Marineland says it has more than a dozen reasons why none of the remaining 30 belugas should be sent to a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia.
The shuttered Ontario theme park, which is trying to sell the whales to avoid bankruptcy, made headlines last week when federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied Marineland’s request for permission to send Canada’s last captive whales to buyers at an aquarium in China.
Marineland responded by saying it does not have the money to continue feeding the whales and has asked Ottawa for emergency funding, warning that it might otherwise have no choice but to euthanize the snow-white mammals.
Thompson said he “would love to see the whales in a sanctuary,” but Marineland argued that no such sanctuary is currently available for 30 belugas, including the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposed coastal refuge near Wine Harbor, NS.
The owners of the theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, have released a report claiming the site in eastern Nova Scotia is heavily polluted and has not seen any development since plans for its construction were released in 2020.
“Marineland is of the opinion that serious environmental issues that remain unresolved, coupled with a complete lack of demonstrated financial viability, preclude any further consideration of WSP as an appropriate location,” the report says.
“Based on the apparent lack of progress to date, it is not possible to estimate any date by which the WSP facility may be able to receive cetaceans.”
Proponent defends project
Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project, said Tuesday that Marineland raised these same allegations in a detailed study released in 2021.
“We have completed all environmental analyzes of the site – both on land and in water – required by the government,” Vinick said in an interview, adding that a 40-hectare floating net enclosure could eventually hold eight to 10 belugas.
In response to Marineland’s complaint about waste left by gold mining in the area, which ended in the 1930s, Vinick said a mitigation plan aimed at covering the tailings deposits with gravel and concrete has already been approved, and water sampling showed no contamination.
On another front, Marineland claims WSP has not done enough to address toxic arsenic found in the soil at the bottom of the bay where the underwater refuge will be built. Vinick said experts told WSP that arsenic remains trapped in the soil and should not be disturbed.
“There have been some restrictions on fishing certain shellfish,” Vinick said. “[But] lobster and other fishing happens all the time in this area. And every catch has been inspected for years and no problems have been found.”
As for the project’s finances, Vinick said his U.S.-based nonprofit continues to raise funds from private donors, and the group said it will not seek government funding for the $20 million project.
“We don’t have all the funds today,” Vinick said. “[But] we’re seeing a lot of outreach from the public, other organizations and people who want to help these specific animals.”
To be sure, the Whale Sanctuary Project will not offer Marineland any money for the belugas, he said. “We do not believe that the buying and selling of whales is something that should continue and we are not in a position, either philosophically or financially, to consider it.”
Opposition from landowners
Meanwhile, the project remains stalled because it faces opposition from a small group of local landowners whose unanimous consent is needed to allow the sanctuary to proceed. Until that happens, Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said he will not grant WSP a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water.
Emails obtained by the Canadian Press through freedom of information laws indicate that some landowners were concerned that they would lose access to water when the networks were installed. Others complained about increased traffic because WSP planned to build an education center nearby, but Vinick’s team dropped that idea.
And even if the reluctant landowners change their minds, the project will also require approval from Transport Canada under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, as well as permits from the federal Department of Fisheries to transfer the whales.
In January this year, the French government rejected WSP’s offer to provide refuge to two resident orcas at Marineland Antibes in southern France. Under French law, the country’s last two captive performing orcas – Wikie and Keijo – must be removed from France by the end of this year.
French officials said the Nova Scotia sanctuary would not be ready in time and were concerned about ocean temperatures off the province’s east coast.
According to figures compiled by The Canadian Press, 19 belugas, a killer whale and a dolphin have died at Marineland since the end of 2019, but the company has long defended its treatment of the animals, saying the deaths were part of the natural cycle of life.
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