Canada's endangered southern resident killer whales are getting some help from the federal government.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson announced more than $2.9 million in funding Friday afternoon at UBC.
The funding will be shared by three universities: the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University and the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.
"The goal of this initiative is to support researchers at Canadian universities by leveraging our financial and our scientific resources in a way that help protects injured whales while also inspiring the next generation of scientists to persuade meaningful in this field," Wilkinson said.
The government wants to further the scientific research on the southern resident killer whale, North Atlantic right whale and St. Lawrence estuary beluga.
The funding will help whale experts advance their knowledge on the ongoing threats that these mammals face on a daily basis.
The multimillion dollar investment will also support the creation of over 24 jobs for the next two to four years including five jobs at UBC.
