will adapt to their new environment, and from what happens if there’s a break in the perimeter net to what kinds of employment opportunities there will be.

Here is a video recording of the webinar:

Before turning to the general Q&A, Charles brought viewers up to date on some recent contacts we’ve had with Marineland Canada, an entertainment park that holds about 40 beluga whales and the lone orca Kiska. Most recently, last week we had an in-person discussion with Marineland about the possibility of transferring whales from their facility to the sanctuary at the appropriate time. The meeting was cordial and positive, and we even set some dates to meet after the first of the year.

Three days later, however, the Niagara police charged Marineland with using whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, which is prohibited under the federal government’s anti-captivity laws. And rather than responding to these charges directly, Marineland apparently tried to deflect the attention of the news media by sending them an extensive document they had written about the suitability of the Whale Sanctuary site at Port Hilford Bay.

One section of their document raises questions about environmental pollution in the bay due to gold mining in the 1860’s through the 1930’s, and the closing of the bay to shellfish fishing. Charles addressed this question, saying that we have been studying the water for more than 18 months, that we have yet to find any significant issues in the bay waters, and that we will continue to share all our findings with the government regulators to ensure that there are no risks to whales who may come to the sanctuary.

(We should perhaps also note that it’s a bit ironic that earlier this year, an inspection of Marineland by Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services found that marine mammals at the facility were in distress due to poor water quality.)

Charles and Lori then turned to the general Q&A. Your questions are always welcome, and we look forward to keeping you up to date with more “Ask Us Anything” webinars in the year ahead.

Thank you for being part of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and we wish you and yours a very Happy Holiday and a good New Year.

The post Our Year-End “Ask Us Anything” Webinar appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

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Because of the COVID virus, travel to and from Canada has been restricted since March. And while teleconferencing has certainly been very helpful all year, there’s just no substitute for being on the ground/ocean and working directly with our amazing Canadian team of staff, volunteers and supporters. So, we’re all very appreciative of the Canadian government giving us permission for this visit.

We’ll have more news soon of everything that was accomplished. But meanwhile, and just before he had to return home, Charles taped this brief message from the wharf that overlooks the sanctuary site.

Please take a moment to make your Holiday donation. Together we can create a gold-standard sanctuary that gives captive whales a new home and a new life in this wonderful, natural environment.

Thank you, and all good wishes for a safe and peaceful Holiday.

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In response to these reports, Jean-Michel Cousteau of Ocean Futures Society and Charles Vinick of the Whale Sanctuary Project have sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support a ban on the capture of cetaceans for cultural and educational purposes. Our letter, which you can read below, expresses our hope that Russia will be a world leader in protecting whales and dolphins from the cruel practice of live capture of cetaceans for entertainment.

Last year, through our Whale Aid Russia program, Cousteau and Vinick led an international team to Russia to advise and assist the Russian Government on the release of orcas and belugas held in Srednyaya Bay. We were pleased to see the release of 10 orcas and 87 belugas back into wild ocean habitat and to see an announcement by the Vice Premier that the Russian Government decided to ban capture of cetaceans for cultural-educational purposes.  We were also pleased to see this announcement supported by Russian citizens, who gathered over 100,000 signatures through the “Russian Public Initiative” platform in favor of this ban.

Below is the letter.
(At the bottom of the page, use up/down arrows to go to next page and plus/minus symbols to zoom in or out.)

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October 24, 2019

Statement from Jean-Michel Cousteau and Charles Vinick

We are pleased to see that the Russian Government, the Scientific Consilium, and the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) continue their efforts to release all the cetaceans held in captivity in Srednyaya Bay before the close of navigation season. Releasing the cetaceans is the best outcome for the welfare of the cetaceans themselves. To date, 10 orcas and 37 belugas have been released, meaning that 50 belugas must still be released. We understand that the Scientific Consilium recommends releasing the belugas in the area of Uspeniya Bay, near Lazovsky Nature Preserve.

This outcome is not ideal for the belugas, since this is not their normal habitat or the area where they were captured. Nonetheless, we trust the intention of Russian government authorities to release the belugas, despite limitations due to the availability of ships, inadequate finances, and weather conditions.

We believe it is very important and call on the Russian government to carry out short- and long-term monitoring of the activity of the 50 belugas after their release; we hope that the location will make it possible to carry out regular visual monitoring of the belugas for a full 30 days after release and actively over the first six months after release. We also hope that visual monitoring will help reduce concerns about threats from North Korean fishing vessels that we understand are poaching in the area and that the Russian government will do what is necessary to protect the belugas from repeat capture.

We also ask the Russian government to include independent Russian observers on both ships conducting the release and to publicize photo- and video-documentation of the beluga release as soon as possible after the release.

Jean-Michel Cousteau
Founder and President
Ocean Futures Society

Charles Vinick
Executive Director
The Whale Sanctuary Project

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Russian authorities have begun the transport of a third group of orcas from the “whale jail” on Russia’s Far East coast to the Sea of Okhotsk, where they will be released into the ocean.

In response to widespread criticism of the lack of transparency during and after the first two releases, the government has invited Greenpeace Russia to observe much (but not all) of this third release. Greenpeace, in turn, has asked the Whale Sanctuary Project to provide recommendations on how to conduct its mission most effectively. (A summary of our recommendations is at the end of this post.)

The lack of transparency has understandably led to a lot of rumor and speculation. So, here is our best understanding of the events of the past month, of the next steps in the government’s plan to return all 10 orcas and 87 belugas to the ocean by this coming fall, and of the Whale Sanctuary Project’s possible participation in future releases.

First, an update on what led to the decision to return the whales to the ocean.

Our visit to the “whale jail” and report to the Russian government

The cetaceans being held at the “whale jail” were captured illegally in the summer of 2018 by a consortium of Russian companies for the purpose of selling them to marine entertainment parks, mainly in China. But in response to global outrage when news broke about the plan, the Russian government intervened.

