N.S. sanctuary could be a new home for whales in captivity. But some aren’t convinced

A proposed whale sanctuary in Port Hilford, N.S., hopes to offer a safe haven for whales coming out of captivity. And two orcas from a marine park in France could be its first residents. 

“We owe it to them. We owe them something back because we as humans have taken them from the wild, and we have a responsibility to care for them for their lifetimes,” Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told The Current guest host Nahlah Ayed.

The two killer whales, Wikie and her son Keijo, currently live at Marineland Antibes along the French Riviera. But a law passed in 2020 in France is phasing out dolphins and whales in captive environments, which means the orcas will need a new home by 2026.

The Whale Sanctuary Project, a U.S.-based non-profit, is working with the French and Nova Scotia governments to get the whales into Canadian waters, where it has secured a spot that could be the home for many whales to come.

Vinick says the sanctuary, which would give the whales a natural but limited habitat to swim in, is part of a global effort to get animals out of captivity and back into their natural environment.

“We are seeing around the world more and more concern about the ways in which animals, both on land and in the sea, are kept in captivity. We’ve seen a major change,” said Vinick. 

“The people who should have some responsibility are the people who have made millions of dollars for their display.”

What is a whale sanctuary?

It’s not the first time Vinick has worked with captive whales. He worked closely with the late oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and was part of a team that helped Keiko, the orca from the film Free Willy, return to the ocean.

He says the search for the sanctuary’s site was exhaustive. They looked at 130 locations in Washington state, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, before settling on Port Hilford.

The location allows them to net off about 100 acres (about 40 hectares) in the water, which could house about eight to 10 whales. He says within that bay, there would be a pen to put the whales in initially, then they would slowly bring them into the open environment. 

It would be as large as 50 football fields and about 300 times larger than the biggest captive whale tanks.

Vinick says that will give the whales places to dive, and let the whales live as whales while keeping people close by to take care of them. 

He said it would cost up to $18 million to build the sanctuary, which he says is cheaper than building a new environment at a marine park. But more importantly, he says, it would be better for the whales.

But not everyone in the field agrees. 

Andrew Trites, a professor and director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, says it would take a lot of effort to maintain such a habitat — especially in Nova Scotia, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

“I grew up in Nova Scotia. My dad was an oceanographer. And I remember some of those storms … so, my first concern is whether or not such a facility that seems so exposed can actually survive,” said Trites. 

He’s not worried about the whales — he knows they can handle the weather. But he says the netting around the habitat would be at the mercy of icing during the winter, and deteriorate as algae and mussels accumulate in the summer.

He suggests the sanctuary be built and then tested for a year to make sure it can withstand the elements.

Trites says it’s important to make sure the facility has people working there that the whales are comfortable with, as they’ve developed a close bond with their handlers in France. 

“Their pod has become people. They can become quite lethargic and depressed if they’re not kept stimulated and intellectually engaged,” said Trites.  

Preparing for the whales

The Whale Sanctuary Project is still waiting on approval from the French government. It was supposed to make a decision on the whales in June, but that was delayed because of the country’s recent election. 

If the French government gives the OK, the non-profit will have to fly the whales from France to Nova Scotia. Vinick hopes that can happen by 2025.

Vinick says all of Trites’ concerns are reasonable. He says they’ve monitored two hurricanes that hit the site. They also plan on having a large team to maintain the infrastructure. 

But Trites says the whales could instead be taken to another facility, similar to their Marineland home in France, that already exists, even if that means they aren’t able to live in open waters.

“I don’t see that there is any other option for them,” said Trites. “Bringing a whale, it’s like adopting a child. You can’t return them if they turn out to eat more or cost more to house them than what you expected.”

But Vinick says it’s a responsibility the Whale Sanctuary Project is committed to long-term. 

“Is it different? Yes. Are there risks? Of course. But there are risks in everything the animals experience in the wild. There are risks to all of us every day. We need to do what’s right, and we need to come together globally to help these whales that have been in captivity,” he said.