Right Whales an All-Consuming Issue for N.B. Association
For the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association, the presence of North Atlantic right whales on its fishing grounds is an issue it has been dealing with since 2006.
And the organization does not expect 2020 will be any different.
“We have to be at it every single day,” said Melanie Sonnenberg, executive director of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association. “It’s consuming us quite frankly.”
When Grand Manan fishermen were first faced with a potential shutdown of their fishery ...
Advance Notice of Fisheries Closures (Presence of NARW)
Above: Map 1. Map identifying the grid closures in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence due to the presence of NARW.
NOTICE OF FISHERIES CLOSURES:
PRESENCE OF NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES
Moncton (New Brunswick) – May 14, 2019 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) – Gulf Region is providing a notice of temporary fisheries closures of a fishing area due to the confirmed presence of North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW).
Due to the confirmed presence of more than three NARW outside the ...
Right Whales Key Issue Discussed at Annual Lobster Forum
Above: Judith Maxwell, executive director of the Scotia Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association collects work sheets with feedback from fishermen on how industry should be involved in mitigation measures for the North Atlantic right whale during the third annual SWNS Lobster Forum in Yarmouth on September 19. Kathy Johnson photo
There was no shortage of information for fishermen from LFAs 33, 34 and 35 to consider and discuss during the third annual SWNS Lobster Forum in Yarmouth on ...
Federal Government Unveils Plan for Protecting Right Whales
Last year, an unprecedented number of right whales died in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
To protect these whales from further harm, the Government of Canada put urgent measures in place, which included shutting down the snow crab fishery in the area to minimize gear entanglements, increasing surveillance, and implementing a slowdown on large vessels to avoid collisions. Today, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, ...
Right Whale Mortality Unprecedented
The death of at least 13 critically endangered North American right whales in Canadian waters this summer could have “huge potential for impact” on the fishing industry, fishermen were told during the southwestern Nova Scotia Lobster Fishermen’s Forum in Yarmouth on September 20.
A panel discussion at the forum on Marine Mammal Issues brought together Cathy Merriman, DFO species at risk biologist, Tonya Wimmer, director and founder of the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) and Bay ...
Is Lobster Larvae Decline a Factor in Whale Deaths?
Editor’s Note: This is Alain’s final contribution to The Navigator Magazine. Our long-time, revered, Nova Scotia fisheries contributor passed away on August 5 in Yarmouth. He will be missed, not only by the readers of this publication, but by the fishing industry as a whole.
Marine scientists now believe the lack of lobster postlarvae is the culprit behind the right whales vacating their feeding grounds at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and migrating to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
...
Vessels to Reduce Speed in the Gulf
Today, Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport and Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard issued the following changes regarding concerns over right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“Canada takes the protection, conservation, and recovery of endangered species very seriously. The recent deaths of several North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are extremely concerning.
“There is evidence that the North Atlantic right whales have been ...