In April of this year, following our letter to President Vladimir Putin, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment invited Jean-Michel Cousteau and the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) to bring a team to Russia to assess the condition of the whales and to advise the government on a rehabilitation program with a view to their being returned to ocean waters.

Jean-Michel Cousteau (left), Gov. Oleg Kozhemyako and Charles Vinick at signing ceremony in Vladivostok.

After Cousteau and Charles Vinick, Executive Director of WSP, signed an agreement with the Governor of Primorsky region that the whales should be “released back into their natural environment,” we studied the whales in their sea pens in Srednyaya Bay and then submitted our assessment to the Ministry and to the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), along with recommendations for rehabilitating the whales and then returning them to the ocean .

The Russian government accepted a number of our most important recommendations, including that the whales should be returned to ocean waters close to where they were captured and not into Srednyaya Bay where they were being held. However, the government did not accept all our recommendations – for example, that all of the animals should spend some time in a sea pen at their place of release to be sure that they were sufficiently re-adapted to life in the ocean.

On June 20th, during his annual “Direct Line” televised phone-in with the Russian people, President Putin announced that Russia was beginning the process of returning the whales to the ocean. (Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev added that the government would change the law in order to ban hunting whales for “educational and cultural purposes” – a loophole in Russian law used to capture these whales.)

First and second releases

The Russian government contracted with the same companies that had originally captured the whales to transport them to the location of their release.

The first release included two orcas and six beluga whales and involved an 1,100-mile, six-day truck journey to Nikolaevsk on the Amur River for release in the Sea of Okhotsk, close to where they were captured last year.

The transport encountered a severe storm and the operation overall led us to raise serious questions about how it had been conducted.

Three weeks later, three more orcas were transported and released in what was reported to be a considerably smoother operation.

   
Photos supplied by the VNIRO Institute which is overseeing the release on behalf of the Russian government.

Among the positive observations was when two of the orcas – a male and a young female – were lowered into the ocean around Cape Perovskogo in the Sea of Okhotsk. The two remained in the release area, rather than heading straight out to sea, until the third orca, an older female, was lowered into the ocean. She hurried to join the other two, and all three headed out to sea together.

A few days later, however, the crew of a fishing boat reported that an orca had approached their boat and that they had hand-fed her some fish. A photo they’d taken confirmed that she was the younger female, known as Aleksandra. Fortunately, Aleksandra did not continue to look for more food from the fishing boat, and subsequent reports are that she has moved further out to sea where other whales are reported to be.

The third release

On July 30th, the VNIRO Institute announced the launch of a third transport and release that would include three orcas: a large female, a male and a young female.

One of the orcas is loaded onto a ship for transport to the release site. Photo by Greenpeace.

VNIRO added that these three orcas have lived in the same enclosure and represent an established social group; that although they do not appear to be members of the same family, they have developed a stable team relationship whose leader is the larger female; and that the younger female is reportedly about six years old, has a calm and sociable nature and relates well to the other two orcas.

Russian scientists are hopeful that “such a composition of the group increases the chances of a successful return of orcas to their natural habitat, a possible connection with a family of wild relatives or the formation of their own family.”

Russian authorities have invited Greenpeace Russia to observe the release and report on it. Greenpeace, in turn, has asked the Whale Sanctuary Project for input on specifics as to what should be noted during their observations. Our recommendations to Greenpeace include:

• what kinds of videos and photos should be taken before, during and after the transport/release;
• what to observe regarding feeding and hydration of the orcas;
• how they are placed into slings for transfer into and out of their transport crates;
• frequency of changing the water in the crates;
• frequency and type of massages during transport to help exercise their muscles;
• how to listen for unusual vocalizations;
• whether they are able to spend time in a sea pen to acclimate themselves prior to release into the open ocean;
• how long the whales are being followed (preferably up to 48 hours) and by whom.

Will the Whale Sanctuary Project conduct independent observation of future releases?

The VNIRO Institute continues to be in regular contact with the Whale Sanctuary Project team, and we are in ongoing discussions with them about all the concerns that have been raised in the media and elsewhere regarding the releases so far.

For example, while satellite tags attached to each whale can provide daily updates on their locations (although at least one tag is not functioning), more comprehensive monitoring protocols and equipment are needed if we are to know how the released animals are doing and what can be learned for future releases so that the whales are given the best possible chances for success in their return to the wild.

Charles Vinick is also discussing with VNIRO the need for an independent team of observers to monitor the transport/release program, how such a team would operate, and how members of the Whale Sanctuary Project team can provide the most added value to this work.

The post Third Group of Orcas Released from Whale Jail appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

For Immediate Release: July 15, 2019

SEATTLE – Starting July 16, the Whale Sanctuary Project will kick off a series of public meetings across the Salish Sea region to discuss its concept for a home in the San Juan Islands for orcas who are retired from entertainment parks, and that can also serve as a rehab/rescue facility for the endangered Southern Resident orcas.

“Last summer we all had a front row seat to Tahlequah’s ‘tour of grief,’ when she carried her dead baby for 17 days, and then again for the demise of the young orca Scarlet. This is part of an ongoing tragedy that we can’t look away from,” says Dr. Lori Marino, founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Southern Resident orcas continue to struggle for survival, so we need to be able to quickly and effectively assist NOAA in supporting these dire cases, as well as righting a wrong that goes back decades.”

The plight of Southern Resident orcas has led to an all-hands-on-deck emergency, with the Washington state legislature passing numerous pieces of legislation to help our ailing orcas. The Southern Residents’ struggles date back to the 1970s, when, over the course of a decade, about 300 orcas were captured in the Pacific Northwest and sold for profit to entertain tourists in marine parks. The Southern Residents have never recovered from the decimation of their numbers, and their progeny continue to live totally unnatural lives in concrete tanks.

The Whale Sanctuary Project will address both these issues: It will provide a permanent home in a natural habitat for orcas who are retired from entertainment parks. And it will serve as a first line of defense for our ailing wild orcas. Rather than rescue teams having to scramble for a sea pen and veterinary assistance each time a crisis arises with one of the Southern Residents, the sanctuary will be a fully-staffed facility standing by to help any whales who live-strand or need special care so that they can be assisted and returned to their families as quickly as possible. (A rendering of the sanctuary can be viewed here.)

