Stop eating lobster infact all marine animals. The oceans are being decimated at an alarming rate and once they are empty…

Definitely Sheet Harbour / Sherbrooke – or anywhere in the Bay of Islands area (between the two villages). So sorry I was unable to make these meetings :-( Hope there was a good ‘positive’ turn out!

Now ain’t that the truth! I’m still embarrassed to see the huge stop sign styled signs, with bold white NO MPAs along the Highway 7. Makes us look like uneducated buffoons. Try explaining to tourists why we don’t want a ‘marine protected area’ on the Eastern Shore.

interesting idea, and it has been whale tested!! LOL (the juvenile humpback)

Yes, it’s still on for this evening at 6.30. Hope you can make it!

Thank you for the comments and questions. A few responses, and first, just to be clear, the sanctuary we’re talking about would be for 5 to 8 beluga whales retired from entertainment facilities.

Will the whales at a sanctuary still be part of an “educational display”?
They will be leading a natural life, rather than performing tricks in a tank, and will no more be on display than are any free-ranging whales or dolphins you would see from land. People will be able to see them from the shore and at a distance. The education part will be through an interpretive center, and via video feeds to schools, etc.

This rehab centre would presumably have a lifespan of about 20 years, tops, as of today. What is the economic model?
The sanctuary will be financed through philanthropic donations for its capital construction and operations. Given the lifespan of belugas, there will be a need for sanctuary for considerably more than 20 years.

Why not keep them where they are – i.e. at the Vancouver Aquarium or Marineland?
The whole point of moving them is that the conditions where they are living are intolerable. Just for starters, there are approximately 58 beluga whales in small concrete tanks at Marineland at any given time, with some dying and others being born during any given week. (There are no belugas or orcas at the Vancouver Aquarium.)

Different whale species need different ranges / environmental considerations. I cannot see where a single “bay” would cover most of them.
We are not necessarily going to have different species in the same facility. The first thing we consider for any potential location is whether the environment would be suitable for belugas and/or orcas.

By the time … the sanctuary is built, most of the belugas will be gone.
If you mean they will have died, bear in mind that the average lifespan for a beluga in a tank at an entertainment park is considered to be between 18 and 30 years. And beluga babies are still being born at Marineland. In the wild, beluga lifespans are thought to be much longer. A 2006 study concluded that they can live up to 70 years or more. So, you might reasonably assume that a young beluga at a seaside sanctuary would have a lifespan somewhere between those two figures.

The netting to seal the bay would probably kill other species.
Possibly in some instances, but unlikely overall; there will be plenty of space in the netting for species other than a beluga whale to come and go.

Most of these animals are rescues who would not survive in the wild.
The belugas at Marineland (there are none at the Vancouver Aquarium) are not rescues; they were all either captured and imported, or born into their concrete tanks.

Now, they will be treated (if they can) and left to die in wild, rather than housed and taken care of at places like the Vancouver Aquarium.
Bill S-203 provides an exception for “a person who … has the custody of or controls a cetacean that is kept in captivity for the purpose of providing it with assistance or care or to rehabilitate it following an injury or another state of distress.” And the sanctuary would be available to belugas in need of rescue and rehabilitation.

Incidentally, last year the Vancouver Aquarium voluntarily ended its program of keeping whales and dolphins on display. Meanwhile, we support the aquarium’s research and have stated publicly that it has a strong scientific base to stand on and continue its important work.

Dr. Bruce Hatcher, Director of the Bras d’Or Institute at Cape Breton University says “The location of the Aros na Mara is logistically ideal because of proximity to an energetic tidal channel (the Barra Strait) that delivers cold, well mixed and oxygenated and plankton-rich water to the surface layer where the water intake for the aquarium is located. This infinite supply of high-quality water to within 30m of the facility permits a flow-through water supply to the aquarium that requires no filtration, thermal or chemical regulation, re-circulation or waste treatment.”

1) The animals are going to still be part of an “educational display”.
2) Keeping cetaceans in captivity is illegal in Canada now. So this rehab centre would presumably have a lifespan of about 20 years, tops, as of today. What is the economic model for it?
3) As they are transitioning from one “educational centre” to this one, why not keep them where they are now (i.e. marineland or the Vancouver Aquarium or where ever).
4) Different whale species need different ranges / environmental considerations. I cannot see where a single “bay” would cover most of them.

By the time it is funded, environmental assessments are done, the complex built …. most of the captive animals now will be gone. And the netting to seal the bay would probably kill other species. But maybe there is something I am missing.

As a side note – I understand the good intentions of banning them in captivity in Canada – but I think it is very misguided. Educational / research opportunities aside, most of these animals are rescues who would not survive in the wild. Now, they will be treated (if they can) and left to die in wild, rather than housed and taken care of at places like the Vancouver Aquarium. It’s poor policy all around.

More likely a netted-off cove or bay. But you’ll get a better sense of the options at the meeting in Sherbrooke on Wednesday Feb 6th.

Wilma loved Chedabucto Bay! It would be a suitable and a great representation for Wilma the Beluga whale. Very nice and clean area.

Wilma the beluga whale loved Chedabucto Bay. It would be quite suitable and a nice representation of Wilma!

Environmentally, Bras D’or Lakes are challenging as a sanctuary site because of the brackish content of the water and the lack of flow in most areas. But we will be discussing further with our field team and advisors. Thanks for suggesting.

After their miserable existence obliged to serve human purposes, to welcome them to an environment as similar as possible to complete freedom in the seas is the least we can do for these wonderful sentient creatures.

We look forward to hearing the good news that a safe home has been chosen, and thank you all for your compassion.

Mitakuye Oyasin – we are all connected.

Aros na Mara a proposed marine science center at Port of Iona could be a good fit.

https://arosnamara.ca/

I VOTE for Port Hawkesbury

I found people automatically go to negative. I think if people could start thinking Positive things could happen here in Port Hawkesbury. But people are just so negative all the time. no matter what the issue.

Why does your mind automatically go to the negative? For once can’t people just open there mind to a possible solution to many of the problems we face in SW NS before we turn to the negative? Tell you what. make a list of the positive and the negative-do research-then we can discuss possible solutions to the negative and how we can overcome them together. Mary

You have my support 100% – a bold undertaking but a great one.