Jon Lien

Ordin Jon Lien (19 March 1939 - 14 April 2010), nicknamed “the Whale Man”, was a Canadian conservationist, researcher, professor, and organic farmer who founded Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Whale Research Group. From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, Lien released whales and other cetaceans entrapped in fishing nets along the coast of Newfoundland, and innovated now-widely-used whale rescue techniques. He invented The Lien Pinger, an acoustic alarm which is attached to fishing nets to reduce whale entrapments.

Biography Early life and education Jon Lien was born in Clark, South Dakota on 19 March 1939. His parents were Ordin and Alvera Lien. He was around animals from a young age between fishing, working on his uncle’s farm, and raising chickens in his parents’ garage.

Lien moved to Northfield, Minnesota in 1957 to pursue arts and literature at St. Olaf College. During his time at St. Olaf, he worked for the Wilderness Canoe Base. He also met his future wife Judy Traastad.

Whale Research Group

In the late 1970s, Lien received a call about a group of whales trapped in ice in Halls Bay, Newfoundland. He travelled there and set up a tent on his zodiac and stayed there studying the whales until the coast guard broke enough ice for the whales to swim clear.

After this experience, Lien founded Memorial University of Newfoundland's Whale Research Group, with the goals of releasing whales and large marine animals entangled in fishermen's nets around the coast of Newfoundland, so that the animals are returned to safety and the fisherman can continue fishing. The Whale Research Group was committed to marine environment conservation and education, responding to up to 150 entrapped humpback whales in one year.

Lien Family Farm

When building their house in Portugal Cove, Jon and Judy also started building a garden. Over time, a barn, paddock, root cellar, tractor shed, and a two-storey chill building were added. They raised goats, chickens, turkeys, and pigs, and produced over fifty different crops, always trying to incorporate new ones. In 2011, Jon (posthumously) and Judy were presented with the Gerritt Loo Award honouring outstanding contribution to the organic farming community.

The farm is still operational today.

Death

Lien's health gradually declined after a truck accident in 2002, and he was hospitalized in 2007, requiring full time nursing care. He died of heart complications on 14 April 2010.

The Dr. Jon Lien Memorial Scholarship

Memorial University of Newfoundland's Dr. Jon Lien Memorial Scholarship was created to honour Lien and is awarded to a full time graduate student studying marine animal behaviour, marine conservation, coastal community revitalization, or a current fishery challenge.