Whale Sanctuary Project President Dr. Lori Marino returned to Nova Scotia to check out two more potential seaside sanctuary locations with the help of WSP advisors Catherine Kinsman and Hal Whitehead. Nova Scotia has many benefits, as we wrote in last month’s newsletter.
But water along the coasts there is generally quite shallow, so the challenge is to find a location with water deep enough for orcas. The two we saw this time have water depths of at least 15 meters, which makes them strong possibilities. (We are also exploring locations in British Columbia, Washington State and Maine.)
While in Nova Scotia, Dr. Marino gave talks to undergraduate and graduate students and faculty at the Brain Repair Centre and in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University. Dalhousie is very strong in marine biology, and there was a lot of enthusiasm from students, several of whom want to work at the sanctuary when it is built.
Another highlight of the visit was a meeting with Chief Terry Paul of the Membertou First Nation. We are looking to the First Nations for their assistance and input in the process of site selection, and Chief Paul suggested a couple of potential sites on Cape Breton Island.