Lobster fishermen of Prince Eduardo island expect the new rules of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to mean less harvest days lost by closures when the end whales in danger of extinction enter the waters of the island.
“The first change is the addition of a line of 5 and 15 fatomas,” said Melanie Giffin, a marine biologist who works with the Pei Fishermen Association, talking about the distance around an sighting of whales where protection measures are imposed.
“We have always had a line of 10 and 20 ghosts, but this year the DFO has also included a line of five and 15 fatoms.”
“If a whale enters the 20 fatom line, then the grids will only approach the next Fathom line, which used to be 10, but now they are 15. Therefore, it gives a little more space for the harvesters to move their equipment if necessary.”
Giffin said that the second change is a shorter closure of an area when a seven -day right whale is detected instead of 15. That can be extended for another seven days if another whale is sighted.
“Complete protections are still there for whales,” Giffin said. “But the harvesters who have a very short season could only close for seven days instead of 15, which was the case last year.”
Whale gear
A pilot project will also allow the harvesting harvesters with whale equipment to maintain fishing if only a right whale is detected.
The team, also known as low breakage resistance equipment, is designed to free itself under a pressure of more than 1,700 pounds or 771 kilograms.
“Scientists in the United States have carried out some documents that show that a whale that is entangled in the march with a resistance to the rupture of less than 1,700 pounds has the ability to free themselves from that team,” Giffin said.
Giffin said PEI fishermen are using the new whale equipment in record numbers.
“We have actually had a higher voluntary implementation rate than any other province,” he said. “We have been implementing and testing here in PEI for a couple of years to find what works, with the expectation that DFO would do it mandatory at some point.
In fact, we have had a higher voluntary implementation rate than any other province– Melanie Giffin, Pei Fishermen’s Association
“The harvesters have been testing it, even if only in some networks, see what works for them and what not,” said Giffin.
“We have about 800 harvesters on the island of Prince Eduardo, of approximately 1,280, who have collected Whalesfe team. Some have performed some tests on their own, some have equipped their entire team and others have just made a couple of lines just to see what works for them.”
Giffin said there is also a particularly produced whale line, with different color combinations for each lobster fishing area.
“The goal is if a whale is tangled, so DFO has an idea where the whales are entangled and can focus on those areas that seem to be the problematic areas,” Giffin said.
“We have never had a confirmed entanglement in the PEI team, and we hope it never happens, but this is the way DFO is trying to identify problematic areas.”
‘Do not reduce rules’
Scientists studying right whales of the North Atlantic say that the general population increased slightly by 2024. But there were also five documented deaths and four lost calves that researchers assume that they are dead.
It is the highest annual mortality since 2019, so groups like Oceana Canada want more protection for endangered whales.
“What we are seeing is mainly a continuation of the rules that were established a few years ago,” said Kim Elmslie, Campaign Director based in Ottawa for Oceana Canada. “We are happy to see that the rules are not reduced or the rules weakens.
“We believe that the closures that are implemented have done a good job to protect the right whales, but certainly there is always more that can be done to protect this species in danger of extinction,” he said.
Elmslie said the two main threats to the right whales are tangles in fishing equipment and ship strikes.
“There was a study that was conducted in the last year that discovered that whales like to spend their time in deep water, where they could be entangled in the fishing team, or on the surface, where they could be beaten by a container. Therefore, both are a priority.”
All are important. All we are doing is important.– Kim Elmslie, Oceana Canada
She added: “Sometimes I think that because there is so much talk at this time about what is happening in fishing and tangles in the fishing team, we can emphasize it too much”, instead of cargo attacks and passenger ships.
“But they are a bit of causes equal to this species. Therefore, they are all important. All we are doing is important.”
The spring lobster season in PEI is scheduled to start on April 25, but can be delayed due to the dredging that is still needed in some ports, and strong winds in the marine forecast for the weekend, when the first traps would be transported.
