Les Escoumins and the Saguenay Marine Park

Before Going In

• Confirm that Anemone Bay or West Cove is open and that Quebec certificate or temporary equivalency is accepted for your planned dive. East Cove is closed.
• Check tide predictions for Les Escoumins station 02900 and Environment Canada marine forecasts for the local St. Lawrence sector. Conditions must be reassessed by the operator at the entry.
• Use appropriate cold-water thermal protection, familiar equipment, a functioning regulator and a buddy or professional guide. Plan depth, turn pressure and an exit compatible with tide and current.
• Nordic snorkeling is an organized low-tide activity; its minimum age or no-scuba-certificate rule must not be applied to scuba or depth freediving.
• Do not conduct independent breath-hold depth sessions based on the operator's surface-program terminology.
• Establish an emergency plan including oxygen access, communications, pickup and medical evacuation; do not assume a local hyperbaric chamber.

Respect Marine Habitat

Observe anemones and other invertebrates without handling them or disturbing the seabed. Do not enter the water to swim or interact with any marine mammal, and keep boat approaches within applicable legal limits. Quebec Subaquatique: Les Escoumins dive sites; Parks Canada: Marine Activities Regulations guide; Canadian Hydrographic Service: Les Escoumins tide station 02900; Environment Canada: St. Lawrence marine weather

The official Cote-Nord health service lists the Centre multiservices de sante et de services sociaux des Escoumins at 4 rue de l'Hopital, Les Escoumins, telephone 418-233-2931. A provincial facility registry lists an emergency-care service there, but this does not verify a nearby operating hyperbaric chamber, on-site dive-physician coverage, ambulance response time, rescue boat or evacuation flight. For suspected decompression illness or serious cold exposure, terminate diving, call 911 for medical emergency dispatch and request expert diving-medical advice from DAN after local emergency services are engaged. Plan these contingencies with the operator in advance. Sante Quebec Cote-Nord: Les Escoumins health services; Quebec Health Ministry: Escoumins facility registry; Government of Quebec: What to do in a medical emergency; Divers Alert Network: Emergency Assistance

The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park protects St. Lawrence wildlife and is governed by marine-activity regulations. Its official summary prohibits disturbing marine mammals, including getting in the water to swim or interact with them, feeding, touching, or disrupting groups. It specifies at least 400 m separation for boats from threatened or endangered cetaceans such as belugas and blue whales, and at least 200 m for other cetaceans, subject to the full regulation and circumstances. Temporary exclusion areas may exist; marine conditions, boundaries and legal notices should be checked anew. Beluga calving in July and August is especially sensitive. Stay on designated shore approaches and never use East Cove. Parks Canada: Marine Activities Regulations guide; Parks Canada: Wildlife safety; Quebec Subaquatique: Les Escoumins dive sites