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It is barely 7 a.m. and the waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary are dead calm in the Les Escoumins region. No whale-watching cruise ships or merchant ships in sight in this very busy section of the seaway.
On the boat of the new whale watching company Du Fleuve, The Duty attends the launching of a hydrophone in order to be able to listen to what is happening beneath the surface, where most of the life of the cetaceans in the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park takes place.
Even though this is the first test for Captain Simon Beaudry, we can sometimes hear the song of a beluga seen at a good distance, or that of a humpback whale that is not far away and will surface a few minutes later. In short, a first test judged positive and which suggests a rich auditory experience if we find ourselves in the presence of a group of cetaceans, as can regularly happen in the region.
Why did you decide to add this acoustic tool to the marine observation activity? “We use our hydrophone to listen live to the communications of whales and belugas, thus emphasizing underwater life and observation, with the aim of providing a more complete and enriching understanding of the St. Lawrence ecosystem,” summarizes Captain Beaudry, who is also co-owner of the young company.
The goal, he adds, is to raise awareness and educate visitors who choose to cruise the waters of the marine park — and to go beyond the advertising discourse surrounding the industry, which mostly highlights spectacular images, such as those of humpback whales breaching, which do not necessarily reflect everyday reality.
Du Fleuve’s idea is therefore to try to better perceive and understand what is happening underwater. Sound is also a crucial element in the existence of cetaceans, since it allows them to socialize and communicate with other individuals who can sometimes be at a good distance. This is the case of the beluga, nicknamed the “canary of the seas” because of the diversity and omnipresence of songs in its daily life.
In this context, noise pollution constitutes a growing threat to the various populations of cetaceans, here and elsewhere in the world. The St. Lawrence beluga, for example, has been the subject of research projects to try to better understand the effects of underwater noise on this “endangered” population.
In 2021, a scientific study on the bonds between females and young belugas had already shown that ship noise significantly reduced their ability to communicate, which therefore increased the risk of breaking off essential contact for the calves.
According to information published by the Quebec government, noise pollution causes “habitat degradation” and may also have played a role in the significant mortalities of belugas recorded in the St. Lawrence in recent years.