Beluga Whales of St. Lawrence Estuary

Lawrence River estuary, located in Quebec, Canada, has long been home to the southernmost population of beluga whales, and this isolated population of marine mammals has encountered continual pressure from external sources, such as overhunting and pollution, for most of the 20th century. Although a comprehensive ban on whaling was instituted in the 1950's, marine biologists and other researchers have noted that the expected beluga whale population recovery has failed to materialize, and a number of sound theories have been put forth by qualified scientists to explain the phenomenon. One of the most widely read and recognized of these hypotheses was developed by Canadian researcher Daniel Martineau and a team of colleagues, who studied the corpses of over a hundred beluga during a period of 17 years before determining that the St. Lawrence River estuary "beluga and their environment are contaminated by polycyclic aromatic...
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