North Atlantic Right Whale trapped in fishing gear / Submitted: Dept. Fisheries and Oceans (File photo)
Another step is being taken by the federal government in an effort to reduce the risks for whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Government of Canada has created a new $20 million whalesafe gear adoption fund with a requirement that all non-tended, fixed gear fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec be using the whalesafe gear by the beginning of the 2023 fishing season.
Entanglements have injured and killed numerous North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
This is a step forward in prevention.
These new gear requirements, such as weak breaking points and low breaking strength rope, will make it easier for large whales to free themselves from fishing gear, which will help reduce the severity and duration of entanglements.
In February 2020, Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan announced the changes that were to take effect by the beginning of 2022.
That deadline changed to 2023 due to operational impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Whalesafe Gear Adoption Fund will also provide support to Canadian manufacturers to encourage domestic supply of commercially-ready whalesafe gear by 2023.
