National-Geographic

National Geographic

"Harp seal pups dying on beach as winter sea ice fails"

Filming with award-winning cold water diver and underwater cameraman Mario Cyr.

In 2010, for the first time since 1958, there was no ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This happened again in 2011, 2016, 2017 and 2021. Usually, every winter harp seals give birth on the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the Magdalen Islands. But last winter, due to climate change... no ice... We went to Blanc-Sablon, a small coastal village next to the Labrador border because that's where the seals had to give birth since it was the only place where there was ice.

We were there to document how this new environment affected the pups and what will happen to the seal population if we continue to have ice-free winters.

Sadly, I cannot share my video work as my images belong to National Geographic and haven't been posted yet. However, here are some of the few pictures that I took during our time in Blanc Sablon.

link tO national geographic ARTICLE