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Quebec Minister for Forests, Wildlife and Parks Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding the St. Lawrence Beluga Whale

31 August, 2014

Mrs Marsh,

On behalf of the minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, we answer your letter underlining your concern about the threats to the St. Lawrence beluga whale population linked to the proposed Cacouna Harbour. Our government is effectively aware that this isolated population is threatened.

In Québec, beluga management is under the responsibility of the federal government and, as stated in your letter, the St. Lawrence beluga population is listed as threated under the Species at Risk Act (SC 2002, c.29). Furthermore, the government of Québec also acknowledges the precariousness of this population and has also listed as threated under the provincial Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species (CQLR, c. E-12.01; Loi sur les espéces menacées ou vulnérables).

In Québec, wildlife habitats of listed species can be protected by another provincial law, the Act respecting the Conservation and Development of Wildlife (CQLR, c. C-61.1; Loi sur la conservation et la mise en valeur de la faune) providing that the habitat characteristics are defined in the Regulation respecting threated or vulnerable wildlife species and their habitats (CQLR, c. E-12.01, r.2; Réglement sur les espéces fauniques menaceés ou vulnérables et leurs habitats). Considering that the St. Lawrence beluga habitat has not yet been defined in this last regulation, our Ministry has no legal power to intervene for this species within the framework of the proposed harbour in Cacouna.

However, the environmental impact and assessment framework of the Environment Quality Act (CQLR, c.Q-2; Loi sur la qualité de l’environement) allows our Ministry to emit a notice describing protection measures that should be respected to protect the species. During this process, we make sure to obtain the best information available and, in the case of the federally protected beluga population, we make sure to contact experts at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Lastly, we have to underline that our Ministry is actively involved in the beluga Recovery Strategy, notably by his participation to the federal recovery team, and is also involved in the Québec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network.

Please be assured that we support your concern for the St. Lawrence beluga population and that we are aware of all the efforts deployed to protect it.

Sincerely,

Deputy minister associated with Wildlife and Parks,

Nathalie Camden

Édifice Boi-Fontaine, RC 120
880, chemin Sainte-Foy
Québec (Québec) G1S 4X4
Teléphone: 418-627-8658, poste 7285
Telécopier: 418-644-9727
Internet: www.mffp.gouv.gc.ca
Courriel: nathalie.camden@mffp.gouv.qc.ca

Ottawa Prime Minister Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding Cacouna Harbour and Belugas

The Society for Marine Mammalogy received the following response from the Office of the Prime Minister in Ottawa regarding our June 17, 2014 Presidential Letter concerning Cacouna Harbor and the St. Lawrence beluga whale habitat

July 11, 2014

Dear Ms. Marsh:

I would like to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence of June 17 addressed to the Prime Minister regarding Cacouna Harbour and the St. Lawrence beluga whale habitat.

Please be assured that your commments, offered on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, have been carefully reviewed. I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your correspondence to the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport and the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. I am certain that the Ministers will appreciate being made aware of your views, and will wish to give them every consideration.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.

Yours sincerely,

P. Monteith

View a PDF of this response to our Presidential Letter

Québec Premier Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding Cacouna Harbour and Belugas

The Society for Marine Mammalogy received the following response to our June 17, 2014 Presidential Letter concerning Cacouna Harbour and the St. Lawrence River beluga whales from the Premier of Québec:

June 23, 2014

Dear Ms. Marsh:

On behalf of the Premier of Québec, Mr. Philippe Couillard, I acknowledge receipt of your email dated June 17, 2014 concerning Cacouna Harbour terminal project which involves construction of facilities for the export of crude oil in tankers that would travel into and out of the St. Lawrence River estuary. Thank you for taking the time to write.

Rest assured that we have taken your comments into account. The matter is now in the hands of the Mr. David Heurtel, minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change to address the question appropriately.

Sincerely yours,

Vanessa Gosselin
Political attachée

View the Letter as a PDF

Response to Presidential Letter Regarding Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphins

The Society received the following response to its Presidential Letter regarding the Don Sahong Dam and the future of river dolphins, including the critically endangered Mekong population of Irrawaddy dolphins from David B. Shear, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam on June 4, 2014:

Dear Ms. Marsh:

Thank you for your letter dated May 14, 2014. In response to your letter, I wanted to assure you that the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and the United States Government as a whole are focused on the conservation of marine mammals in Southeast Asia, and particularly the freshwater dolphins of the Mekong River.

With our colleagues throughout the United States Government, we have engaged in policy advocacy and technical capacity building to encourage the coutnries of the Mekong to consider the potential ecological impacts of hydropower adn other water infrastructure projects in the Mekong Basin.

