Endangered belugas in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada
Photo credit: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation cbc.ca

On at least two of the key fundamentals, we’ve come a long way, and we’re beginning to make progress on a third. Where we once sought them out with whaling boats, to harvest them for their meat, blubber and oil, we now seek cetaceans in our waters using whale watching vessels. Where we once thought it perfectly acceptable to hold them in permanent captivity and to force them to entertain us, we’ve now banned that morally indefensible practice. Not only do we prefer to view them in their natural habitat, we’ve also started to build Canada’s first whale sanctuary for those who won’t be able to return to the wild. And though we’ve been slow to set aside areas where their marine habitats will be conserved and protected, we’re now starting to gain some real traction in that crucially important enterprise.

But our record as a nation still has some enormous gaps. Some issues will require much more work in the years ahead, while others have been nothing short of embarrassing failures so far. Any honest assessment of how we’re doing will have to recognize that.

Canada stopped all commercial whaling ten years before the International Whaling Commission (IWC) declared a worldwide ban in 1982 (and 14 years before that ban actually came into effect). At the time it was almost entirely a conservation measure, as it had by then become obvious that virtually every species of large whale was threatened with extinction. Today, there is much more underlying our decision to end whaling. We’ve come to learn how vital whales are to the preservation of healthy ocean ecosystems, and to our battle against climate change. Even without that, given massive changes in public sentiment, it would be difficult to imagine any kind of large-scale support for the resumption of a commercial hunt.

We passed legislation to end cetacean captivity in 2019, meaning that we are now committed as a nation to viewing them in only their natural habitats, as opposed to sterile, artificial ones that teach us nothing about how they live in the wild. Sadly, it will be some time before those ‘grandfathered’ under the legislation are gone from that lone remaining holdout in this cruel and exploitative industry. Marineland Canada’s failure to end dolphin shows has also exposed weaknesses in our animal protection laws, as so far they’ve been able to evade prosecution despite obvious violations. This awful place at Niagara Falls, the last of its kind in Canada, cannot be gone from our soil soon enough. When that happens, we’ll finally be done with whale and dolphin captivity in this country forever.

Whales, most certainly including those in Canadian waters, face a number of serious conservation challenges. We’ve been very lucky that so far no species of whale has become extinct in the modern era, though we did lose the Atlantic population of the Grey Whale, and the Pacific population almost suffered a similar fate. Today, the most immediate concern may be for the North Atlantic Right Whale, as well as for the Southern Resident Orca population.

The biggest threat to their lives that whales face today is from the ongoing stress human activity puts on their habitats, most significantly industrial-scale fishing. This not only means growing pressure from dwindling fish stocks, but also from the risk of entanglement and drowning in fishing gear. An ever increasing quantity of this gear is netting that’s been either intentionally or accidentally discarded. This alone already accounts for close to 50% of the plastic that litters our oceans.

Add to that the ongoing risk of ship collisions, chemical pollutants in the water, and noise pollution that disrupts the whales’ ability to communicate and navigate. We also need to carefully regulate and manage how we view them as tourists, so as to avoid disturbing them while they feed, rest, breed and nurse. Canada has recently taken steps to tighten this up, which we applaud. While it will make whale watching somewhat harder, it’s worth the extra effort on our part. There is enormous benefit to having a growing public appreciation for these animals, which whale watching helps provide, but when it comes to what’s best for the whales we really do need to err on the side of caution.

Of the world’s approximately 90 species of cetaceans, 33 of them can be found somewhere in Canadian waters. Of those, 19 different populations are listed as either endangered, threatened, or of special concern under SARA (Canada’s Species at Risk Act). A listing of the cetacean species indigenous to Canada which fall under one or another of these categories is provided at the end of this post.

So, by way of presenting ourselves with a report card of sorts, what are we doing well, where do we have much more work to do before we can report meaningful progress, and where, if we’re being honest, are we failing?

Where we’ve done well.
• Ending commercial whaling.
• Banning the captivity of cetaceans and ending their use as forced performers in dolphin shows and swim-with-dolphin programs.
• Being one of a small number of nations to have signed on to the Global Ghost Gear initiative aimed at removing dangerous, discarded fishing gear from our oceans.
• We have rather good rules around how we operate the whale watching industry, and have even toughened these to a much higher degree than usual in response to the dire situation faced by our Southern Resident orca population.
• Research tools and methods developed over the years by the global scientific community have given us the means to study whales and to better understand what they need to thrive. Today, it would be unthinkable to kill a whale as part of a research program in Canada – something that is far from universal. It should be noted as well that a much needed change in policy at the federal level just a few years ago means that researchers are no longer effectively silenced. Their ability to speak freely in public forums is tremendously valuable to our conservation efforts.

