It's time for Canada to relax fishery closures around right whale sightings, committee says

The standing committee on fisheries and oceans is recommending that the federal government relax the fishing closures it imposes when endangered North Atlantic right whales are sighted in Canadian waters.

In a report released Tuesday, the committee said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada should modify its rules for the 2023 season in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin off southern Nova Scotia since most single-whale detections are animals in transit and not staying to feed. It also says season-long closures should rarely be imposed.

Currently, the visual or acoustic detection of a right whale leads to the closure of a 2,000-square-kilometre area  to fishing for all non-tended fixed gear, such as crab and lobster pots, for 15 days.

If a whale is detected during days nine to 15 in the area, it is closed for the rest of the fishing season in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the Bay of Fundy, Roseway Basin and Grand Manan Basin, the closure is extended by an additional 15 days.

The Gulf is of particular concern, since 21 endangered North Atlantic right whales have died in its waters since 2017. There are believed to be only around 340 North Atlantic right whales left.

Recommended modifications

When three right whales are detected, the committee is recommending that the surrounding area would close to fishing for 10 days, reopening after that time if no other whale is detected between days seven and 10.

If three whales are detected during days seven to 10 of a closure, the area around the point of detection would close for another 10-day cycle, starting on the day of the second detection.

In other parts of Atlantic Canada, closures would be considered on a case-by-case basis, with special consideration for sightings of three or more whales or a mother-and-calf pair.

In fishing areas where right whales are in transit but do not gather to feed, the committee says the DFO should avoid imposing closures for the full fishing season.

Fishing industry concerns 

The committee held hearings last fall to evaluate the effectiveness of Canadian measures to  protect right whales, as well as the impact on the economies of coastal communities.

"There was a consensus among witnesses, including Paul Lansbergen, President of the Fisheries Council of Canada, and Molly Aylward, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association, that dynamic closures are a more effective approach than season-long closures," says the report, which includes over 40 recommendations in total.

One fisheries representative, Bonnie Morse of the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association, told the committee "there is no scientific evidence to support a 15-day closure based on a single sighting."

'Not the time to tap the brakes'

Sean Brillant of the Canadian Wildlife Federation also testified. He and says the report reflects what the committee heard, but the recommendation to loosen closures "is not taking the issue seriously."

"Great accomplishments have been made so far. The measures that have been in place over the last five years and been refined over that time are succeeding in evolving our use of the ocean in a way that protects the fisheries, protects shipping, and at the same time as it is accomplishing conservation for these whales," Brillant said.

"This isn't about balance. This isn't how much of an industry can we prohibit and how many whales can we allow to die? We need to thread this needle the right way and that means accomplishing both things."

No whales detected so far this year

A right whale hasn't died in Canadian waters since 2019, although the threat of ship strikes and entanglements remains ever present.

Earlier this year, off the southern United States a right whale known as Argo was freed from entanglement in gear from Lobster Fishing Area 33 in southern Nova Scotia.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and partner organizations search for whales by air and underwater using sensors in Eastern Canada. As of April 19, no whales have been detected so far this year, according to the department's interactive whale-detection map.

That's good news for snow crab fishermen, since the season is underway in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The department has already announced its 2023 whale protections measures and the fishery-closure protocols are unchanged from last year.

After this story was published, the office of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murrary sent a statement thanking the committee for its work but indicated the current protection measures will remain in 2023.

"Through a dynamic closure system that protects whales when sighted, recovering ghost gear to reduce entanglements, and innovating on whale-safe gear, Canada is leading the world in efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales," the statement said.

The department said it will review the measures after the 2023 season in consultation with First Nations, industry and environmental NGOs.

It has 120 days to respond to the report, which was tabled in the House of Commons earlier this week.