The efforts of your organization play a critical role in our policy goals to protect these animals, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you and The Socity for Marine Mammalogy for your hard work on this issue. We look forward to workign with you on our shared goal in the future!

Sincerely,

David B. Shear

View the response as a PDF

Presidential Letter on Cacouna Harbour Project and Beluga Whale Endangerment

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

Monsieur Philippe Couillard
Premier ministre du Québec

The Honourable Gail Shea
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

Monsieur Laurent Lessard
Ministre des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs

Monsieur David Heurtel
Ministre du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques

Dear Sirs and Madame:

The Society for Marine Mammalogy is the world’s largest professional group dedicated to the study of marine mammals, with a membership of approximately 2,000 scientists from 60 countries. Its goal is to facilitate the understanding and conservation of marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them.

The Society is very concerned about the proposed Cacouna Harbour terminal project which involves construction of facilities for the export of crude oil in tankers that would travel into and out of the St. Lawrence River estuary. Cacouna Harbour is near the center of what government scientists have defined as “critical habitat” for a beluga whale population that is listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2012). To be more exact, the site is within one of the few well-defined areas of high residency of female belugas and their young (Lemieux Lefèbvre et al. 2012).

St. Lawrence belugas are the most southerly population in the circumpolar range of this iconic species, which is of particular symbolic and economic importance to Quebec and to Canada. This population has been studied by researchers from Canadian universities, government agencies, and environmental organizations over a longer period of time than any other beluga population in the world. All of this is to Canada’s credit, as is the fact that the St. Lawrence beluga population, which had declined to only a few hundred animals in the 1970s as a result of hunting and environmental degradation, recovered to around 1,000 by the late 1990s.

Unfortunately, it seems that this encouraging example of environmental stewardship is now in jeopardy. Recent research by Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) scientists indicates that the beluga population has been declining slowly since the early 2000s (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2014). Although the reasons for this change in trend are uncertain, the recent DFO Science Advisory Report (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2014) notes that it occurred during a period coinciding with increased noise and marine traffic, and also that these animals continue to suffer from high levels of contaminants. The DFO report draws attention to the need to reduce anthropogenic stressors such as disturbance in sensitive areas and during critical periods for female belugas and their calves.

Members of our Society with extensive experience in beluga biology and conservation consider that construction and operation of a tanker terminal in the critical habitat of a small and declining beluga population is incompatible with the aims of the Beluga Recovery Strategy (DFO 2012). Such a project is bound to have serious impacts on the suitability of the area for use by female belugas and their calves. It will further degrade the physical and acoustic environment, increase the risk of ship strikes on belugas, and possibly also reduce the availability of beluga prey; the possibility of a catastrophic oil spill is ever-present. These stresses may well prove to be too much for a population already considered threatened with extinction under Canadian law.

Given the strong scientific capacity at DFO and elsewhere in Canada, I encourage you to take full advantage of these enviable resources as you make decisions concerning this high-risk, controversial proposal. As with any such major project, scientific advice from relevant specialists should be obtained at every stage as part of a transparent consultation process. This advice should apply equally to preparatory work such as geophysical seismic and geotechnical drilling surveys that could have deleterious impacts on the beluga population, as well as to the overall assessment of potential impacts and consideration of alternative sites and mitigation measures.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further advice from Society members with appropriate technical expertise.

Sincerely,

helene-marsh-sig
Helene Marsh
President

Read acknowledgement of receipt and response on behalf of the Premier of Québec received 23 June 2014

Read acknowledgement of receipt and response on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister of Ottawa received July 11, 2014

Presidential Letter on Don Sahong Dam and River Dolphins

Mr. Hans Guttman
Chief Executive Officer
Mekong River Commission Secretariat
Vientiane, Lao PDR

Minister H.E. Lim Kean Hor
Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology
Chairperson of Cambodia National Mekong Committee
Member of the MRC Council for Cambodia
Cambodia

Minister H.E. Noulinh Sinbandhit
Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Chairperson of Lao National Mekong Committee
Member of the MRC Council for the Lao PDR
Vientiane, Lao PDR

Minister H.E. Vichet Kasemthongsri
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
Chairperson of Thai National Mekong Committee
Member of the MRC Council for Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand

Minister H.E. Nguyen Minh Quang
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
Chairperson of Viet Nam National Mekong Committee
Member of the MRC Council for Viet Nam
Hanoi, Viet Nam

Minister H.E. Dr. Ouk Rabun
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Minister H.E. Say Sam Al
Minister of Environment
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Minister H.E. Suy Sem
Minister of Mines and Energy
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Minister H.E. Thong Khon
Minister of Tourism
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Secretary General H.E Te Navuth
Secretary General Cambodia National Mekong Committee
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Ambassador Daniel A. Clune
U.S. Ambassador to Laos
Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Ambassador William E. Todd
U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia
Phnom Penh,Cambodia

Ambassador David B. Shear
U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam

Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney
U.S. Ambassador to the Royal Kingdom of Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand

Ambassador Alison Burrows
Australian Ambassador to Cambodia
Phnom Penh,Cambodia

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen
Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

14 May, 2014

Dear Sirs and Madames,

The Society for Marine Mammalogy is the world’s largest professional group dedicated to the study of marine mammals, with a membership of approximately 2,000 scientists from 60 countries. Its goal is to facilitate the understanding and conservation of marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them.

