Whale Centre Receives Funding

There's a whale of a project in the works in northern Cape Breton. Two community groups are using $605,000 in government assistance to establish the Pleasant Bay Whale Interpretation Centre as a tourist attraction and future research facility.

The first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, the centre is expected to attract 21,000 visitors and generate $179,000 in revenues during its first year. It is being developed on the popular Cabot Trail by the Pleasant Bay Community Development Association and Friends of Whale Watch Cape Breton.

"It is fitting that Cape Breton Island's spectacular Cabot Trail be the location for a centre focusing on whales, a species that

• like the trail -- captivates residents and visitors alike. The opportunities presented by developing the centre as a whale research and education facility will be an exciting additional benefit from this project," said Senator Al Graham, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia, on behalf of Fred Mifflin, Secretary of State for Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Human Resources Development Canada.

Exhibits at the centre will explain the origin, classification, environments and conservation of whales in the waters off Cape Breton. Staff will take bookings for about 25 whale-watching tour operators around the island, while a gift shop will carry locally made crafts with a marine life theme. There are also plans to develop the facility as a centre for whale research.

"Adventure and ecotourism vacations are quickly increasing in popularity," said Natural Resources Minister Kennie MacAskill, speaking on behalf of Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. "Here in Cape Breton, we have a huge opportunity to build on our natural strengths and develop this growth market within the tourism sector. Attractions like the Pleasant Bay Whale Interpretation Centre will draw more tourists to the island while promoting care for our environment."

Whenever possible, the centre will lend a hand in business and community development projects by making the facility available to the community. It will also pilot a distance education project with students in the Strait region.

The centre has secured $540,000 in funding through the Canada/Nova Scotia COOPERATION Agreement on Economic Diversification. The agreement is managed federally by Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and provincially by Nova Scotia Economic Development and Tourism. Human Resources Development Canada is providing an additional $65,000 through its Transitional Job Fund, and the community groups will raise another $65,000.