Where we have much work to do
• Protection of endangered, threatened and vulnerable species. This work is ongoing and will need to remain a priority for many years to come.
• We’ve made progress but need to do much more in the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The 15.7% set aside so far needs to get to 30% by 2030, as we’ve agreed to with 190 other signatory nations at last year’s UN sponsored conference on biodiversity.
• We need to continue our efforts to better understand how our industrial and agricultural activities impact marine ecosystems. The St. Lawrence belugas pictured above are a prime example of a population in desperate need of our assistance, as the chemical contaminants that accumulate in their bodies are at such high levels that the whales themselves could be classified as toxic waste.
• As noted, we need to get good at building sanctuaries. The one designated for Port Hilford, NS, by the US based Whale Sanctuary Project is meant to set an example of what can be done and how. With over 3,600 whales and dolphins presently in captivity around the world, we will need many more places for them to go.
• Canada needs to pass the Jane Goodall Bill, which will set the necessary tone as to the standards we’ve come to expect in how we treat animals, cetaceans included. Certain provisions in the bill are directed at species like elephants, the great apes, and whales and dolphins – species that because of their high-order intelligence have enormous capacity for suffering, and as such require a high standard of care. Of course, it’s also crucial that we enshrine in our legislation that all animals, regardless of species, are entitle to humane treatment in this country.

Where we’re failing unconscionably
• Our biggest challenge is that of Aboriginal Subsistence hunts, which are permitted under an exception to the IWC whaling ban. We’ve written about this more extensively (see our post from June 5, 2021)., but essentially the problem is made much more complex due to our nation’s colonialist past, and all the injustices and historical context that come with that. What we’ve got to solve now is a problem of food security for people who’ve been figuratively backed into a corner by centuries of discriminatory government policy on one hand, versus a clear right to life for species that are literally on a par with ourselves in terms of intelligence. Belugas, orcas and others should be near the front of the line as candidates for personhood rights. Instead, we’re slaughtering them at a rate which may well make Canada the #1 killer of whales in the world via legally sanctioned hunts.
• The other case that comes to mind, if we’re to own up to where we’re failing shamefully as a nation, is the ongoing treatment of those whales still held in captivity at Marineland Canada. Most particularly that of Kiska, an orca who’s lived in complete isolation from any other marine mammal for over a decade. We’ve written about her case many times, and the ongoing situation continues to break our hearts. She is Canada’s number one animal welfare priority. If we can’t even get this one right, we can’t call ourselves a nation which values either compassion or justice in our treatment of nonhuman species. It’s as simple as that.

So that, in brief terms, is where we stand vis-à-vis our whales and dolphins in Canada. Wherever you happen to live in the world, take a similar tour of the landscape and make an honest assessment of what’s going on. What has been achieved? Where is there work to be done?

You’ll typically find a mixed bag, as few of our policy makers demonstrate much consistency when it comes to issues affecting cetaceans. If you live in Norway, for example, you don’t have the stain of captivity, but you still have the horrors of an active commercial hunt. If you live in the UK, again a great record on captivity, which once existed but ended many years ago. On the other hand , you may be troubled by the thousands of dolphins victimized by a fishing industry not held to account by British lawmakers. Every part of the world has its unique set of circumstances and, to date, none of us have satisfactorily addressed them all. Though some have done much better than others.

As a final word, how about we ask of our governments that they enforce those standards that have already been enacted into law? Canada hasn’t been able to do it for Kiska and the 40 plus belugas and bottlenose dolphins languishing at Marineland. Not a great example to other countries. So let’s try this. The Low-Welfare Activities Abroad Bill just passed second reading in UK’s Parliament. This is an excellent piece of legislation which, if passed, would ban the promotion and sales of activities involving low standards for animal welfare in the entertainment and tourism industries of other countries.

So we wonder, will excursions to Marineland Canada still be sold to UK citizens? If this law is going to mean what it says, we certainly hope not. It would be good for us as Canadians to learn that the rest of the world may not think much of how we treat our whales and dolphins. Maybe next time we’ll be motivated to do much better.

Canada’s score on this report card? Maybe a ‘C’. Let’s check in again in a year or two, and see how we’re doing then.

For The Orca’s Voice,
Anna, Chris, Dakota, Dani, Jason, Phil and the CCA Team

From the Government of Canada, listing of Extirpated, Endangered & Threatened Species, as well as those of Special Concern
Extirpated Species
o Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) Atlantic population
Endangered Species
o Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) St. Lawrence Estuary population
o Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Atlantic population
o Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Pacific population
o Orca (Orcinus orca) Northeast Pacific southern resident population
o North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
o North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica)
o Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) Scotian Shelf population
o Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) Pacific population
Threatened Species
o Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) Cumberland Sound population
o Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Pacific population
o Orca (Orcinus orca) Northeast Pacific northern resident population
o Orca (Orcinus orca) Northeast Pacific offshore population
o Orca (Orcinus orca) Northeast Pacific transient population
Special Concern
o Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort population
o Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Atlantic population
o Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) Eastern North Pacific population
o Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) North Pacific population
o Sowerby’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens)