Magazine
Cleanup of “seventh continent” set to begin
On September 8, The Ocean Cleanup project will deploy its first floating system designed to capture waste in the waters of the…
Belugas in aquariums : a brief history
Follow us on a journey that will take you from the St. Lawrence to Vancouver via Russia, New York and…
Whales with different methods of filtering
Baleen refers to the stiff plates of keratin that hang off the upper jaw of some whales, more precisely mysticetes……
Glasses to see the world like a whale
How would you like to “see” the world the same way a dolphin, a beluga or a sperm whale does?…
Whaling: Do the Whales Hunted in the Nordic Countries Visit the St. Lawrence?
Are the cetaceans targeted by Icelandic or Norwegian whalers the same ones as those that visit us year after year?…
Whaling: Poised to fizzle out?
In early July, images of whaling sparked a controversy. Sea Shepherd is concerned that Icelandic whalers have slaughtered a blue whale, which…
Whaling: Harvesting Whales in the 21st Century
In early July, images of whaling sparked a controversy. Sea Shepherd is concerned that Icelandic whalers have slaughtered a blue whale,…
Hydrodynamics of humpbacks as a health indicator
The way whales slip through the water can tell us if they are in good physical shape, reveals a study published…
Protecting belugas from increasing shipping traffic in the arctic
The Arctic is undergoing a transformation. Melting pack ice is opening up new shipping routes and setting the stage for…
Robots amongst the whales
Remote-controlled gadgets are becoming more popular for studying whales. Some have wings; some have propellers; other have sails or even…
Beluga, what are you doing under the water?
The lives of diving animals take place for the most part under water, out of human sight. Can we, by…
An elusive species faces extinction
Researchers are sounding the alarm to prevent the imminent disappearance of the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale. “This mammal is…
Stopping the flow of plastics into the ocean
Last week, the European Commission unveiled its strategy for reducing the amount of plastic waste landfilled and discharged into the…
What NASA data can tell us about mass strandings
Solar storms are not the primary cause of mass cetacean strandings in Cape Cod Bay, claims a new study conducted…
Do dolphins get Alzheimer’s?
For the first time, a study has shown clear signs of Alzheimer’s disease in a wild animal: the dolphin. Both…
Drilling near the St. Lawrence: A threat to marine mammals?
Between now and Christmas, the Government of Quebec is hoping to put into place a regulatory framework for hydrocarbon exploitation…
Could solar storms be to blame for a mass stranding?
The stranding of 29 sperm whales in the North Sea in early 2016 may have been caused by solar storms…
Boats to maintain greater distance from killer whales
By next spring, vessels off the coast of British Columbia will no longer be permitted to approach within 200 metres…
Bigger brain, greater degree of sociability?
Is there a correlation between brain size and the diversity of social behaviours exhibited by a species? In cetaceans, it…
Microorganisms in whale breath
A large group of bacteria was identified for the first time in the breath (or blow) of humpback whales. Whether…
Underwater mines: biologists concerned
Japan announced last week that it had successfully extracted zinc, gold, copper and lead from the seabed along the coast…
North Atlantic right whales declining since 2010, confirms study
Thanks to a new statistical model, US government researchers and the New England Aquarium are able to more accurately estimate…
Who wants to play beluga researcher?
A team of researchers from Manitoba needs your eyes to sort through thousands of underwater photos of belugas. Are you…
Ancient whales with teeth like lions
Ancient whales had extremely sharp teeth, similar to those of land-based predators such as lions and dingoes, recently discovered researchers…
Reduced speed limits for ships: an effective measure for protecting whales?
In order to protect North Atlantic right whales, the Canadian government has temporarily reduced speed limits for large vessels in…
Whales in the nets
As evidenced by the news in the past few weeks, when whales get entangled in fishing gear, there can be…
Less and less oxygen in the St. Lawrence
During their recent mission aboard the Coriolis II, researchers observed the lowest concentrations of dissolved oxygen ever recorded in the…
Whale alert app now available in French
Whale Alert, an application developed to reduce the risk of collisions between ships and whales, is now available in French.…
Whale-watching tours: opportunities to educate and raise awareness?
