Help Create the Haida Orca Sanctuary in Haida Gwaii!

Help Free Captive Orcas to Ocean Sanctuary!

Imagine a world where all orcas, whales, and cetaceans swim Free in the Sea, breaching with Joy as nature intended! Join the Pod of Orca Supporters creating the Haida Orca Sanctuary in Haida Gwaii - a pristine northern archipelago coined Canada’s “Galapagos”!

Why is this needed?

Public opinion has changed over time on orcas, whales, and cetaceans in captivity. People are realizing how much damage is being inflicted on these amazing beings in captivity. However, there is no place to currently take the whales out of captivity. Unlike wonderful Sanctuaries created for large land mammals such as elephants, big cats, bears, etc., there are no Sanctuaries for orcas. That is now changing. Grass-roots volunteers from the orca advocacy community and Haida First Nations People with deep historical and familial connections to the orca are stepping up to free these highly-evolved, amazing, sentient beings.

The Haida Orca Sanctuary welcomes any and all orcas in captivity worldwide. Abducted violently starting in the 1960’s by wildlife traffickers, using dynamite and grenades and nets with despicable tactics of herding and separating babies from their pods, to the agonizing cries of the parents, the baby orcas who managed to survive this savagery were sold and trafficked into slavery to the highest bidder - into the ‘marine entertainment’ industry, such as SeaWorld, MarineLand, Miami SeaQuarium, and Windsor Safari park. This brutality is ongoing to today. Isolated and stripped of their freedom and dignity, these orcas have been reduced to performing endless circus tricks - or else face starvation. Withholding food is the standard industry practice to train them. Trapped in cramped, lifeless, barren concrete tanks, undergoing constant chronic stress, many understandably commit suicide by smashing their heads against the concrete walls and glass. Others grind their teeth down to nothing or remain lifeless at the bottom of their tiny, shallow tanks, in obvious desperation and grief, while one after another, they die in these horrid conditions.

None of these orcas ever pass from old age, nor live in a supportive community with family members. They are used for money and then thrown out, literally into trash dumps. It is cruel slavery and exploitation sold as family entertainment. Nothing could be worse to teach young people than making money off of slavery and starvation. Enough is enough!

What are we doing about it?

We invite you to come together in creating the Haida Orca Sanctuary with us in a good way, united and driven by our Love for these magnificent and sacred Orcas! Insead of suffering in slavery, orcas will be lovingly nurtured, healed and rehabilitated back to health, and prepared for freedom in the open ocean when ready. Orcas that are rewilded will always be welcomed back to the Sanctuary - ‘once a member of the Sanctuary Pod… always a member’. Orcas unable to return to the open sea for any reason will be cared for at the Sanctuary for life. The Haida Orca Sanctuary will also be a place to rehabilitate any injured wild orcas and possibly other marine mammals. We welcome scientific research and collaboration that studies and helps orcas in positive, ethical ways.

Who is doing this?

Collaborating in partnership with Haida Nations leadership and peoples, ‘We Belong to the Sea’ is a Canadian nonprofit/US 501 charity, made up of caring volunteers from around the world, passionately committed to justice, healing and freedom for all orcas held in captivity.

Where will donations go?

Donations will primarily go to physical construction of an ocean-based enclosure for the orcas to swim and heal in. The Sanctuary will be built in phases.

The first priority for donations is to finance the equipment and labour required to create the Sanctuary enclosure itself in Gordon Cove, Haida Gwaii, nearby to Camp Moresby. This enclosure construction includes components such as double layered seine netting with weighted lead lines, floating cork lines, anchors, divers, underwater cameras and audio recording devices, EZ-Dock floating dock pieces, including medical ramp, separate medical enclosure, cleaning block etc.

The orca enclosure system will allow orca caretakers easy access to deliver care for the orcas in Sanctuary. There they will rehabilitate and strengthen themselves, ultimately reawakening their natural instincts in the healing waters of this spacious, pristine ocean sanctuary.

The next phase of fundraising will focus on other necessities for this project such as freezers for fish, canoes and/or boats, technology equipment, tiny homes for orca-care staff, administrative costs, salaries for orca-care staff, veterinarians, and administrative costs.

Financial transactions will be managed jointly by three financial directors via the Vancity Credit Union nonprofit account for ‘We Belong to the Sea’, located on Marine Drive in West Vancouver, BC Canada.

We thank you for your support and donations to help create the Haida Orca Sanctuary. We look forward to seeing each and every one of you at the Opening Ceremony Celebration and/or visits to see the wonderful orcas during rehabilitation.

Any partners/sponsors?

Patagonia - we are excited to partner with Patagonia - a certified B Corporation since 2012.

“Patagonia believes that the most direct path to real change is through building grassroots momentum.”

Emdash Agency - we gratefully receive PR media support from Emdash Agency - also a certified B Corporation.

“We’re Emdash. We work exclusively with those making the world a better place. As a small agency, we’re able to take on only projects and campaigns that inspire us.”

How can I help?

There are a number of ways you can help:

Make a donation! Go Fund Me contributions will raise the funds to setup and maintain the creation of an Orca Sanctuary in Haida Gwaii.

Become a part of the team! We are a small team and looking to grow. All skill sets are welcome. Current opportunities are volunteer based. Eventually, we would like to setup paid opportunities. Message us and let us know how you’d like to help.

Spread the word! Share our Go Fund Me campaign online and with any and orca sea life lovers.

Be a part of the exciting evolution in this world we are all feeling! Contribute to help emancipate and heal these sacred supernatural beings. Together, let’s create a Sanctuary where they can heal, swim freely and dive deeply in the ocean waters they were born to swim in - to return to the sea - their birthright.

Haawa Haawa (Thank You, Thank You)

We Belong to the Sea & Haida First Nations Peoples