New film opening in Halifax aims to assist the endangered right whale (5 photos)

Dalhousie University’s Sean Brillant is among experts participating in a Q&A session following the Halifax premiere of ‘Last of the Right Whales’ on February 20

CITYnews halifax \ Steve Gow

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A new film is aiming to shed light on the plight of the North Atlantic right whale with hopes of inspiring people to act before the endangered mammal winds up extinct.

Being released into theatres across Canada on February 20, which happens to be World Whale Day, Last of the Right Whales will screen at Halifax’s Park Lane Cineplex Cinemas with a special panel discussion and Q&A featuring filmmakers and such experts as Sean Brillant, Dalhousie University adjunct professor in the Department of Oceanography.

“This is not a problem with right whales, they are just the star of the story,” says Brillant, who is also a senior conservation biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Federation. “The analogy that I often use is that the right whales are the species that are the closest to the edge of the cliff. They are going to be the first ones we’re going to lose if we don’t change anything.”

Produced and directed by Nadine Pequeneza, Last of the Right Whales is an evocative documentary that follows several activists as they attempt to track and fight for the survival of the North Atlantic right whale.  With less than 400 of the species known to be in our oceans, right whales are dying faster than they can reproduce.

“For too long we’ve continued to absolve ourselves of the damage we cause in the oceans because we don’t mean to do it,” says Brillant. “(But) we have grown in knowledge and wealth. We now know just how much of an effect we have on the ocean around us and it’s time for us to put on some grown-up pants and start making some tough decisions about the fact that we need to pay attention to these big mistakes we’ve been making and correct them.”

As the film points out through stunning 4K footage and first hand knowledge from such experts as researchers, marine biologists, a wildlife photographer, a crab fisher and others, the dwindling population of North Atlantic right whales has been due primarily to factors other than natural causes.

As has been widely reported, right whales have been victim to several ship strikes over recent years, to the point that is now illegal for ships to approach within 100 metres in Canadian waters without a federal permit.

“Shipping as well as entanglement in fishing gear is causing the decline of this species and probably many, many others,” notes Brillant. “(But) we can’t also say that those who have smaller vessels and even fishing vessels are completely (absolved) in this situation because we can show that that’s not actually the case.”

In fact, Dalhousie University researchers (including Brillant) released new research in November 2020 that outlined North Atlantic right whales were just as susceptible to fatal injuries from being struck by small boats or vessels travelling at slow speeds.

The film attempts to explore why the large mammal’s migration patterns have been shifting over the past few years so that it is becoming more exposed to the dangers of boat strikes.

“There isn’t a villain in this story. There isn’t someone trying to drive these animals to extinction — quite the opposite in fact,” says Brillant, adding that the main hurdle is between those who assume human practices that make up a part of their livelihood aren’t harming the ecosystem and those who recognize that certain measures need to be taken to protect ocean wildlife.

“People find that difficult of course,” adds Brillant. “And I think that’s the challenge here — getting people to recognize that.”

While Brillant says the movie certainly makes a serious case for change in order to rescue —not just the right whale but other wildlife in the ocean as well — he says he hopes to impart some meaningful discussion during the Q&A following the February 20 screening.

“People need to be aware. People need to see the connection with other issues in the world and they need to be able to talk about it and be educated about it,” says Brillant.

“Having people armed with the knowledge of how complex this issue is and specifically what the problems are, what the course of action needs to be as a society and finally, maybe a compulsion and a willingness and an inspiration to want to see something happen — these are the things that I think we can benefit from that are going to come from this film.”

For more information on Last of the Right Whales, visit the website.

Dalhousie University adjunct professor and senior conservation biologist for Canadian Wildlife Federation, Sean BrillantContributed

A young North Atlantic right whale entangled in rope from the film, ‘Last of the Right Whales’Contributed

A North Atlantic right whale fluke in a scene from ‘Last of the Right Whales’Contributed

A North Atlantic right whale feeds in a scene from ‘Last of the Right Whales’Contributed