North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglement off North Carolina Linked to LFA 33
Above: An aerial survey team located an entangled adult male right whale (#1218) “Argo” off of Surf City, North Carolina. The rectangle behind the flukes is the trailing entangling gear. The survey was conducted by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute with funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #24359
For the first time in more than five years, a North Atlantic right whale ...
Whale Worries: Could AIS Tags be the Answer?
If there was ever any debate before, the question is now unequivocally answered, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is officially off Atlantic Canada’s Christmas card list.
As if the lobster and snow crab industries in this region were not already having a challenging enough season, in early September, the California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium really stepped up to add insult to injury.
As part of its Seafood Watch Program, the organization arbitrarily added American lobster and Canadian snow ...
Whale Worries are Top of Mind
The lobster season is now well underway in Southwest Nova Scotia and from all accounts, everything looks positive, especially the all-important price per pound.
However, if you head south, crossing the border into the Gulf of Maine, there is much more worry, anxiety and uncertainty and it’s all related to whales, North Atlantic right whales to be specific.
According to the Portland Press Herald, on December 3, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to lift fishing restrictions in the ...
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Lobster, Crab Fisheries Most Impacted by Spring Gulf Whale Closures
As of May 27, there were approximately 39 temporary grids (7,448 km2) and 43 season-long grids (9,670 km2) closed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to protect the North Atlantic right whales.
“These closures have had the most impact on the lobster and crab fisheries around the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. To help accommodate snow crab harvesters in crab fishing areas 12 E and 12 F, harvesters were able to finish their fishing season in area 12,” said Barre Campbell, media relations spokesperson for ...
Species on the Edge of Extinction… But the Media is on the Wrong Track
The North Atlantic right whale is endangered.
According to the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report, this population has even been classified as critically endangered. Unfortunately, this means that the causes of whale mortalities are beyond the whales’ ability to reproduce and survive.
In the case of the right whale, almost all deaths are due to human activities. It is not easy to see this population of giants of the sea become extinct and yes, it is sad. ...
On the Waterfront – August 2020
N.L. Capelin Price Up 20 Per Cent
In mid-June, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel sided with harvesters and increased the 2020 price of capelin by 20 per cent over 2019 prices.
Fishermen will now receive $0.42/pound for Grade A capelin. Last year they received $0.35/pound.
The FFAW, which negotiated on behalf of the harvesters, stated that over the past two years, capelin collective bargaining has increased prices by 68 per cent over 2018 levels.
The ...
Immediate Action Needed to Save Whales
We are devastated at the loss of now six right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
It was one, then two, then four, five and now six. It has left our team and our allies sickened and heartbroken. It has left us angry and wanting to take emergency action.
Of the six precious whales now confirmed dead, I will tell you about two briefly.
Whales such as the matriarch Punctuation, who birthed eight calves and was responsible for multiple grandchildren after that and the newly mature male ...
Ears on the Ocean Floor
Southwest Nova Fishermen and DFO Partner in Hydrophone Project
Above: A hydrophone sits inside a modified lobster trap at the Eastern Canadian Fisheries Exposition. Kathy Johnson photo
More hydrophone units are expected to be deployed this spring in waters off southwestern Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy in a collaborative effort between the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and local fishermen to collect acoustic data that detects the presence of large baleen whales, including ...
