Question Period Note: North Atlantic Right Whale and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act

North Atlantic Right Whale and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act

• The North Atlantic right whale population and its protection is a priority for the Government of Canada.
• For the third year, targeted management measures to help protect and recover right whales have been implemented and were adapted in the summer to add additional protection in light of the mortalities in 2019.
• The Government in collaboration with partners and stakeholders is reviewing these management measures and will be adapting them to protect North Atlantic right whales for 2020 and beyond.
• We thank our Indigenous partners, industry stakeholders and communities for their collaboration and efforts to protect right whales.

• 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. These measures included: shutting down non-tended, fixed gear fisheries to minimize gear entanglements; increasing surveillance; and, implementing a slowdown on large vessels to avoid collisions.
• In 2018, fishery management measures included a fixed static fishery closure area, and temporary dynamic fishery closure areas for untended, fixed gear.
• The fixed closure area within the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was based on the area where 90% of right whales were observed in the 2017 season. Areas subject to temporary dynamic closures were informed by right whale foraging areas.
• As a precautionary measure, to mitigate potential entanglement with fishing gear, sightings of North Atlantic right whales in the dynamic fishery closure areas resulted in temporary fishery closures to non-tended, fixed-gear fishing for a minimum of 15 days.
• Preliminary data shows catches for 2018 to be on par with recent years despite the closures.
• The suite of fisheries management measures and initiatives in place for fish harvesters in Atlantic Canada remains focused on preventing entanglement. this includes:
- Season-long and temporary area closures to snow crab and lobster fisheries (and all other non-tended fixed-gear fisheries) and targeted provisions this year for waters shallower than 20 fathoms (36.5 metres or 120 feet);
- Maintaining focused surveillance on the water and in the air to detect whales;
- Continued monitoring of vessel location and movement to ensure compliance with the measures;
- Ongoing measures to minimize the amount of rope in the water and to more effectively track rope and buoys;
- Mandatory reporting for lost gear;
- Mandatory reporting of interactions between vessels or fishing gear and marine mammals; and,
- Supporting industry trials of innovative fishing technologies (e.g., ropeless fishing gear) and methods to prevent and/or mitigate whale entanglement.
• On July 9 2019, Canada announced further measures to protect the North Atlantic right whale, which included:
- Expanding the dynamic zone to the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence covering 227,940 km2 (88,008 miles), stretching from the St. Lawrence seaway, to the Cabot Strait and Strait of Belle-Isle;
- Adjusting the trigger for fisheries closures so that if one whale is observed anywhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (including around Anticosti island, the Cabot Strait, as well as the Strait of Belle-Isle) the area of the sighting will close for 15 days for non-tended fixed-gear fisheries. Several fixed-gear fisheries in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, including Area 12 crab, close for the season on or before June 30. Other fixed gear fisheries are open later in the summer and fall, but are considered lower risk fisheries to right whales than those operating from April-June.
- Investing $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.
• We are learning from, and making changes based on, the 2018 and 2019 experience to ensure continued protection of the species while being sensitive to the concerns and feedback from fish harvesters and all those affected by the measures.
• The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) contains provisions related to imports and protections of marine mammals during fisheries harvesting. the MMPA establishes conditions for evaluating a harvesting nation's regulatory program for reducing marine mammal incidental mortality and serious injury in fisheries and aquaculture activities.
• Fish and seafood-exporting nations must meet or exceed U.S. standards for bycatch of marine mammals during fishing operations.
• The MMPA import provisions were finalized at the end of 2016, but entry into force (January 1, 2022) was stayed for 5 years while the U.S. works with exporting countries – like Canada – through the implementation and compliance process.
• The U.S. is Canada’s major export market for fish and seafood, valued at just under $4.3B in 2018.
• On September 10, 2019 Canada submitted data on progress in implementing the MMPA, an important milestone on the way to meeting new import requirements.
• Canada’s final submission for comparability findings for its various export fisheries is the spring of 2021.

Impacts on Fish Harvesters

• We acknowledge that closing areas to fisheries has economic impacts. We have worked with our partners and stakeholders to consider actions that help minimize these impacts while also achieving our conservation objectives.
• Our 2019 measures include adjustments based on the feedback we received from our partners and stakeholders.
• We will continue to work closely with our partners, stakeholders and the coastal communities and thank them for their hard work and commitment to protecting right whales.
U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions
• DFO and Canadian industry are committed to protecting marine mammals from entanglement in fishing gear and maintaining access to the U.S. market.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working with U.S. officials to demonstrate that Canada meets or exceeds the requirements of this American legislation.
• We will continue to work closely with Canadian harvesters, Indigenous groups, and Provinces and Territories to meet the new U.S. export requirements for when they enter into force in 2022.