The Society is very concerned about the future of river dolphins, including the critically endangered Mekong population of Irrawaddy dolphins. The recent extinction of the Yangtze dolphin (or baiji) illustrates the extreme vulnerability of river dolphins to the impacts of human activities.

Construction of any dam in the Mekong River’s mainstream would represent a great risk to the survival of these dolphins. A dam would exacerbate already existing problems associated with degraded water quality and negative changes in the hydrologic and geomorphic characteristics of the river. It would also interrupt the movements of migratory fish.

Most immediately, construction of the Don Sahong Dam would lead to the disappearance of dolphins in Lao PDR, because of their close proximity to the dam site, and have serious downstream impacts on the dolphins in Cambodia. In contrast, the alternative Thako Hydropower Project would not involve constructing a barrier across a mainstream channel of the Mekong River and thereby would appear to present less of a threat to the dolphins.

Along with a group of international dolphin experts, I recently attended a workshop in Phnom Penh concerning Mekong dolphins. The group agreed that, given the state of knowledge of the population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River, range states should abide by the 10 year moratorium on the construction of mainstream dams in the Mekong River as recommended in the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream prepared for the Mekong River Commission (http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/Consultations/SEA-Hydropower/SEA-FR-summary-13oct.pdf).

It is important to note that further hydropower development in the Mekong Basin is also bound to have detrimental impacts similar to those listed above for dolphins  on other threatened aquatic megafauna such as the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), giant pangasius (Pangasius sanitwongsei), Siamese giant carp (Catlocarpio siamensis), giant river carp (Probarbus jullieni), Mekong freshwater stingray (Himantura chaophraya), and Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis).

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further advice from Society members with appropriate technical expertise.

Sincerely,

helene-marsh-sig

Helene Marsh
President

Risk to Cape Verde Humpback Whales from Explosives in the Port of Sai-Rei

Directora Gabinete: Maria Edelmira Carvalho
E a DGI: Odete Lima Dias
Dr Moises Borges
Dr Nuno Ribeiro
Sr. Anibal Medina
Mrs Sara Maria Duarte Lopes

22 April 2014

Dear Sirs and Madams:

The Society for Marine Mammalogy is the world’s largest professional group dedicated to the study of marine mammals, with a membership of approximately 2,000 scientists from 60 countries. Its goal is to facilitate the understanding and conservation of marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them.

As President of the Society, I write to you concerning the use of explosives to expand the port of Sal-Rei.  I understand that this project is scheduled to start during the humpback whale calving season. Humpback whales visit the Cape Verde area from February to June each year to mate and give birth in the shallow, sheltered bays, with the Bay of Sal-Rei being the most important area.  The Bay of Sal-Rei is the only known breeding area for this genetically isolated and precariously small population (Bérubé et al., 2013; Ryan et al., 2013).

Use of underwater explosives, or blasting, produces one of the strongest point sources of anthropogenic sound in the seas, resulting in high intensity sound components that can travel great distances (Richardson et al., 1995). For humpback whales, displacement and even mortality following blasting has been documented (Ketten et al., 1993; Todd et al., 1996). The potential for displacement, injury or mortality of whales around Boa Vista as a consequence of blasting could be high.

In similar situations elsewhere, such risks to whale populations are commonly mitigated by restricting the times and/or areas where blasting is allowed. In the case of Bay of Sal-Rei the most effective mitigation measure would be for no blasting to occur before June 15, when whales typically have departed from Sal-Rey Bay.  I urge you please to ensure that the companies responsible for this work (Somague and MSF Engenharia) do not begin blasting until after June 15 and cease before February 1 when the whales typically return to Sal-Rey Bay.

I note that Cape Verde is party to Convention for Migratory Species, which lists humpback whales in its Appendix I, so this action would accord with the Cape Verde’s obligations to protecting the humpback whales in its waters.

Please contact me, if you would like further advice from Society members with appropriate technical expertise.

Yours sincerely,

helene-marsh-sig

Helene Marsh
President