A case study in Juneau, Alaska demonstrates the potential of whale-watching tours as an educational and public awareness tool for…
Banned flame retardants still present in St. Lawrence belugas
Despite the measures that have been put into place in Canada since 2006 to reduce the concentrations of certain flame…
Making of Film Of Whales, the Moon and Men Designated Historic Event
The making of the film Of Whales, the Moon and Men (1962) by Pierre Perrault, Michel Brault and Marcel Carrière…
St. Lawrence Week: North Atlantic Right Whale
As part of St. Lawrence Week, Whales Online offers a glimpse of species that have a special meaning for each…
Vaquita could disappear within a year
On September 26, 2018, scientists aboard the Narval spotted a pair of vaquitas: one of the individuals was much smaller…
Blue Whale Feeding Disturbed by Nearby Watercraft
According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Rimouski-based Institute of Ocean…
Summer closure of fisheries: a potential solution for protecting right whales?
To ensure the survival of the North Atlantic right whale, should we mitigate the risk of entanglements with fishing equipment?…
Toward a better co-existence of shipping traffic and belugas in the St. Lawrence
To facilitate the recovery of whales at risk in the St. Lawrence, researchers, wildlife managers and industry are working together…
North Atlantic Right Whales Making Headlines: What’s Going On?
In recent months, the North Atlantic right whale has been much talked about. An unprecedented number of whales in Cape…
How does a predator go about eating an eight-legged prey almost as big as itself?
With no hands, how can one get the better of a live eight-armed prey measuring over one metre long equipped…
Intimidating Predators in a Less Icy Arctic
Marine mammal populations are accustomed to spending their summers in certain predator-free parts of the Arctic to give birth to,…
Counting whales from space
Can whales be counted using photos taken from outer space? Two researchers from Perth, Australia, are attempting to conduct a…
Hundreds of Whales Beached in New Zealand
Last weekend, over 600 pilot whales ran aground at Farewell Spit Beach in New Zealand. Hundreds of volunteers attempted to…
US standards to reduce global bycatch?
Since January 1, 2017, the United States has adopted a new seafood import regulation: foreign fisheries wishing to export to…
Marine Mammals in a Warmer and Less Icy St. Lawrence
A study released this month by the Maurice Lamontagne Institute of Fisheries and Oceans Canada reveals that significant changes are…
Baby on mom’s left or right?
Do you tend to carry your baby on your left? And does your child tend to position themselves so that…
A Recovery Plan for Alaskan Belugas
In these early days of 2017, the US government released its Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Recovery Plan, a population listed…
Baby Beluga in the Limelight in 2016
Reported on Radio-Canada’s website by journalist Ariane Perron-Langlois, the story of the live newborn beluga found beached was one of…
Trans Mountain and Killer Whales: Underestimated Impacts?
On November 29, the Trudeau government gave the go-ahead for the proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline…
New Marine Protected Area in the Canadian Arctic
On November 16, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the creation of the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Canadian…
Two Belugas Die at the Vancouver Aquarium… Now What?
Last week, Aurora, a female beluga who spent the last 26 years of her life at the Vancouver Aquarium, died…
Become an Earth Ranger and Help Protect Belugas !
The Earth Rangers organization helps protect St. Lawrence belugas and invites all children and their families to participate in the…
Narwhals Use Sound… Like a Flashlight!
The narwhal, sometimes called the unicorn of the sea, is not an imaginary creature. It is a real animal, but…
Belugas entrusted to Quebec premier and canadian prime minister
Scientists are concerned: not only have the federal and provincial governments been slow to implement a recovery strategy for the…
National oceans protection plan: necessary but….
Last week, the Government of Canada announced its $1.5 billion, 5-year National Oceans Protection Plan. The plan aims to create…
A Whale’s History Written in its Baleen
Biologists are still learning to read the life history of individual whales by studying their baleen. Just like the growth…
Beluga Skeleton at Collège Lionel-Groulx
Since late August 2016, there has been a new permanent resident in the Nature Wing of the Collège Lionel-Groulx: a…
Beluga Skeleton at Lionel-Groulx College
Since late August 2016, there has been a new permanent resident in the Nature Wing of the Collège Lionel-Groulx: a…
Nine Populations of Humpbacks Taken off Endangered Species List
On September 6, 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US agency that manages and protects whale stocks,…
October 6 and 7, 2016 – AquaHacking Summit: United for the St. Lawrence
For two days – Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7, 2016 – the St. Lawrence River will be the…
19 to 25 September 2016: Science Literacy Week
Science Literacy Week highlights Canada’s outstanding scientists and science communicators from coast-to-coast. The goals are to showcase the excellence and…
Safer Fishing Rope for Whales
The US government recently granted $180,000 to the New England Aquarium to design safer fishing gear for whales – namely…
Collision off Les Bergeronnes: Lessons to be Learned?
