The Nova Scotia government has granted a lease for more than 80 hectares of land and water on the province’s Eastern Shore to a group that wants to create North America’s first whale sanctuary.
The American non-profit Whale Sanctuary Project said the approval, which has been pending for more than three years, clears the path to begin construction and raise the remaining capital required to complete the project.
“We are grateful to the Nova Scotia government and the Minister of Natural Resources,” the group said in a statement late Tuesday.
“This is a great day for the Whale Sanctuary and for the whales. We look forward to pressing ahead in every way to establish the Whale Sanctuary.”
Such a lease had previously seemed impossible, as some property owners in the Port Hilford, N.S., area who stand to be affected were refusing consent, which the province required.
It appears as though the province decided to grant an exemption to that requirement. Last week, then natural resources minister Tory Rushton said there were still some “holdouts” among the property owners. But the order-in-council that approves the Crown land lease shows that at the time of those comments, Rushton had already made the recommendation to cabinet to go ahead with the deal.
The Department of Natural Resources has not yet replied to CBC’s request for comment. Rushton was shuffled out of cabinet on Tuesday.
The Whale Sanctuary Project announced its plan for a sanctuary in Guysborough County, N.S., five years ago. The group is looking to care for eight to 10 marine mammals being retired from parks and aquariums.
But the plan has faced significant pushback, skepticism and logistical hurdles.
Marineland, the shuttered Ontario theme park that’s looking to rehome its remaining 30 belugas, has said the site is not appropriate for its whales because of contamination from historical gold mining. The Whale Sanctuary disputes the claim.
Some locals have said they don’t want their water access limited by nets that the group intends to install to create a pen for the whales. Some also say they’re worried about an increase in traffic should the site become a tourist destination. The Whale Sanctuary Project has said it does not intend to regularly welcome visitors.
In its statement Tuesday, the group said it will have more updates to share “over the coming days,” including details about whales it might adopt and financing.
The group has pegged the cost of the project at $20 million, to be sourced from private donors. As of earlier this month, it was not fully funded.
The project will need approval from the federal Fisheries and Transport departments.
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