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A Nova Scotia river rafting company says it has developed policies related to encountering whales while on the water after a rare interaction with a humpback two years ago that resulted in federal charges.
Shubie River Wranglers, which offers rafting excursions, and its owner Emmett Blois were charged with disturbing a marine mammal without authorization under the Fisheries Act last year. He pleaded not guilty last November and stood trial in Truro provincial court this week.
“I still to this day don’t ever think we’ll see a [humpback] again. I hope we don’t,” he told CBC News after taking the stand in his own defence on Tuesday.
The charges stem from an incident on July 1, 2024, when a boat is alleged to have come within 100 metres of a humpback whale.
The whale became beached on a sandbar in Shubenacadie River.
Shubie River Wranglers is among a handful of companies that operate zodiac boat tours on the tidal bore that forms as water rushes into the mouth of the Shubenacadie River from Cobequid Bay.
On the day of the incident, at least two rafting companies had boats on the water, the court heard.
Video posted to social media
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said a video posted to the Shubie River Wranglers social media page led to an investigation by fishery officers.
Blois testified that he and his staff were following their normal rafting route when they encountered the whale. He said there were up to six of his company’s boats on the water. Blois said he used hand movements to tell employees on those rafts to back away from the whale. He estimated the boats were about 15 metres from the humpback.
Blois told the court he shot parts of the video, including when the whale swam under his vessel.
The court also heard some of the video was filmed by Morgan MacDonald, the owner of another rafting company who testified in court on Monday, and who was helping the Marine Animal Response Society on the day of the incident.
MARS staff and volunteers attempted to keep the whale cool until the dramatic tides turned, allowing the whale to free itself.
Michael MacNeill, an employee of MARS, told the court rafting boats were seen at varying distances, including within an arm’s reach of the whale at their closest.
An overhead view of the dead humpback whale when it washed up near Stewiacke, N.S., days after being spotted by rafting companies. (Blake Giroux Photography)
Adrian Hutcheson, a federal Crown prosecutor, said federal regulations prohibit anyone from disturbing a whale, including approaching within 100 metres.
“These regulations apply to everyone, whether you’re a business owner or not. And the Marine Mammal Regulations set out prohibited acts that people cannot do to marine mammals, like whales, and this is a case that kind of shows the potential consequences of breaching those regulations,” said Hutcheson.
Alexander MacKillop, who represents Blois, said no one told his client about the whale before going out on the river that evening. He said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans should have informed the public about the whale.
“He was on the river. A whale appeared there. He tried to do the best in the situation, and it was an unfortunate series of events,” said MacKillop.
The whale later washed up dead near Stewiacke, N.S. Hutcheson said the charge Blois and the rafting company face is not related to the humpback’s health.
If found guilty, Blois could be fined up to $100,000.
A decision is expected in late November.
Rare event
Prior to starting the company in 2013, Blois worked for another rafting business. He said it was shocking to see the school bus-size humpback whale, and just a few weeks earlier his company also had an interaction with a minke whale.
Blois told the court that at the time of the incident in 2024 he was not aware of federal regulations pertaining to encountering whales, but the company has since developed its own policies for staff to follow going forward.
“We have our procedures now, we carry radios with us so we can better communicate in the river.”
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