Over the last two years, using nautical charts, computer maps and recommendations from locals, the Whale Sanctuary Project has researched dozens of possible sanctuary locations in the Pacific Northwest.

“We are focusing on four central considerations,” says Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “Physical criteria for the locations themselves; suitability for long-term sanctuary and for rescue and rehabilitation; concerns for wildlife; and compatibility with local communities and other stakeholders. We’ll be discussing all of these during the public meetings, as well as other community questions and concerns.”

The Whale Sanctuary Project is working closely with the people of the Lummi Nation of the Pacific Northwest, for whom the Southern Resident orcas are qw’e lh’ol’ me chen – “the people who live under the water.”

“We are honored to be collaborating with the Lummi Nation as they work to return Sk’aliCh’elh- tenaut (the captive orca Lolita) to her family,” Vinick says, “and to work toward creating a model sanctuary that can also serve free-ranging whales who may need assistance.”

Public Meeting Details (all events are public and open to the media)

Olympia – Tuesday, July 16, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – Capitol Room
415 Capitol Way N
Street parking and small adjacent lot.

Gig Harbor – Wednesday, July 17, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
Ocean5 – Atlantic Ocean Meeting Room
5268 Point Fosdick Dr.
Parking on site.

Seattle – Thursday, July 18, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
Great Hall at Green Lake – Great Hall
7220 Woodlawn Ave NE
Paid underground parking below PCC Community Market (one block from venue)

San Juan Island (Friday Harbor) – Sunday, July 21, 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:30)
Brickworks Event Center
150 Nichols St.
Plaza parking and street parking.

Orcas Island (Eastsound) – Tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
Emmanuel Episcopal Church – Parish Hall
242 Main St.
Street parking.

Lopez Island – Wednesday, July 24, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
Woodmen Hall
4102 Fisherman Bay Rd.
Parking on site.

Please contact us with any questions.

Liz Banse, liz@resource-media.org , 206-261-3185 (m)
Dr. Lori Marino, lorim@whalesanctuary.org
Charles Vinick, charlesv@whalesanctuary.org

The mission of the Whale Sanctuary Project is to establish a model seaside sanctuary where whales and dolphins can be rehabilitated or can live permanently in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat.

###

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The meetings will be held in Olympia, Gig Harbor, Seattle, San Juan Island, Orcas Island and Lopez Island.

A home for retired captive orcas that’s also a rescue & rehab facility.Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, and Charles Vinick, Executive Director, will present their vision for a 60 – 100 acre seaside sanctuary that will serve two purposes: It will care for orcas who have been retired from life in concrete tanks at marine parks and aquariums; and it will act as a full-service veterinary and “urgent care” facility in the San Juan Islands for free-ranging orcas who live-strand or need special assistance in a controlled setting prior to being returned to their pod.

The team is looking forward to making a visual presentation and engaging in discussion with the local communities in the Puget Sound area to hear their input on the sanctuary idea, answer all questions, and discuss all concerns. That’s because any successful sanctuary involves a partnership between the organization creating it and the community that embraces it.

We hope everyone will come out to these meetings to meet Lori and Charles and hear about the Whale Sanctuary Project.

Town Meeting Details

Olympia – Tuesday, July 16, 7pm (doors open at 6:30)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel – Capitol Room
415 Capitol Way N
Street parking and small adjacent lot.

Gig Harbor – Wednesday, July 17, 7pm (doors open at 6:30)
Ocean5 – Atlantic Ocean Meeting Room
5268 Point Fosdick Dr.
Parking on site.

Seattle – Thursday, July 18, 7pm (doors open at 6:30)
Great Hall at Green Lake LLC – Great Hall
7220 Woodlawn Ave NE
Paid underground parking below PCC Community Market (one block from venue)

San Juan Island (Friday Harbor) – Sunday, July 21, 2pm (doors open at 1:30)
Brickworks Event Center
150 Nichols St.
Plaza parking and street parking.

Orcas Island (Eastsound) – Tuesday, July 23, 7pm (doors open at 6:30)
Emmanuel Episcopal Church – Parish Hall
242 Main St.
Street parking.

Lopez Island – Wednesday, July 24, 7pm (doors open at 6:30)
Woodmen Hall
4102 Fisherman Bay Rd.
Parking on site.

Please contact us with any questions.

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June 27, 2019: Serious questions are being raised about the care of the orcas and beluga whales who are being returned to the ocean from the “whale jail” in Russia.

Although our team has not yet received full video and other documentation that will help our specialists assess the condition of the whales, video and photographs from people who were present during the release of the first group of two orcas and six belugas into the Gulf of Sakhalin increased our specialists’ concerns about aspects of the release.

“The health and welfare of the animals has to be the overarching concern.”We are, of course, still pleased that the Russian government made the decision to release the orcas and belugas into the Sea of Okhotsk. As Vice Premier Gordeev said during President Putin’s “Direct Line” phone-in with the Russian people on June 18th, this was the “only right decision.”

However, it appears that the operation did not incorporate the most critical recommendations that the Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team had delivered to the Russian government.

“What appears to have been missing is the kind of detailed contingency planning that’s key to a successful release,” said Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “The logistics in such a large-scale operation are highly complex, and one has to ask whether sufficient time is being provided to ensure the health and welfare of the animals.”

Photos by VNIRO

We have other questions, too. These would include:

• What, if any, rehabilitation of the whales took place prior to transport?
• What plans were in place to mitigate stress on the animals from the six-day truck transport,  and to condition them for release back to the ocean?
• What steps were taken to release the orcas and the belugas at different times and in different places, bearing in mind that these marine mammal-eating orcas are potential predators of beluga whales.
• What surveys, if any, were conducted to make sure that the whales would be released when members of their family and social groups would be nearby?

