{"id":10811,"date":"2022-02-10T17:21:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=10811"},"modified":"2022-02-10T21:20:10","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T21:20:10","slug":"last-of-the-right-whales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/last-of-the-right-whales\/","title":{"rendered":"Last of the Right Whales"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Documentary that Tells the Hard Truth About this Endangered Species and Implores You to Know and Love this <\/span>Whale<\/span><\/h2>\n

With fewer than 350 remaining, the <\/span>North Atlantic Right Whale<\/span><\/a> is on the brink of extinction. The imminent threat they face are vessel strikes and entanglement, but climate change is also a very real and scary threat as well.\u00a0 Scientists say they could be lost from the planet by 2040. What a loss that would be. But there is hope. There are people working hard to save this species, people like Nadine Pequeneza, the Director of <\/span>Last of the Right Whales<\/span><\/i>, a documentary hitting theatres across the country on February 20<\/span>th<\/span>. It\u2019s already won the \u201cBest Canadian Feature\u201d at the 2021 Planet in Focus International Documentary Environmental Film Festival and it is more than worthy of all the acclaim it\u2019s receiving.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I sat down with Nadine to talk about the North Atlantic Right Whale and her incredible documentary to encourage the public to know this Endangered whale \u2013 to know it and <\/span>love<\/span><\/i> it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Interview <\/span>With<\/span> the Director<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Nadine
Nadine Pequeneza, Director of \u201cLast of the Right Whales\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of public awareness about this whale and the threats that it\u2019s facing,\u201d said Nadine. \u201cAnd also it\u2019s not only the North Atlantic Right Whale that\u2019s impacted by these human activities of shipping and fishing and so I felt like if we\u2019re going to lose a species that\u2019s been on the planet for millions of years because of ignorance, we should try to avoid that. If you think of all the planets in the universe, they don\u2019t have the kind of life that we have here. And so it needs to be protected.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Scientists have been studying these whales since the \u201830s. They\u2019ve been cataloging them and naming them and following their life history. They\u2019re not <\/span>just<\/span><\/i> whales. They\u2019re whales with family \u2013 with calves and grandcalves and they actually have documented those family lines and have seen similarities in where they go to calve and raise their young, and even where they might choose to feed. This science is continuing but it indicates that there\u2019s memory here. Because the scientists have such a close relationship with these whales I wanted to convey that in the film and I wanted the audience to also have that connection.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s no other form of storytelling that allows people to really experience things without having to be there at a particular moment. Just by having that audiovisual experience and being able to almost walk in the footsteps of people on the front lines trying to deal with this issue.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting to Know <\/span>Them as Individuals<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"North
North Atlantic Right Whale #3560 \u201cSnowcone\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The film introduces us to a myriad of heroes that have dedicated their time and sometimes their lives to the protection of the North Atlantic Right Whale. It also introduces us to two very special whales \u2013 Snow Cone and her calf. Over the course of the film, the audience watches these two mammals as they communicate with one another, and ultimately have that bond destroyed due to human activity. It\u2019s next to impossible to watch their journey and their relationship and not feel empathy for these whales.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>That is what Nadine was hoping to achieve with the film. \u201cWe filmed over the course of 2.5 years, and I got to know those whales.\u00a0 Oftentimes the way we connect with animals that are not humans is to give them human characteristics. That was one of the goals of the documentary \u2013 to show people those human characteristics that all animals share. The bond between mother and child and mom and calf? You\u2019ll see it across all mammals.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Their story, sadly, is not void of the real threats these whales face every day – namely entanglement and ship strikes.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Sad Tale<\/span> to Tell<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"North
North Atlantic Right Whale #4615 entangled in rope<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Every year a number of <\/span>North Atlantic Right Whales are sadly hit by ships<\/span><\/a>. In 2017, for example, 17 North Atlantic Right Whales were killed (although that number may be even higher). Of those deaths, five individuals were killed from being hit by vessels. Necropsies performed on whales have found that ship strikes can fracture bones, cause severe hemorrhaging to their tissue and damage the blood vessels around the dorsal fin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, about a quarter of North Atlantic Right Whales become <\/span>entangled<\/span><\/a> in fishing gear every year. Some result in minor scars, but others involve ghastly deaths. An entangled whale has a harder time to move around freely, reproduce and eat. Entanglements can lead to infection and even cut through to the muscle and bone. When a whale can\u2019t escape the binding, they can drown or their deaths can be drawn out for months. The fact that 85 per cent of North Atlantic Right Whales have scarring from entanglement in fishing gear proves that this threat is incredibly real for these mammals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is Still Hope<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"A
A North Atlantic Right Whale Tail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While <\/span>Last of the Right Whales<\/span><\/i> doesn\u2019t shy away from the very real horrors these marine mammals face, you can certainly sense the hope that Nadine has surrounding the fate of these whales.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI have hope because we\u2019re the cause of the problem. We\u2019re the ones that are the biggest threats to the whale\u2019s existence. Or at least the immediate threat. We have the possibility to change our behaviours, change the way we use the ocean and come up with methods that allow both species – humans and whales – to coexist in the ocean,\u201d said Nadine. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fabulous work going on with engineers and fishers trying to develop safer ways of fishing. There\u2019s been a lot of testing happening over the last four or five years. Some of these systems have been used successfully in other parts of the world for many years already. I\u2019m very encouraged by the fact that people have been moving in this direction in Canada and the U.S.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I think we have it in our ability to protect these whales and other cetaceans in the ocean. But we need to wake up and do what\u2019s required. We know we\u2019ve had some success. But because of climate change, the conditions change, so then we have to implement those same protection measures in new places.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lifetime Heroes<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Dr.
Dr. Moira Brown, Lead Scientist, Canadian Whale Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really respect those people who\u2019ve been in it for the long haul like Barb Zoodsma (Coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s right whale recovery program in the Southeast U.S.), Dr. Charles \u2018Stormy\u2019 Mayo (Director of the Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown,), Dr. Moira Brown (lead scientist at the Canadian Whale Institute), Michael Moore (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine biologist).\u00a0 They\u2019ve been in this for decades \u2013 working to save this species.\u00a0 I have tremendous respect for them for sticking with it because every time the whales shift in distribution because of climate change, these heroes then have to go and educate a whole new group of people \u2013 governments, regulators, and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I also have tremendous respect for young people who are coming into it. People like Wildlife Cinematographer, Nick Hawkins who was going to do whatever he had to do to get the imagery that he felt was so important for the protection of the species. Images are key when you are trying to protect a species \u2013 you can\u2019t love something if you\u2019ve never seen it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Martin No\u00ebl \u2013 a Crab Fisherman in New Brunswick \u2013 is a hero to me because he is getting involved in every way possible to protect the species both in testing new types of gear that will make that rope either disappear from the water column or less dangerous if it has to be in the water column for a period of time. He\u2019s testing gear. He\u2019s on the newly formed rescue team in the Gulf of the St Lawrence \u2013 they never had one there before because the whales weren\u2019t present and then he\u2019s also taking the scientists out every year so they can do their research. He captains his vessel so they can get to where they need to to collect samples, take photos and do observation work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It takes a very forward-thinking person to react that way when your livelihood is at stake. Imagine if someone came to you and said, \u2018You can no longer earn a living the way you have been earning a living for generations in your family and you had no knowledge of the problem that they\u2019re talking about. That\u2019s the way people need to think of it. When we understand what\u2019s at stake and the fact that if we want this change to happen fishermen <\/span>have to<\/span><\/i> be involved, we stand a chance of saving this species. It doesn\u2019t make any sense to think that we can solve this problem without the cooperation of fishermen.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From Empathy to Action<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Dr.
Dr. Charles \u201cStormy\u201d Mayo, Ecologist, Centre for Coastal Studies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But heroes can\u2019t do it alone. They can\u2019t save this species alone. They need an army of people behind them. And so we hope you\u2019ll go to the theatres starting February 20 across the country and open up your heart to these animals. When asked what Nadine hopes her audience will take away from <\/span>Last of the Right Whales<\/span><\/i>, she responded \u201cFirst and foremost, I hope they will love North Atlantic Right Whales. I hope they will feel connected to them. I hope that they will feel empathy for Snow Cone and her calves \u2013the one that died and the new one that\u2019s just been born. And though a miracle, both mom and calf are at risk because of that ongoing entanglement. I hope they will feel empathy and I also hope that they will see solutions. That they will see that there is a possibility for us to correct our behaviours in a way that makes it possible for coexistence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Find out where you can see<\/span> Last of the Right Whales <\/span><\/i>here.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Documentary that Tells the Hard Truth About this Endangered Species and Implores You to Know and Love this Whale With fewer than 350 remaining, the North Atlantic Right Whale…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":10812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,631],"tags":[9181],"class_list":["post-10811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coasts-oceans","category-connect-with-nature","tag-right-whale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10811"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10852,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10811\/revisions\/10852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}