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“In Sheet Harbour, we have an excellent site from a physical point of view, but we are still engaging with the community to make sure that we answer all of their questions and concerns.”

A meeting with residents in Sheet Harbour, which is about 120 kilometres east of Halifax, is slated for Dec. 16.

But the site near Sherbrooke, about 80 kilometres farther east at Port Hilford, is still in the running.

While the Sheet Harbour site may have superior physical attributes, it does have its drawbacks, Marino said.

“In Sheet Harbour, we have a very strong contingent who are on board … but there are some — a small segment of the community — who are very vocal about their concerns,” she said, adding that some fishermen and boaters are not in favour of the project.

“In Sherbrooke, we have pretty much no resistance.”

Once a site is selected, the private group plans to launch a campaign to raise all of the money it needs to run the facility, which will include a veterinary clinic staffed full-time and a nearby interpretation centre — though the total number of new jobs remains unclear.

If the project is approved for either site, the enclosed area could provide sanctuary to between six and eight belugas that would be transferred from the roughly 200 belugas now being kept in marine parks and aquariums around the world.

The MarineLand Park in Niagara Falls, Ont., has about 50 belugas in its tanks.

Marino said her group is still looking at whale sanctuary sites in British Columbia and Washington state, but those prospective sites would be used primarily for killer whales retired from marine parks.

Meanwhile, a beluga sanctuary has already opened in southern Iceland. The Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary has two belugas from China — Little Grey and Little White — in temporary tanks. They are expected to be moved to an enclosed cove this spring.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2019.