“The lack of information and data makes it impossible for our international team of specialists to evaluate the severity of these concerns,” Vinick said. “A rehabilitation and release project of this scope and complexity needs experienced, international and Russian specialists, along with independent observers, so that there is full transparency and so that the kind of questions now being raised can be answered.”

The Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team is ready to provide international expertise upon request from the Russian government.

The post Release of First Orcas and Belugas from “Whale Jail” Raises Growing Concerns appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Footage of whales and Whale Aid team by Harry Rabin.

“Along with our Whale Sanctuary Project international team, Charles Vinick and I have been closely following the progress of Russia’s planned release of orcas and belugas illegally caught last year. I want to commend Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials for making the decision to release these orcas and belugas back into the waters where they were captured. As Vice Premiere Gordeyev said last week, this was the ‘only right decision.’

“Six belugas and two orcas have been transported in a long and complex operation. The eyes of the world are focused on this difficult operation. A release of this scale – 10 orcas and 87 belugas – has never been done before.

“This operation is so complicated and so important that Russia must have the best specialists from around the world available to help where needed. I am hearing concerns from the public about the lack of transparency that we have seen so far with the operation.

“I therefore recommend that the Russian government include international specialists and Russian observers. I want to again state that I and our international team are prepared to assist in every way we can. I remember, when I was in Moscow, that Minister of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin said to us directly that we must all be part of a unified team to see this release through to its successful end.

“Let’s do everything in our power to make sure that this is a success, so that President Putin and I can together celebrate the incredible achievement of returning 10 orcas and 87 belugas to their families and to their home. That will be a great day for the oceans and for humanity!”

The post Jean-Michel Cousteau and Whale Sanctuary Project Team on Returning Whales to Ocean appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

June 24, 2019: A paper published today in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior assembles an unprecedented body of evidence to support a clear link between chronic stress and high morbidity and mortality in captive orcas. (Download the complete paper here.)

The paper demonstrates that the poor well-being and high mortality rates of orcas (killer whales) in captive facilities can be explained by known effects of chronic stress and its association with immune system dysfunction, disease and disorder in mammals.

A clear link between chronic stress and high morbidity and mortality.The paper represents a unique collaboration among marine mammal researchers, veterinarians and physicians, who have applied well-accepted scientific models of chronic stress in humans and other animals to extensive evidence for insufficient well-being of orcas living in concrete tanks.

The authors review the neuroscientific, cognitive, behavioral, ecological and physiological make-up of orcas and explicate how each of five inter-related situations inherent to living in marine theme parks and aquariums (social stress, confinement, sensory disturbance, lack of control and boredom) are related to chronic stress and disorders. Examples include:

• Social: Artificially-formed social groups and frequent transfers in and out of facilities disrupt mother-calf bonds, perpetuating a cross-generational cycle of poor maternal care and negative impacts;
• Confinement: Inadequate depth and horizontal space in tanks prevent the expression of species-specific movement and lead to behavioral anomalies and physiological de-conditioning;
• Sensory disturbance: Exposure to loud artificial sounds both above and below the water surface e.g., fireworks, audience noise, construction and filtration system noise creates anxiety and sensory interruption. Additionally, the concrete tank walls create an abnormal acoustic environment;
• Lack of control: Loss of autonomy and control over daily activities leads to the well-known stress-related psychological condition known as learned helplessness, which manifests as depression, lack of motivation, impaired learning, anorexia, and eventual immunocompromise;
• Boredom: Daily monotony and lack of appropriate challenges in such a large-brained complex animal, lead to immobility (increased logging behavior on the surface), depression, irritability and increased anxiety.

“The scientific evidence has been building over the years showing that orcas fare poorly in concrete tanks because of the mismatch between their natural adaptations and life in these facilities,” said neuroscientist Dr. Lori Marino, senior author on the paper.

The authors bring expertise in both marine mammal and human clinical science to articulate a reasonable, empirically-based account of a link between chronic stress and increased morbidity and mortality in orcas kept in concrete tanks.

They demonstrate that because of the intelligence and social complexity of orcas, life in marine theme parks and aquariums is fundamentally at odds with their nature and that a new paradigm is required in their treatment in order to better meet their complex needs.

“Intelligence – meaning cognitive complexity – can be a liability, rather than a buffer, for these animals as they attempt to cope with life in artificial barren settings,” Dr. Marino said.

The authors conclude that increased access to veterinary records would allow this model to be more directly tested for this species.

The post Effects of Chronic Stress on Captive Orcas appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

June 17, 2019

Respected Vladimir Vladimirovich,

I was honored to visit your amazing country and the Primorsky Region in April to work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Primorsky Administration and scientists from VNIRO to assess the health and condition of the orcas and belugas currently held in Srednyaya Bay.

I would like to ask you to please make a final decision ordering the release of all orcas and belugas in the areas where they were captured, as has been recommended as the optimal variant by Russian Consilium scientists and our international team.

If you make such a decision, I would be honored to come to personally meet with you and your team to ensure that this release is executed well and is completed successfully.

With deep personal respect,

Jean-Michel Cousteau.

The post Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Letter to President Putin appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

This first stage of this work included:

• engaging with the Russian government in Moscow and in Vladivostok (close to where the orcas and belugas are being held);
• bringing a team of experts from around the world to assess the condition of the whales;
• and making recommendations to the government for the return of these animals to the open ocean.

Following our report, the government concluded that the whales should not be sold to marine entertainment parks but should be returned to the ocean.

So far so good! And we have now moved to the next stage: How the rehabilitation and release of the whales will be implemented.

Once again, there are significant challenges to be met. They involve the business interests of the companies that captured the whales, the political interests of various government departments, the major funding that will be required and, most important, the interests of the whales themselves.

Earlier this week, Russian authorities announced a new plan that called for the 10 orcas to be released directly into the open ocean adjacent to their sea pens, and for this to be completed by late May/early June.

We do not support this plan and have made it clear that we could not participate in it. Yesterday, we issued a press release in which we listed the many reasons why opening the gates of the sea pens and simply letting the orcas out would be a grave mistake. Just for starters, they all need complete health assessments. Many of them need to be treated for obvious conditions like skin fungal and bacterial infections. And we want to be sure they’re not going to introduce any pathogens to other ocean wildlife.

