The Whale Sanctuary Blog Archives
2026

The Last Stand of the Anti-Sanctuary Machine

Wild animal sanctuaries are being subjected to increasingly aggressive tactics by corporations and groups that are opposed to ethical societal ...

Posted January 14, 2026 in News, Opinion

French Government Issues Its Formal Decision for Orcas Wikie & Keijo

Official statement of the French government, December 13th, regarding the future of the mother-and-son orcas Wikie and Keijo at Marineland ...

Posted December 13, 2025 in News

French Government Affirms Effort to Bring Orcas to Sanctuary

Collaborative effort now needed among government agencies, owners, sanctuary, and benefactors and donors to complete construction and welcome whales.

Posted December 12, 2025 in News

French Government Initiates Further Discussion re. Orcas Wikie & Keijo

French government invites Whale Sanctuary Project to explore possibility of orcas coming to sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

Posted December 11, 2025 in For the Media, News

Righting an Original Wrong

(Eighth in a series.) In 1861, the showman PT Barnum began capturing beluga whales for use as entertainment. The creation ...

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

Care of the Whales Before and After Coming to the Sanctuary

(Sixth in a series.) Bringing the whales to the sanctuary falls into three main phases.

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

Sanctuary Timetable

(Fifth in a series.) Capital costs for constructing the sanctuary and for rehabilitating and transporting the first whale residents, and ...

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

What “Permits” Are Needed?

(Fourth in a series.)We are often asked questions like “Do you have all the permits you need?” A brief outline ...

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

The Whales Who Are Candidates for the Sanctuary

(Second in a series.) Whales who have been dominating the news over the last year include Wikie and Keijo in ...

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

Nova Scotia Sanctuary – Status Report Fall 2025

(First in a series.) Nova Scotia government's Order in Council means we now have a clear path to begin construction ...

Posted October 28, 2025 in News

Government Clears Path Forward for Nova Scotia Sanctuary

The Nova Scotia government has today issued an Order in Council, confirming the report and recommendation of the Minister of ...

Posted October 21, 2025 in For the Media, News

Spain Rejects Marineland Antibes Plan to Transfer Orcas to Zoo in Canary Islands

As Spain rejects plan to transfer orcas to zoo in Canary Islands. Whale Sanctuary Project reiterates offer to bring them ...

Posted April 14, 2025 in News

Whale Sanctuary Project Offers Help in Providing Sanctuary Solution for Marineland Antibes Orcas

While a coastal sanctuary in Greece or elsewhere in Mediterranean may be a solution for dolphins, it is not a ...

Posted February 16, 2025 in News

Conclusions of Marine Environmental Site Analyses at the Whale Sanctuary Project Site

The Whale Sanctuary Project has completed a four-year series of in-depth environmental analyses to gain a comprehensive understanding of the ...

Posted January 14, 2025 in News

2024: A Team Effort to Help the Whales Who Need It Most

Building the first sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales is truly a global collaborative effort and we are indebted to ...

Posted December 31, 2024 in News

Whales, Waves & Buoys

How the new Wine Harbour buoy will help ensure a safe environment for whales at the sanctuary.

Posted October 31, 2024 in News

What It Takes and How You Can Help

We are now seeking funds for both the capital expenditures for construction of the sanctuary and the operations to get ...

Posted June 13, 2024 in News

A Global Movement Is Born

This year, we have been in contact with several groups and organizations that are seeking to create cetacean sanctuaries. And, ...

Posted June 12, 2024 in News

The Urgent Need of Beluga Whales around the World

Beluga whales in Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and beyond need sanctuaries as urgently as orcas. We have already held discussions ...

Posted June 10, 2024 in News

Site Geography & Environment Analyses

Since selecting Port Hilford Bay as the location for the sanctuary in 2020, we have conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative ...

Posted June 9, 2024 in News

The Accelerated Plan and Bay Pen

Second in a series of posts about the urgent need of two orcas at Marineland Antibes in France –  Wikie ...

Posted June 4, 2024 in News

Hope for a Family in Distress

This is the first in a series of posts about progress in our work at the sanctuary site in the ...

Posted June 4, 2024 in News

Update on Results of the ESA III Study and Laboratory Analysis

These studies of sanctuary waters, sanctuary lands on shore and submerged soils in the ocean will help us chart a ...

Posted December 5, 2023 in News

Professional Standards Published for Whale & Dolphin Sanctuaries

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries publishes best practices for cetacean sanctuaries. The guidelines are the product of a pioneering collaboration ...

Posted June 28, 2023 in News

Update on Environmental Assessments at the Sanctuary Site

These studies are not only to understand the environment for the whales and the sanctuary infrastructure, but to provide data ...

Posted September 27, 2022 in News

Our Year-End “Ask Us Anything” Webinar

In this webinar, Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick answer a wide range of questions: from when the sanctuary will ...

Posted December 17, 2021 in News

Come Inside the Operations Center!

Today, Giving Tuesday 2021, we’d like to share a short video tour from Charles Vinick, our Executive Director, of the ...

Posted November 30, 2021 in News

Opening Day at Whale Sanctuary Operations Centre

It's another milestone toward the creation of the Whale Sanctuary in Nova Scotia. People from near and far gathered for ...

Posted October 31, 2021 in News

From Keiko to Kiska – Whales Without Walls

I’m sitting on the wharf, here at Port Hilford Bay, and behind me are 100 acres of water space that ...

Posted October 25, 2021 in News

Sanctuaries and the Study of Cetacean Communication

How an authentic coastal sanctuary will be able to supplement the work that’s being done in the open ocean by ...

Posted October 4, 2021 in News

Cetacean Sanctuaries: Centers for the Study of Natural Communication

Sanctuaries will provide a more natural setting than aquariums, along with a potentially more accessible and convenient way of studying ...

Posted September 17, 2021 in

World Aquatic Animal Day – Special Event

At this special event from the Lewis & Clark Center for Animal Law, Dr. Lori Marino will talk about The ...

Posted March 29, 2021 in

A Major Update on the Creation of the Whale Sanctuary

It is just over a year since Dr. Lori Marino and I announced that Port Hilford Bay in Nova Scotia ...

Posted March 18, 2021 in News

Keiko the Orca’s Legacy

Several of us on the Whale Sanctuary team today worked together 20 years ago to return to the ocean the ...

Posted December 17, 2020 in News

Message from the Sanctuary Site

A brief video message from Charles Vinick, Whale Sanctuary Project executive director, taped at the wharf that overlooks the sanctuary ...

Posted December 8, 2020 in News

A Deep Dive into Environmental Analysis

At the sanctuary site: ADCPs? Multibeam Sonar? Benthic Surveys? Water and Sediment Sampling? Hydrophones and Underwater Microphones? What's it all ...

Posted October 23, 2020 in News