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A proposal to build North America’s first coastal refuge for captive whales took a symbolic step forward on Friday as its proponents staged a groundbreaking ceremony in a rugged corner of eastern Nova Scotia.
The event attracted local residents as well as a group of about a dozen protesters with placards camped near the main road to Wine Harbour, N.S., a coastal village about a three-hour drive east of Halifax.
The U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project first announced plans to build a 40-hectare floating net enclosure near the community more than six years ago. In October of last year, Premier Tim Houston’s cabinet approved a 20-year Crown lease for the project.
Paperwork yet to be signed
Charles Vinick, the project’s chief executive, said the ceremony marks a significant milestone.
“It signifies that we are moving on from all of the years … of the regulatory review, of all of the permitting processes and the like to actually being into construction,” he said in an interview before the event.
Still, Vinick confirmed the project had experienced another setback. While the existing plan had called for installation of the nets before the end of this summer, he said that part of the project won’t happen until next spring.
As well, the provincial government confirmed this week that it still needs to work out some details before signing the lease for the property.
Vinick said the lease only applies to the portion of Indian Harbour where the nets will be anchored. Construction of a veterinary centre, marine operations facility and other buildings will be completed on private property, he said.
Vinick said he recently spoke with the deputy minister of the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, and both sides have agreed on the language for the lease.
“We’re simply waiting for the attorneys to dot i’s and cross t’s,” he said.
Some neighbouring landowners unhappy
Meanwhile, some landowners in Wine Harbour say they were betrayed by the provincial government because they were initially told the project would not win cabinet approval unless everyone with adjacent properties provided unanimous consent.
In October, Houston said the lease was granted because the project had won widespread support and achieving a consensus can be difficult. “We thought there was enough [support] to move forward with the lease,” he said.
Among the protesters in Wine Harbour on Friday was Tracy Burns-Gagnon, whose family owns a property adjacent to the proposed refuge. She said if the project becomes a reality, she and her relatives will lose access to the ocean, limiting their opportunities for fishing and boating.
“This was our opportunity to become more visible in our opposition,” said Burns-Gagnon in an interview. “We posted signs on property that we own along the way, and we … set up a tent here at the corner property that everyone would have to drive by. … I think we were a bit of a thorn in their side today.”
Vinick said his non-profit group has tried to respond to local criticism, saying project plans have been altered to address concerns about increased traffic and the potential for a sudden rush of ecotourists.
As well, project organizers have chosen not to build any type of a public facility near Wine Harbour. A public interpretation centre was established in nearby Sherbrooke, N.S., in October 2021.
“We want to engage with all members of the community, not only our supporters, but also those who have concerns about the project,” he said.
Burns-Gagnon said that wasn’t the case on Friday.
“When he speaks of engagement, I think he still thinks that means talking to the residents of Sherbrooke and Antigonish and any neighbouring community … that’s not Wine Harbour.”
Burns-Gagnon said construction at the site will likely be delayed until the end of August because endangered barn swallows have returned to the wharf to nest.
“No work can happen at the wharf because these nests cannot be disturbed,” she said. “It’s against the law. They’re a protected species. … Those nests have been there since I was a child.”
Fundraising needed
On another front, the project also requires permits from the federal Fisheries Department and plenty of fundraising to cover the $15-million cost of construction and $1.5 million in annual operating expenses. Organizers are not asking for any government funding.
The animal welfare organization says it is poised to begin building whale care and marine operations facilities near a wharf that extends into Barachois Cove at the southern end of Indian Harbour.
The group’s plan calls for a seaside pen larger than 50 football fields capable of holding up to 10 orcas or belugas. But the Whale Sanctuary Project has so far failed to persuade any marine park to send its retired captive whales to Nova Scotia.
“This project has always been about creating a new future for whales who can no longer remain in the entertainment industry,” Vinick said in a statement. “Around the world, facilities are closing, public expectations are changing, and governments are increasingly looking for responsible alternatives.”
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