On Monday, August 29, a Zodiac captain working for Croisières Essipit and a passenger were thrown overboard from their tour…
Boater Awareness
In the latest issue of its magazine Plaisance (September 2016), the Regroupement des plaisanciers du Québec (Quebec boaters society, RQP) reminds recreational boaters of…
Narwhal on the Run – Updated August 10, 2016
On July 29, the GREMM team observed a narwhal in a group of belugas off the coast of Trois-Pistoles. A…
A Tragic Series Continues
Third Young Beluga Found Stranded this Season In the late morning hours of July 31, Marine Mammal Emergencies received a…
Leave it or learn
Last June 30, when a newborn beluga orphan was found on a beach in Rivière-du-Loup, a team from the Group for Research and…
Raspberry White Beer on Sale Now, For the Belugas!
Launched this spring by Les Bières Béluga Ltée, last week a new raspberry-flavoured white beer hit the shelves of numerous…
Drones and Whales
Recently, whale-watching guides and companies have expressed concerns about drones flying near killer whales off the west coasts of Canada…
Following Researchers at Sea
Several research teams made their inaugural trips of the season in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in recent…
Remarkable mobilization for the adoption of the beluga Amino
On June 12, 2016, following the broadcast of Animo on ICI Radio-Canada Télé, viewers rallied in large numbers to collectively adopt the eponymously-named…
Study Reveals Exceptional Efficiency of a Small Hunter
The harbour porpoise feeds day and night, aiming to capture up to 550 small fish per hour, with a success…
Energy East Pipeline: GREMM Brief Made Public
Although TransCanada abandoned its oil terminal project in Cacouna in April 2015, whales of the St. Lawrence are still threatened…
June 4 through 12, 2016: Week of the St. Lawrence
Stratégies Saint-Laurent, the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation and 33 other organizations invite Quebec citizens to celebrate the river during the…
A sanctuary for cetaceans: a controversial project
A group of activists has announced its plans to create the world’s first coastal sanctuary for cetaceans – whales, dolphins,…
25 May 2016: Launch of a beer for St. Lawrence marine mammals
This Wednesday 25 May, from 4 to 7 pm, join us at the Broue Pub Brouhaha Ahuntsic for the launch of the…
Critical St.Lawrence beluga habitat to be protected at last
The Government of Canada has published a notice in the Canada Gazette announcing that under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA),…
Baleen Whale Migration Revisited
According to literature, most Mysticeti whales – also known as baleen whales – undertake seasonal migrations between high and low…
Seismic Surveys Could Drive Right Whale to Extinction
In a letter to President Obama on April 14, 2016, twenty-seven scientists present their concerns about the impacts of seismic…
When Sharing a Meal Keeps a Family Together
Although a killer whale can easily swallow a whole salmon, it prefers to tear it into pieces to share with…
Could Climate Change Benefit Some Cetaceans?
According to an article published on April 5, 2016 in National Geographic, some whales, especially humpback and bowhead whales, could…
New Investments in the St. Lawrence: Opportunity to Reconcile Conservation and Development?
New investments recently announced by the Canadian and Quebec governments in port areas and the marine ecosystem of the St.…
Energy East Project: Another Threat to the Whales of the St. Lawrence
The testimony of Émilien Pelletier before Quebec's environmental assessment agency (BAPE) last week cast a dark cloud over the whales…
Blue Whales of Antarctica: Three Populations of Giants
The Antarctic blue whale, which is endangered, falls into three genetically distinct populations. This was the conclusion of a recent…
Toxins Detected in Alaska Marine Mammals
Toxins produced by certain algae are present in Alaska's food chain in concentrations high enough to be detected in many…