Summer as a GREMMlin

Barely two weeks after starting our work and while we were still in training, we learned that a stranded beluga that had been recovered by the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN) was arriving at the Ferme 5 Étoiles, where it would be prepared for exhibit at the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre (CIMM) in Tadoussac. We were invited to go to the farm to see it and, of course, many of us jumped at the opportunity.

When we arrived at the farm, QMMERN team member Méduline was unloading the carcass of the hapless beluga. A strong odour was emanating from the carcass. The beluga had been necropsied the day before by the team of veterinarians from the CQSAS (Centre québécois sur la santé des animaux sauvages). The skeleton of this individual was recovered by GREMM to be put on display at the CIMM. Indeed, this individual has one exceptional characteristic: severe scoliosis. My summer in Tadoussac was off to an unforgettable start.

They say you should “never meet your heroes,” but when your heroes are ordinary people doing whatever they can to save whales, I think you can make an exception. As for me, I had the chance to meet Mackie Greene and Moira Brown of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team.

After a rescue operation involving a right whale in the St. Lawrence Estuary, I began drafting two articles on whale disentanglement and the new challenges associated with such operations. Patrick Weldon, who heads QMMERN’s interventions, put me in touch with the Campobello team for my articles. These are incredible people, gold mines of information, who really helped me tie up the loose ends in my articles. I joked to my friends that I would listen to the interview recordings every day, like an inspiring podcast. If only I didn’t have to listen to my own voice!

Back on dry land, the day was not over. That evening, I was able to attend a presentation by Pierre-Henry Fontaine, a retired biologist who authored what some of my colleagues refer to as the “Whale Bible.” He delivered an incredible presentation on freediving and even signed our books and answered all our questions.

Documentaries, invitations to activities of other companies, previews of future projects, and a visit to the Coast Guard office are all things that I had not expected to punctuate my summer of 2024. In the weeks to come, we had other conferences planned, a visit to the research offices, and I would even have a chance to clean the bones of a beaked whale! It was truly an unforgettable summer.