A protected marine area with exceptional biodiversity, the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is home to over 2200 species, from microscopic algae to blue whales.
Some of the best whale watching in the world can be found in Quebec’s Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, created in 1998 to showcase the spectacular scenery and marine wildlife of the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay Fjord. Its frigid waters are even a great place to dive into!
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Located in Les Escoumins, the Centre educates visitors about the park’s aquatic environment and conservation efforts. Guests can participate in an underwater dive without getting wet, in a theatre watching biologist-divers equipped with a camera and mic go live beneath the St. Lawrence River.
Besides the belugas and humpbacks, we see minke whales, fin whales and harbour seals. Often spotted are the enormous blue whales. In addition, we are told, even a single and confused narwhal from the Arctic had been spotted recently, after an evident wrong turn brought it into these rich feeding grounds.
The cold, salt waters of the North Atlantic encounter fresh water flowing out of the St. Lawrence, stirring up an accumulation of krill and fish upon which whales feed. The beluga and harbour seal are the only marine animals that live here year-round. The other whales, including our show-boating humpbacks, migrate between the park and their mating grounds in the Caribbean.
Boating is one way to observe these magnificent mammals, there are also many excellent viewing areas on land. The Parks Canada Cap-De-Bon-Desir Interpretation and Observation Centre explains what lifeforms we might find on the sea floor and offers a whale-watching vantage point on its shoreline.
Entire article was written by James Ross and can be read in Cruise and Travel Lifestyles Fall and Winter issue.