Environmental group disappointed Canada has not increased protections for right whales

With North Atlantic right whale population numbers dwindling, an international advocacy group wishes the federal government had done more with this year's protections.

"We would like to see things going further," said Kim Elmslie, campaign director for Oceana Canada, an ocean conservation group, in an interview with Information Morning Moncton.

But she is at least encouraged they've remained the same.

"When we first look at these measures, we're happy to see that there's no weakening in the measures," Elmslie said.

Last week, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released its report on fisheries management measures to protect North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters.

The measures include prohibiting fishing gear and activities in areas where right whales have been spotted for a certain period of time. And if a whale is spotted nine to 15 days after the fishing area has been closed, the closure is extended.

There are also surveillance measures prior to the opening of some fishing seasons to ensure no right whales are present.

Those procedures are followed by a list of seven additional measures on the 2024 release, which are exactly the same as the 2023 guidelines.

Protection measures are essential, Elmslie said, because Oceana estimates there are only 356 North Atlantic right whales left. About 70 are reproductive females, she said, and just 19 calves were born last year. It is now presumed that three of those calves are dead.

"It's not been a good season for those calves, but again, there is still hope this species could recover with measures to protect them," Elmslie said.

What Oceana wants to see is a national strategy on whale-safe gear. This includes ropeless fishing gear, since getting tangled in rope is often a killer for whales.

"We're still seeing whales entangled in Canadian gear. And that's a problem. Some of it is ghost gear," she said.

Ghost gear is a term for gear that is either abandoned or detached and freely floating in the ocean, posing a danger to marine life.

According to DFO, an example of ropeless fishing gear is when traps are not tethered to the surface with traditional ropes connected to buoys floating on the water. Instead, the traps are equipped with technology so they sink down on their own and then a buoy or rope can be deployed by the press of a button on the fishing boat.

The cost of this type of gear is high, Elmslie said, but she hopes this can be addressed by government programs helping to implement the changes.

Another change she'd like to see is rope that breaks at lower strengths, so whales can free themselves more easily if they become entangled.

Elmslie said Canada has taken some good steps, such as mandatory gear-marking and mandatory reporting of gear that's lost. Canada is also often ahead of the United States when it comes to protecting right whales, she said.

"There's a lot more goodwill, I think, in Canada. We have a lot of fishermen that are involved with testing ropeless gear," Elmslie said.

"So I'd say we have a much more collaborative approach here in Canada, and we are moving ahead of where they are in the U.S."

But there's more work to be done, she said.

"Because we're still losing these whales. The numbers are not good for these animals, so we need to do more so we don't lose them to extinction."

A release from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in December said the agency is working to develop a strategy on whale-safe fishing gear.