Scia’new First Nations, VIU and others work together to preserve grey whale skeleton

Scia'new


(Beecher Band) First Nations have generously facilitated the future exhibit of


a grey whale skeleton at Vancouver Island University’s Deep Bay Field


Station. 

The


skeleton comes from a young malnourished grey whale approximately 10 metres in


length that washed up on the shore of East Sooke Park in a windstorm April 2.

“The


preparation of the skeleton will provide an incredible learning opportunity for


students involved in the process,” said Brian Kingzett, Field Station Manager


at VIU’s Centre for Shellfish Research. “Once on public display, this whale’s


legacy will be to help educate and inspire about coastal species for decades to


come.”

The


whale’s skeleton will be preserved thanks to a co-operative approach involving Scia'new


First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), VIU and volunteers who were


involved in towing the carcass to a remote part of the First Nations land and


burying it at a sacred site.

Scia'new


First Nations had the whale buried on their land after concerns were raised that


some of the sightseers who came to see the carcass were showing disrespect for


the whale including removing flesh and baleen for souvenirs. The carcass was


also beginning to decay and posed a potential health hazard. 

Scia'new


First Nations member Sharon Cooper initiated the effort to have the whale’s


carcass handled with dignity. Fisheries and Oceans Canada was contacted about


potential ways to move the whale. Paul Cottrell, Acting Marine Mammal


Coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, then approached VIU about the


prospect of the university becoming involved.

VIU’s


Centre for Shellfish Research had previously indicated to Fisheries and Oceans


Canada that if a grey whale skeleton became available the university would be


interested in exhibiting it at the Deep Bay Field Station for educational and


research purposes. 

”While


the applied research focus of the Deep Bay Field Station is on shellfish issues


we will have a larger role in marine education,” Kingzett said.

With


leadership being shown by Scia'new First Nations, all parties met on April 9 and


made a plan to remove the whale from the beach the following day.  An elder escorted DFO and VIU staff to a


remote and sacred reserve and identified a suitable place to bring the carcass


ashore and provide it with an honourable burial until such time as the bones


could be exhumed by Scia'new First Nations and VIU.

The


following morning, with the help of volunteers operating a tugboat and an


excavator, the whale was towed to the First Nations site and buried. Elders and


community members supervised as mesh was wrapped around the carcass so that


bones can be recovered after deomposition.

While


natural decomposition over the next two years or more initially prepares the


bones, VIU is seeking sponsors to fund the costs to work in partnership with


the Scia'new First Nation to exhume the bones and then prepare and reassemble


the skeleton for display in the atrium of the Deep Bay Field Station. 

Kingzett


said the co-operative effort will provide the research station with a spectacular


display and learning opportunities.

The 13,000-square-foot, $8.6-million Deep Bay Field Station will open in


September. The field station will play a valuable role in coastal


research and educating both students and the public about the sustainability of


coastal communities and maintaining the health of inshore coastal ecosystems


where human development has its most immediate impact. 

Kingzett pointed out that the grey whale is unique as a species in that


it feeds in shallow bays and estuaries including foraging in muddy and sandy


bottoms for worms, shrimp and other shellfish. 


During their annual migration from the arctic to the Baja Mexico they


travel along the shore of Mexico, the US and British Columbia in very close


proximity to where coastal development is occurring. 

“The


grey whale’s recovery from near extinction is a reminder that we have the


ability and a responsibility to protect and restore the health of the coastal


systems that we rely on to support ourselves,” Kingzett said.

To learn how you can support Deep Bay and the future


preparation and exhibit of this whale please contact Julie Keenan, Manager,


Major Gifts & Legacies at VIU,  250-740-6602


or julie.keenan@viu.ca

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For


further information, contact: Brian Kingzett, Field Site Manager Centre for


Shellfish Research Vancouver Island University, 250-740-6399 Email: brian.kingzett@viu.ca

For


more on the Deep Bay Field Station, visit: viu.ca/deepbay