Guest Column: Canadian Lobster Fishery Works to Protect Right Whales

One of the most critical issues facing the lobster sector in North America is how we work together to manage fishery interactions with the North Atlantic right whales (NARW).It goes without saying that the lobster sector in Canada and the United States must do everything possible to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The impact that the 18 reported deaths in 2017 has had on the entire NARW population cannot be overstated. However, some of the reporting to date has contained a lack of substantiated facts or any reference to the ongoing commitment to protect the NARW by key Canadian fisheries. The Canadian lobster fishery has, until now, remained silent about its activities in this regard. Our harvesters and processors do what’s needed to ensure a sustainable fishery without fanfare. While it is difficult for those fishermen directly impacted, we are quickly adjusting to the new reality of whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the spring lobster season.

With fewer than 500 NARWs left alive in the world, the deaths last year have prompted significant reaction from the scientific, regulatory, and environmental communities. The reaction by legislators on both sides of the border, in particular, has created uncertain climates for both lobster industries. In the absence of good data, fisheries managers and regulators have been forced to make assumptions on whether the mitigation measures are effective and about the full costs of implementation. All of these reactions don’t fully take into consideration what’s actually been happening on the water — particularly with lobster harvesters in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In fact, the industry began developing its own mitigation strategies, which included monitoring, self-imposed suspensions and gear tracking, as early as 2006.The Canadian lobster fishery is one of the most sustainable in the world. Our ongoing mitigation strategies, defined lobster seasons and trap limits as well as some of the newly introduced regulations by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) all help to mitigate the risk to the NARWs. Other measures now in place include:

• Dynamic and static closures of the fishery based on NARW location and movement

• Daily oversight of regulatory compliance

• Governing protocols as set out by Canada’s Species At Risk Act

• A reduction in the amount of rope floating on the surface of the water

• Harvester reporting of any lost gear

• A comprehensive sighting/interaction policy including a whale hotline number as well as ongoing aerial monitoring

In addition, lobster harvesters in various Canadian fishing regions are testing new technologies including hydrophone microphones and ropeless gear technology. Several harvesters are training with whale rescue teams on whale disentanglement. We believe that the lobster fishery has been unfairly linked to many whale deaths in Canadian waters without any direct evidence. Of the seven necropsies performed on right whales killed in Canadian waters, only two have definitively been linked to entanglement with fishing gear. While we believe any number is too high, we also believe that more work must be done to clearly identify the causes to ensure that proper mitigation strategies are in place. We understand that the government of Canada has implemented measures it believes are the most immediate solution to protecting NARWs and we respect that they needed to implement these measures very quickly to begin to address the situation.

We want to work with the government to continue to monitor the effectiveness of all the regulations to ensure they are the best mitigation measures possible, while also recognizing the economic costs to our coastal communities.We support continued study to better determine the exact causes of NARW mortality. We also urge all stakeholders to consider the impacts on the lobster industry and ultimately on the livelihood of the people and communities involved in the lobster fishery.

The Lobster Council of Canada (LCC) is urging DFO to work with harvesters to ensure that all stakeholders are able to weigh in on the ongoing mitigation measures. We firmly believe that genuine engagement on the part of DFO and harvesters will certainly lead to better outcomes for the NARW and all stakeholders involved. It will be within this context of engagement that calm and compliance, the outcomes that the LCC supports, will prevail. It is critical to remember that the Canadian and northeast U.S. lobster fisheries are truly integrated and reliant upon each other, making the NARW issue a North American industry issue, not a Canadian or American industry issue.

Furthermore, all stakeholders involved in the NARW conversation have one thing in common: everyone is committed to protecting the endangered NARW and taking whatever proven steps are possible to ensure their survival. We must continue to work together to identify the right solutions. We’re convinced that together we can make that happen.