Also, unless they’re taught the basics of how to catch their own food, they will continue to look to humans – local boaters, fishermen, etc. – for their next meal, which would not be a good situation.

And so, because of these and many other factors, we have called on the government to adopt the comprehensive plan that we presented last month after the Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project team returned from our visit to the sea pens where the whales are being kept.

We have also emphasized that our team remains committed to providing expertise and assistance to facilitate a responsible rehab and release program, and to help mobilize the necessary international resources to implement it. (You can read the statement here.)

Your support of the Whale Aid Russia campaign has brought us to this next, critical stage. We greatly appreciate it, and we’ll keep you updated on how this next stage of the rehab and release program is developing.

The post Whale Aid Russia Begins Stage Two appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

The following press release states that we do not support such a plan for the orcas and could not participate in it. Instead, we call on the government to adopt the comprehensive rehabilitation and re-adaptation plan for the orcas and belugas, which offers the best chances for their successful re-introduction to life in the wild.

A .pdf copy of this press release, in Russian and English, can be accessed here.

Press Release
May 17, 2019

Jean-Michel Cousteau Urges Government of Russian Federation to Reconsider Plan for Release of Orcas Held in Srednyaya Bay

The Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project international team calls on the Russian authorities to re-evaluate the plan to release the orcas in Srednyaya Bay.

The plan announced on Wednesday May 15, 2019, to release the 10 orcas from the holding facility directly into Srednyaya Bay by late May/early June does not take into account the recommendations of our international team of marine mammal specialists, nor does it comply with the optimal release option agreed to by the Working Group of the VNIRO Consilium for adaptation/re-adaptation of orcas and belugas that met on May 14.

“It puts the well-being of these orcas at undue risk and compromises their long-term survival,” Cousteau said. “We cannot support or participate in this plan.”

The most important consideration in the release plan should be the well-being of the orcas and belugas and their long-term survival. The plan must provide for their highest likelihood for successful social reintegration and the highest likelihood of matching the animals with the best habitat for foraging. Returning these orcas and belugas to locations near where they were captured most effectively meets these objectives.

Releasing the orcas in Srednyaya Bay as suggested during a briefing held at the Ministry of Natural Resources on May 15 meets none of these success criteria. And, if done in the short timeline outlined, the plan does not allow sufficient time to re-condition the orcas’ behavior from captivity for life in the wild. Among the risks of this release plan are that the orcas:

1. Will not have proper diagnostics and treatment of the skin lesions they currently exhibit;

2. May introduce invasive pathogens to the environment;

3. Will return to the Srednyaya facility for food;

4. Will become a nuisance to local boaters, fishermen and the public by stealing fish from and getting caught in nets, begging for food, and approaching boats;

5. Will be unsuccessful in re-adapting to the open ocean and may not survive.

A comprehensive plan for the rehabilitation and re-adaptation of the orcas and belugas offers their best chances for successful re-introduction to life in the wild and will address the risks listed above. To maximize opportunities for successful release, the orcas must go through a full rehabilitation plan that includes sufficient time for:

• Complete health assessments and diagnostic tests of each animal, including sampling to identify pathogens and comprehensive morphometrics;
• Treatment of all treatable conditions – such as skin fungal and bacterial infections;
• Improvement of the physical conditioning of the orcas by increasing their pen size to enable better opportunity for exercise;
• Strengthening existing family groupings of orcas by reconfiguring the orcas into pens based on associations in capture records;
• Minimizing human contact by:
  – Disassociating food from people by deploying remote feeding devices and feeding varying amounts (whilst ensuring that the full ‘food base’ for each animal is given) and varying the times of deployment. These modifications all begin to simulate the animals’ natural rhythms and help stimulate the animals’ cognitive abilities;
  – Discontinuing any training and human interaction beyond what is medically necessary for evaluation, treatment and appropriate rehabilitation;
• Decreasing surface-oriented behavior by increased underwater stimulus using enriching natural sources of stimulus, such as seaweed, water flow, bubbles, etc.;
• Final health assessment on all animals prior to release into the wild, to mitigate the potential for the orcas and belugas currently held in Srednyaya Bay to introduce pathogens to the wild population.

Although this rehabilitation program cannot be accomplished in the limited time-frame outlined in the May 15 briefing, it can be initiated immediately while, simultaneously, plans can be made to return these orcas and belugas to locations near where they were captured, where there are associated orcas and belugas, and where there are appropriate and available food sources. We believe that a responsible and thorough release plan can be implemented for both orcas and belugas prior to winter.

Cousteau said his team remains committed to providing expertise and assistance to facilitate a responsible rehabilitation and release program, and to help mobilize international resources should such assistance be needed.

“I believe Russians and people throughout the world will support such a plan,” Cousteau said. “But we cannot support or participate in a release plan that jeopardizes the health, welfare and survivability of these animals.”

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Press contacts:

English language:
Charles Vinick
cvinick@mac.com
+1-805-252-5421 (WhatsApp)

Russian language:
Grigory Tsidulko
gtsidulko@gmail.com
+7-910-441-9841 (WhatsApp)

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The following press release highlights the observations and recommendations that our Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project team has submitted to the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute on Fisheries and Oceanography, which coordinates implementation of fishery research plans and programs in the Russian Federation.

A .pdf copy of this press release, in Russian and English, can be accessed here.

Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team Recommendations for Release of Orcas and Belugas from Srednyaya Bay

Released in Russia on May 15, 2019

A team of world-renowned international and Russian scientists and marine mammal specialists, led by Jean-Michel Cousteau, has prepared detailed recommendations for VNIRO and the Ministry of Natural Resources for the release of orca and belugas, currently held in captivity in Srednyaya Bay, into their natural habitat.

The team underscored that there are numerous reasons to believe that release of the orca and belugas held in Srednyaya Bay would be successful if conducted responsibly and with the welfare of the animals at the forefront of their rehabilitation and release. The team also said that any release must be preceded by a period of rehabilitation, designed specifically for the demands of the release strategy and the individual welfare needs of each cetacean.

