The growth, development and emergence of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island’s successful Gulf of St. Lawrence fisheries can be traced back to a resourceful and forward-thinking group of 19th century pioneers.
These pioneers realized that fishing need not only be a subsistence activity, but had immense commercial potential — not only regionally, but around the world. In the mid-to-late 1800s, a growing commercial fishery emerged from such N.B. harbours as Nipisiguit/Bathurst, Tracadie, Miramichi River, Shippagan, Lameque, Miscou Islands, Caraquet, Miramichi Bay and Richibucto.
While in neighbouring P.E.I., intrepid harvesters from such Eastern King’s County communities as North Lake, Basin Head, Red Point, Murray Harbour, Souris and St. Peter’s Bay laid the early groundwork for the modern, multi-million-dollar fishery of today.
If we had an opportunity to jump into a time machine and zip back a century or two and speak with these early Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence fishermen, what opinions would they have of today’s modern fishery? They would probably marvel at today’s vessels and variety and efficiency of gear. But what about the ongoing issue of North Atlantic right whales?
What would they think of the “fuss” being made when these whales arrive in the southern Gulf each spring, not to mention the vessel speed restrictions and fishery closures? In fact, during the 2023 fishing season, there were nearly 60 separate fishing closures, involving dozens of grid locations, due to the sightings of right whales in this area of the Gulf.
And what about the use and adoption of lower breaking strength gear modifications? The fishery forefathers would probably be scratching their heads at the premise of setting gear that can be broken. But this is yet another regulatory spinoff of right whale sightings in the productive waters of the Southern Gulf.
Since 2020, the right whale regulatory authority, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), has been “collecting and assessing available information including gear trial results and engaging with partners and stakeholders, to guide the implementation of lower breaking strength (LBS) gear so that it is safe and effective for fishing operations. This engagement is important for helping harvesters transition successfully to equipment that better protects whales and supports access to seafood markets.”
DFO says it has identified certain commercial lobster fisheries that pose an entanglement risk to the North Atlantic right whale that have achieved positive LBS gear trial results, demonstrating that the gear may be used safely and effectively in those fisheries. In 2024, DFO said it will engage with these specific fisheries to facilitate their voluntary adoption of LBS gear.
And speaking of productive waters, since more and more right whales are apparently appearing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence each year, scientists have been scratching their heads as to why this phenomenon is taking place.
But as any early 20th century harvester will tell you, the reason the whales are in the Gulf is the same reason the fishermen are — the waters are rich with food.
The science community recently announced this “epiphany” in a new peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Plankton Research. The research states that copepods, the North Atlantic right whales’ primary prey, are larger, more lipid-rich and more nutritious in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence than in other foraging areas.
The paper suggested that regional variations in whale prey energy content can play a significant role in the suitability of current and potential future whale foraging habitats in the Northwest Atlantic. The higher quality food available in late summer in the Gulf of St. Lawrence may also be a factor in the recent consistent appearance of more right whales in that area.
There is no doubt that the N.B. and P.E.I. fishermen of yore would have a hard time processing what is currently going on in the very same waters where they made their livelihoods — all over the presence of whales.
Something else that would be completely foreign to them are the socio-economic and political factors that significantly impact the global seafood industry. For instance, how bizarre would it seem that the opinion of an aquarium on the west coast of the United States could land a devastating blow to a lobster industry in the North Atlantic. But that is exactly the case.
It has been one year since the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) suspended the Maine lobster MSC certification.
The suspension came shortly after the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program red listed Maine lobster due to the fishery “posing a risk” to at-risk species, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Are modern industry stakeholders making the fishery more complicated than it needs to be? Sure, there are many complex issues that need to be dealt with, such as the annual impact of North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But are we overthinking and overanalyzing things? Is there a better conservation approach that can be taken — something more uncomplicated and straightforward? This, of course, as everyone knows, is a loaded question, but maybe there is a simpler solution to this growing issue, that has the potential to negatively impact the Atlantic Canadian seafood industry.
Perhaps former U.S. President Herbert Hoover might have summed it up best when he said “Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.”
