Cetacea Lab

The water calms to still glass as we round a corner at the southern end of Gil Island and enter Taylor Bight. Kelp beds line the rocky shore which sharply rises to the foot of dense, lush green forest. Nestled in among the trees and perched above the steep, rocky shore is a small wooden structure with the words ‘Whale Point’ written between its large glass windows. This is Cetacea Lab, soon to be home for the next six weeks.

Cetacea Lab was founded in 2001 by the passionate and dedicated team of two – Janie Wray and Hermann Meuter. Both were former interns at Orca Lab, a well-established whale research based on Hanson Island, just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. After several years of working together, Janie and Hermann ventured north in search of other sites where research was needed. Caamano Sound was originally chosen due to the large presence of Orca. After building a relationship with the Gitga’at people they were granted permission to use Gil Island and begin operations.  Humpbacks were first sighted in 2003 and Fin whales in 2006 both with yearly sightings are increasing in number.

The marine research station was set up to determine the abundance of different whale species present and the importance of the area as a critical habitat. Intra- and inter-specific social dynamics are studied along with the significance of orca dialects, humpback songs, and fin whale low frequency communication. To supplement their efforts, Hermann and Janie began an internship program bringing dedicated volunteers from May through September - when whale activity is at its highest. Boat surveys are conducted bi-weekly (weather dependent), whereas lab-based scans are carried out for upwards of 16 hours a day.  The sound is the best part about being here, starting and ending our day with the ocean. Six hydrophones positioned among the scattered islands allow for the continuous acoustic monitoring of whale vocalization. Speakers in the lab, house, and outside our tents fill the air with calming sounds day and night. 

Though these are still the main objectives, over the last 6 years their research has become part of a publically waged battle. The Northern Gateway Proposal hangs like a gloomy fog over this stretch of the Great Beat Rainforest, a region covering 250 miles of BC’s western coast and over 25 000 square miles in total. The vast coastal wonderland of fjords, densely forested islands, and exuberant wildlife is under threat of destruction. Canadian oil company Enbridge proposed a $5.5 billion (CA) project in the hopes of entering international oil trade. The oil lies in large amounts in Alberta where oil deposits are second only to those in Saudi Arabia.  Economically the benefits appear obvious: increased international trade, energy, job openings at either end of the pipeline. However, the environmental effects that face BC have the potential to be catastrophic and possibly bring negative economic implications as well.

Kitimat, a small BC community at the edge of the Douglas Channel, is where the proposed pipeline would end. Crude carriers 1116ft long would transport up to 2 million barrels of oil from Kitimat to the coast, though it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds. The channel is like a thin, winding maze with islands scattered throughout. It would be like driving bumper boats at theme parks, except the carriers would not rebound smoothly off an island. Or perhaps the game Operation, but instead of hearing an annoying buzz when you touch the sides it would be a deafening crash. Misjudging a tight corner in high waters and lapping waves would not be difficult. Even if you remove oil spills from the equation, the costs to this area are tremendous. The number of whales would rapidly diminish due to ship striking and noise pollution, effectively altering the entire ecosystem and stability of the marine environment. Many people rely on salmon fishing in these waters and I hate to think the fish we see leap from the water every few minutes would no longer be there.

After the difficulties the residents of Hartley Bay faced with the sinking of the Queen of the North in 2006, where responsibility for the ferry sinking was passed from hand to hand and to this day oil still leaks, it’s no wonder so many are opposing Enbridge. Sitting here at the window of the lab I see humpbacks pass in the distance. They are so far away yet they seem huge in the small channels. It’s almost impossible to imagine a carrier the size of 3 football fields following behind. First nations, BC residents, naturalists, eco-tourism companies and many others are doing all they can to stop this proposal from going through. The ‘not in my backyard’ mentality needs to go if we want our future generations to have somewhere to play. Any support is good support and at the very least I hope the stories I tell of my experience here will help get a few more people on board to end the Enbridge proposal and save the Great Bear Rainforest.