The team evaluated three different options for potential release of the orcas and belugas. The team also provided an overview of transport and release options and key considerations for successful release.

The team determined that release of the orcas and belugas in reported capture (or adjacent) locations near associated wild populations and available prey yields the highest prospects for successful long-term survival. This approach has the highest likelihood for successful social reintegration, the highest likelihood of successful foraging, is the most scientifically robust option, and takes into account the widest range of welfare considerations for long-term success.

A second option, if capture records are not accurate, is to release the orcas and belugas in strategic locations based on records of conspecifics and prey availability. This approach provides benefits of suitable habitat with suitable prey availability, and whales released near conspecifics, increasing the chance that they could potentially integrate into the wild groups.

The team reviewed a third option – release directly in Srednyaya Bay – and identified a high number of significant risks. Although this approach is logistically simple and inexpensive, this approach includes risks of challenges with negative behaviors and habituation of the orcas and belugas, including the potential for them to keep returning to the area. The cetaceans may develop nuisance behaviors, such as removing fish from lines and nets. Additionally, aggressive behaviors observed in some of the orcas at the Srednyaya Bay facility may continue post-release if the animals are released in the nearby area, which could pose a concern for people and small vessels. Release in Srednyaya Bay is least likely to allow for social reintegration, leads to likely long-term costs, and diminished potential for survival of the cetaceans.

Following its review, the Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team recommends:

• Complete health assessments, medical diagnostics, and treatment of any ailments prior to release to prevent transmission of unknown pathogens to wild populations;
• Rehabilitation in advance of release for both the orcas and belugas;
• Transport to reported capture (or adjacent) locations near associated conspecifics and available prey;
• Acclimatization period in remote sea pens;
• Release from remote sea pens;
• Post-release monitoring.

The team stated that for maximum chances of success, it is imperative that release of all releasable orca and beluga happen during the 2019 summer season. Due to the tight timeline to accomplish release this year, a decision regarding release and implementation of a responsible strategy needs to be initiated as quickly as possible.

“The science is clear,” said Jeff Foster, Scientific and Field Team Leader for the Jean-Michel Cousteau Team. “Releasing the orcas and belugas in or near their capture locations would be the most responsible approach, and provides the highest likelihood of successful release and long-term survival.”

“The Russian Government has an opportunity to be a global environmental leader by releasing the orca and beluga in a responsible way,” said Jean-Michel Cousteau. “I am confident that Russian government officials, when they look at the science, will decide on what’s best for the orcas and belugas – to release them back to the habitat from where they came. That will be a great day for the ocean, and for our humanity.”

Press contacts:

English language:
Charles Vinick
cvinick@mac.com

Russian language:
David Gordon
davidkgordon@protonmail.com

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“The general recommendation of the scientists now is that the whales should be released around the same location where they were captured,” Bizikov said, referring to the northwest region of the Sea of Okhotsk.

The recommendation of the Consilium mirrors the assessment that the Jean-Michel Cousteau / Whale Sanctuary Project team delivered to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment last week, in which we stated:

“Preliminary results of the behavioral analyses conducted by the Team show that all orcas and belugas in the holding facility at Srednyaya Bay can be rehabilitated and released. The Team has not identified any scientific reasons why any individual animals cannot be rehabilitated and released.”

The Consilium recommends that none of the whales should be released before June because the northwest area of the Sea of Okhotsk will still have ice cover until then.

As a result of this recommendation, we look forward to working with Russian authorities and scientists to formulate strategies for the release of the whales, starting with a complete analysis of what each individual whale in Srednyaya Bay will need for the purposes of rehabilitation, re-adaptation and then release back to the wild.

The post Russian Consilium Mirrors Assessment of Whale Sanctuary Team appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Preliminary Assessment and Recommendations Regarding Orcas and Belugas Held in Srednyaya Bay (Primorsky Region)

An Executive Summary
Prepared by the Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team
April 22, 2019

The Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team (the “Team”) was invited by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation and by the Governor of Primorsky Krai to visit the Srednyaya Bay (Primorsky Region) facility, where orcas and belugas are held, to assess their condition and provide recommendations on their rehabilitation and feasibility of their return to their natural habitat.

Team members have extensive scientific and field research experience on rescue of cetaceans in the wild, developing rehabilitation plans and protocols, and releasing cetaceans back to their natural environments.

The team prepared and submitted a preliminary assessment and recommendations to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Primorsky Administration, and to the VNIRO-coordinated Consilium, which has been charged with making scientifically-based recommendations about the fate of the orcas and belugas held at the Srednyaya Bay facility to authorized Russian government bodies. The preliminary nature of the Team’s assessment is dictated by time constraints and the request to provide the team’s assessment in advance of the Consilium meeting planned after April 15, 2019. Limited data has been analyzed in the available timeframe. A final report will be compiled upon completion of full data analysis.

Data collection was limited due to restricted access to the animals. However, basic behavioral (via photo and video imagery above and underwater), as well as acoustic recordings (above and underwater), were obtained.

Preliminary results of the behavioral analyses conducted by the Team show that all orcas and belugas in the holding facility at Srednyaya Bay can be rehabilitated and released. The Team has not identified any scientific reasons why any individual animals cannot be rehabilitated and released.

Team members observed that the holding facility appeared to be kept clean and organized. However, they documented insufficient space in the pens and too high density of animals, leading to significant overcrowding. Most (if not all) individuals exhibited skin issues and/or mouth sores indicative of other potential health concerns, which can and should receive diagnostic work-ups and treatment as part of individually developed rehabilitation plans. Team members noted that the facility does not have an adequate location to quarantine sick or injured animals, and also noted biofouling on nets.

