Nova Scotia’s retirement home for captive whales facing obstacles, delays: documents
Global News
Organizers behind the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project had originally predicted the site on Nova Scotia's rugged eastern shore could be ready to receive whales this year.
An ambitious plan in Nova Scotia to build North America’s first coastal refuge for captive whales is at least five years behind its original schedule, newly released documents show.
The project, announced in February 2020, calls for construction of a 40-hectare underwater enclosure that would provide a natural environment for beluga and orca whales retired from marine parks. It would be as large as 50 football fields and about 300 times larger than the biggest captive whale tanks.
Organizers behind the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project had originally predicted the site on Nova Scotia’s rugged eastern shore could be ready to receive whales this year.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory hurdles and environmental concerns have slowed the project’s progress, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the province’s freedom of information law.
An internal government presentation prepared in May 2021 says that once the project is granted a Crown lease for a small cove and some land south of Port Hilford, N.S., it would take at least another five years before the site is ready to accept whales. That pushes the start date to 2027.
Charles Vinick, executive director of the non-profit Whale Sanctuary Project, said the government’s timeline is flawed because it includes construction of an interpretive centre, which won’t happen until after the whales arrive. The group’s own timeline now has a late 2023 start date, though Vinick said 2024 is more likely.
The pandemic is largely to blame for slowing down the project, but Vinick also pointed to a demanding provincial permitting process.
“It’s brand new ground for them and brand new ground for us,” he said in an interview from his home in Santa Barbara, Calif. “We have to focus on moving forward every day.”
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