Learn How to Navigate Whale Habitat: a Fast, Free Online Training Course!

Over the next few months, thousands of recreational boaters, kayakers and paddlers will be taking advantage of the nice weather to navigate in the St. Lawrence River and the Saguenay Fjord. These areas of natural beauty are also of great importance to the survival of whales, and the presence of boats, even small ones, can negatively impact these species at risk.

Users of the St. Lawrence River and Fjord are therefore invited to take the training course entitled Navigating Whale Habitat. This course, which takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete, provides users with knowledge of whales and the regulations that are in place to protect them. The course is free, bilingual, accessible on both mobile devices and computers and is adapted to various boat types: kayak and paddleboard, sailboat or motorboat.

Small boats, big impact

Some whales travel thousands of kilometres each year to reach the St. Lawrence River and the Saguenay Fjord. Most of them stay from May to September to feed, rest and give birth. When a whale interacts with a boat, it is interrupting its vital activities, and accumulated disruptions may affect its health, reproduction and survival. Understanding whale behaviour and adopting good navigation practices are simple ways that recreational boaters can contribute to the protection of whales. 

The training course was developed by the Marine Mammal Observation Network (MMON), the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) and Parks Canada, with the collaboration of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The initiative was made possible through the financial support of DFO’s Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) for Species at Risk and the endangered wildlife program of the Fondation de la faune du Québec.

Josianne Vignola
Communications