The team noted that the orcas and belugas generally appear well fed, have apparently received only minimal training, and exhibit no indicators suggesting that they cannot be released into the wild after appropriate short-term medical and behavioral rehabilitation. Orcas may require just 1-2 months of rehabilitation. Most belugas may also require only short-term rehabilitation. However, some belugas in the younger age range may potentially require longer rehabilitation before release. Duration estimates for rehabilitation are based on the limited access to the facility that was provided to the team and therefore the team’s rehabilitation duration estimates may change based on additional information.

Individually specific plans for rehabilitation of the Srednyaya Bay cetaceans for release are yet to be developed. These would be prepared for each individual based upon further work/analyses by the team in cooperation with Russian scientists. A release operation plan needs to be developed in cooperation with regional and federal government authorities and other appropriate interested parties. The location of capture for each individual, as well as the location of closely associated wild populations and prey availability, should be incorporated into the release plans. Team members agree with the assessment that the orca are of the ecotype known to forage on marine mammals and that they should be released within the known foraging range of this ecotype in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The team made a set of recommendations that can and should be implemented as soon as possible to improve the health and welfare of the cetaceans at Srednyaya Bay and prepare them for release to the wild. Recommendations cover such key matters as further individual health assessments and monitoring (for example, full medical work-ups and relevant health sampling for each individual, individual treatment plans, and an appropriate medical and quarantine area); net pen management (for example, enlarge pens and provide more room per animal; remove side panels on orca enclosures to increase airflow; install water pumps to improve turn-over of water); changes to feeding methodologies (for example, re-focus attention of the cetaceans underwater by using feeder tubes, feed at variable times and in variable amounts to mimic natural conditions); adaptation, re-adaptation, and rehabilitation (for example, stop any training and implement appropriate use of enrichment and stimulants to re-focus the attention of the animals underwater); and site management (for example, extra sanitary foot baths, remove biofouling on nets). The team expects that additional recommendations will be made with the preparation of the full report.

During the course of our visit, members of our team met twice with Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment D.N. Kobylkin to discuss mutual interest in rehabilitation and release of the orcas and belugas. Governor of Primorsky Region O.N. Kozhemyako, Jean-Michel Cousteau and Charles Vinick agreed to and signed a joint statement to confirm that release of all of the orcas and belugas is a fundamental goal and to work immediately to hold the cetaceans in conditions that are most like their natural environment.

In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by FSBSI “VNIRO” and the Team to support further cooperative work. A next step is to review the laboratory samples taken by VNIRO in conjunction with our behavioral analyses to begin to develop profiles for each orca and beluga to inform individualized rehabilitation plans.

The Jean-Michel Cousteau/Whale Sanctuary Project Team stands prepared to further assist Russian authorities and collaborate with Russian scientists in the successful release of the orcas and belugas held in Srednyaya Bay back to the wild.

The post Report on Orcas and Belugas Held in Srednyaya Bay appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Absolutely. This is an ideal place:            89.07%
No. It is not a realistic idea:                         3.18%
Not sure. Do we have the expertise
to manage it properly?                                 7.75%

Over the next two weeks, at each of the meetings, the support continued. After we were in Shelburne, the Chronicle Herald headlined “Whale Sanctuary Meeting – Enthusiasm Abounds.” And what they wrote could just have easily applied to any and all the other events we held in Dartmouth, Liverpool, Port Hawkesbury, Sherbrooke and Sheet Harbor as Lori Marino, Charles Vinick and Nova Scotia advisor and site search coordinator Catherine Kinsman presented the whale sanctuary concept and took questions and comments from area residents.

“We were truly impressed with the community response,” Charles Vinick said. “People are already forming local committees to explore how they can collaborate with the Whale Sanctuary Project and then work with us to identify a sanctuary site that works equally well for the community and the whales.”

Shelburne Mayor Karen Mattatall told the Chronicle Herald that the next step will be to facilitate a meeting amongst the community to see what interest is out there. And Round Bay resident John Davis was confident that a whale sanctuary would work really well in Shelburne County.

“I hope people get together on it,” he said. “I’m prepared to put some effort into it. I hope something happens. It’s a great idea. What happens to those animals is horrible and if we can help get them closer to the wild, I think we should try.”

And that’s what is happening now as community coordinators in Sheet Harbor, Liverpool, Sherbrooke and Shelburne are calling together local residents and sharing ideas for how the community and the Whale Sanctuary Project can work together to create a sanctuary for whales retired from marine entertainment parks.

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She explains that opinions and feelings are no longer relevant since the scientific findings are overwhelming that cetaceans cannot thrive in concrete tanks. There is no longer a debate about whether dolphins and whales do well at theme parks and aquariums. The fact is they don’t.

The National Aquarium has realized this, and now it is up to the rest of the industry to do the same.

The post NPR Interview with Dr. Lori Marino appeared first on The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature.

Whales and dolphins are perfectly adapted to life in the ocean. Orcas, for example, are far-ranging apex-predators, with incredible intelligence and complex emotional lives. The enriching ocean environment provides variability and presents physical and cognitive challenges that promote psychological and physical health. When whales are confined to barren, concrete tanks that are a fraction of the size of their natural range, they are deprived of the ability to engage in their most fundamental behavior needs. Captive orcas cannot dive, hunt, navigate the open ocean, or coordinate and bond with their pod. All of these characteristics are ingrained in their basic biology and are essential for wild orca survival.

In captivity, whales and dolphins are frequently held in isolation or unnatural social groups with unrelated or genetically distinct subspecies. These stressful social circumstances lead to heightened aggression and even deadly attacks. Aggression and social alienation can have serious health consequences for cetaceans, from immune suppression and infectious disease to injury and death. Other aberrant, repetitive behaviors that develop as a result of chronic stress and deprivation are often self-injurious and can have serious health consequences. Thus, the psychological scars of captivity are not only indicative of suffering; they are also deadly.

Despite decades of so-called advances in veterinary and husbandry care for captive cetaceans, evidence demonstrates that we cannot keep these animals happy or healthy in marine parks. This is corroborated by that fact that captive orcas continue to succumb to premature death, often by infectious disease. All evidence suggests that seaside sanctuaries can provide a more spacious, enriching, dynamic environment to promote orca health and wellbeing. The seaside sanctuary model for cetaceans is not only feasible; it is also the only humane option and presents an exciting new opportunity to reform our educational system into one that promotes genuine awe and respect for the natural world.

