Question Period Note: North Atlantic Right Whale

• Our Government continues to take action to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and to date in 2020 there have been no Right whale deaths or entanglements reported in Canadian waters.
• This year right whales were first sighted in Canadian waters on May 3rd. The presence of right whales has triggered seasonal closures in the Gulf of St Lawrence which cover approximately 27,000 km2.
• Our surveillance efforts continue to detect some Right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin.
• The Department recognizes the closure related challenges for impacted harvesters and acknowledges their continued cooperation to protect the North Atlantic right whale.

• To protect North Atlantic right whales from further harm, in 2017, the Government of Canada put urgent measures in place for these whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 2018 and 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada implemented a season-long area closure (referred to as the “static zone”) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for snow crab and lobster fisheries (and all other non-tended fixed-gear fisheries) during the crab and lobster fishing seasons. However, aggregations of whales have been observed outside of the static zones during 2018 and 2019, with aggregations occurring at different times and in different locations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence each year. As such, during the past two years, large portions of the static area proved to have limited value in protecting the whales.
• In 2020, we are:
o Introducing a new season-long closure protocol in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Unlike the previous pre-set (static) season-long closure area, season-long closures will now be applied to areas where whales are detected more than once in 15 days. Impacted areas will remain closed until November 15, 2020.
o Expanding the temporary closure area to include the Bay of Fundy, inclusive of the North Atlantic right whale critical habitat area in the Grand Manan Basin.
o Employing acoustic underwater technology (hydrophones) to confirm the presence of whales in accordance to our temporary closure protocol, in addition to visual sightings from aircraft and vessels.
o Imposing new gear marking requirements for all non-tended fixed gear fisheries, including lobster and crab, in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. This will allow us to distinguish between Canadian and U.S entanglements and will help us to improve our fisheries management measures.
• In addition, to reduce injuries to whales that can occur during entanglements, we will be working with industry to identify specific requirements that will be phased in starting in 2021. Many innovative approaches to addressing these areas of gear modification were discussed during the February 11-12, 2020 Gear Innovation Summit in Halifax. These measures may include:
o A requirement for non-tended fixed gear fisheries to include weak rope or weak breaking points will be mandatory by the end of 2021; and,
o Requirements for maximum rope diameters of 5/8 inches, sinking rope between pots and traps, and reductions in vertical and floating rope, to become mandatory after 2021.
• The Department will also continue our comprehensive efforts from 2019, such as:
o Maintaining temporary closures in the North Atlantic right whale critical habitat areas (Grand Manan Basin and Roseway Basin);
o Case-by-case measures to address sightings of 3 whale or more aggregations or a mother and calf anywhere in Atlantic Canada and Quebec that is not subject to temporary closure areas and critical habitat.
o Maintaining targeted provisions for waters shallower than 20 fathoms (36.5 metres or 120 feet);
o Maintaining focused surveillance on the water, under water and in the air to detect whales;
o Continuing to monitor vessel locations and movement to ensure compliance with the measures;
o Maintaining measures to minimize the amount of rope in the water and to more effectively track rope and buoys;
o Maintaining mandatory reporting for lost gear and interactions with marine mammals; and,
o Supporting industry trials of innovative fishing technologies, including authorizing the use of rope less fishing gear in some closed areas this year, and other methods to prevent and/or mitigate whale entanglement.
• The Government invested $1.2 million in 2019 as part of a $4.5 million commitment over four years to further enhance the Marine Mammal Response Program, which responds to marine mammals in distress, including disentanglement of North Atlantic right whales. this funding is part of the $167.4 million whales initiative in budget 2018.
• As of September 10, 2020, 134 full grids (approximately 27,000 km2) have been closed for the season.
• As of September 10, 2020, 13 full grids were temporarily closed (approximately 33,000 km2) within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin.
o The 2019 static closure area was 10.5 grids (2,205 km2)
o The 2018 static closure area was 28 grids (5,880 km2)

Seasonal Closures

• The new season-long closure provides enhanced protections for the North Atlantic right whale by closing areas where whales are repeatedly detected.
• As of September 10, 2020, approximately 27,000 km2 have been closed for the season, much larger than closures in 2018 and 2019.
• Also, as of September 10, 2020, approximately 3,300 km2 were temporarily closed within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin.