The head of a group trying to bring a whale sanctuary to Guysborough Co. says it will be much better for the whales.
Port Hilford was announced the site for the sanctuary Tuesday.
Charles Vinick, the executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, says performance whales are kept in small tanks- usually only as deep as the whales are long- and they only have enough space to swim in circles.
Vinick tells The Hawk the bay at Port Hilford will be totally different.
“This provides them a natural environment where they can be whales, not objects for entertainment,” he says. “There are no performances, there’s nothing like that, you can’t swim with the whales- none of those kinds of really invasive activities will ever be a part of a sanctuary.”
Vinick says the focus will instead be on their well-being.
He says the sanctuary is 100 acres of water, and as much as three times deeper than a typical park tank.
Vinick says they’ll consult members of local communities to learn how they can work together before they start an expected $12-$15 million in capital work to get the bay ready for whales by the end of 2021.
He says other aspects of the sanctuary, including trails and an interpretative centre, will be phased in through time to give the whales time to adjust.