As a veterinarian, I am acutely aware of the myriad of logistical and animal health challenges that await us on the path to forging a better future for captive cetaceans. The site must be chosen carefully, with considerations for a variety of agricultural, industrial, geographic, oceanographic and anthropogenic conditions to mitigate hazards to animal health and the environment. The site must have physical parameters that meet the unique needs of the resident species, accessibility to facilitate complex logistics and animal care, and be responsibly placed to mitigate the impact on local ecology.

In facing these challenges with optimism and collaboration, however, we have an opportunity to provide daily choice, physical fitness, longevity and enhanced wellbeing to captive whales. Undoubtedly, the psychological scars of captivity will remain and existing health problems will persist. Whales entering the sanctuary environment will require extensive rehabilitation and life-long enrichment, husbandry and veterinary care. Trainers, husbandry staff and veterinarians will be required on an equal, if not more rigorous, basis due to the unique opportunities and challenges of the ocean environment. Thus, the value of collaboration cannot be understated in this endeavor if the ultimate goal is to provide the best for these animals as is humanely possible.

In the interest of the health and wellbeing of the animals for whom we all care so deeply, it is imperative that the marine mammal scientific community collectively work towards a more humane world for captive cetaceans. A carefully managed seaside sanctuary can provide captive whales with the range of opportunities they need to thrive. My hope is that the world will join us in making this vision a reality.

Heather Rally is a wildlife veterinarian and a member of the Whale Sanctuary Project Advisory Board.

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The function of a seaside sanctuary is to provide an environment as natural and safe as possible for the marine animal residents and their caregivers.

In any engineering project, you first have to know what it is that needs engineering and the functions that it’s intended to provide. In the case of a seaside sanctuary, this means a marine mammal coastal containment system that uses large mesh nets as barrier boundaries.

The first, and most important, factor in engineering a seaside sanctuary is site location. This is done in two stages. The first involves compiling as much geographical data as possible to find potential sites that meet certain general criteria used to rule in and rule out various locations. Once we have a short list of potential sites, the next stage involves field surveys at each site in order to gather information about a number of critical environmental factors. The final decision is made after all available information is collected, with each factor weighted for significance and then analyzed altogether.

Here are some of the elements that a sanctuary facility would need to offer:

As much secured space for the residents as possible

• Safety and protection from natural and human-generated hazards
• Specialized areas that provide caregivers and other professionals with access to the residents for health care and feeding
• A food storage processing/wet area
• Staff and scientist housing
• Places for public viewing and education that don’t intrude on the residents
• 24/7 security

The most important aspect of a seaside sanctuary that directly affects how the engineering is done is protection from extreme surface winds, waves and currents. While this is of utmost importance, there is also a need to be near enough to consistent underwater currents so that the environment can be kept clean by natural flushing. Balancing these two factors is an important aspect of the site selection process.

Netting is also one of the first items on the engineering list. Nets are used to make boundary lines and create the enclosure needed. The nets need to be attached at calculated intervals to the sea floor and to the shore surface above the highest expected sea level. The nets have mesh sizes (diamond-shape openings) that affect the amount of force the currents and waves will exert on the net as a marine structure. Determining that force is an important factor required for engineering an adequate-sized stationary barrier net. The net has to be custom built to the profile of the sea floor, transitioning to the intertidal zones, and high tide attachment points. It will be manufactured to fit this custom section and will then be attached all along the seafloor and up each side, using suitable anchoring methods.

Engineers will need to know the type of material to which the anchor/attachments will be attaching. For example, dead weights can be used in mud and hard sand areas, while rock bolts would be drilled into bed rock areas, and concrete/steel posts might be used at intertidal or high tide lines.

The final component of the boundary net is the flotation/buoy line/surface line to hold the net vertical, attach to shore points, and provide a visual boundary for the residents. This buoy line works in harmony with lead lines, in the bottom sections of the net, to hold the net taut.

Another important issue is the relationship between the sanctuary and the land.  The facility will need access to utilities (unless it is fully self-sufficient), transportation and other amenities, all requiring different types of engineering. One way to minimize the impacts of land-based structures would be to use state-of-the-art engineered floating platforms. Floating and movable support platforms could provide solutions to many of the access issues and infrastructure needs of a sanctuary facility.

Finally, any seaside sanctuary facility will need the support of the nearby communities who understand and appreciate the importance and value of such a project.

Michael Parks is a staff consultant to The Whale Sanctuary Project.

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Munchkin has also pledged further donations totaling at least $1,000,000 toward completion of the first seaside sanctuary.

Among Munchkin’s social justice programs is its Project Orca. After 10 years of making a toy orca whale for the bathtub, Munchkin decided to remove this toy from its collection because, as the company wrote:

“Here at Munchkin, we’re putting our principles before profits to help raise awareness for this cause. After 10 years of including a toy orca as part of our top-selling Sea Squirt Bath Toy collection, Munchkin will no longer include an orca in the set because a bathtub just isn’t big enough for an orca.”

Munchkin CEO Steven M. Dunn is committed to helping build the first seaside sanctuary for orcas. This donation will enable us to complete an exhaustive site search and create a comprehensive plan for the building of the sanctuary, transport of the first residents, and their continuing care.

Many thanks to Steven and all the Munchkins. We look forward to a continuing partnership.

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“I am from the UK where there are no captive whales or dolphins.”

She lives in Florida and is a car enthusiast. Several of her exotic vehicles sport decals that “drive” her message to end the use of orcas in entertainment.

“I use my cars to try and bring attention for the orcas and drove the Orcamobile to Marineland, Ontario for the March on Marineland.”

Her generous donation enabled us to set up The Whale Sanctuary Project, incorporate as a charity, file for tax-exemption, and begin the search for a suitable site for a seaside sanctuary.

Thank you, Jan!

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