{"id":452082,"date":"2026-02-03T22:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452082\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T22:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:52:07","slug":"canada-releases-long-awaited-strategy-to-protect-endangered-whales-from-fishing-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452082\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada releases long-awaited strategy to protect endangered whales from fishing gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Lobsterman Mike Lane uses on-demand fishing gear off the coast of Massachusetts in 2025. A new government strategy proposes using specialized gear as standard practice in some zones to protect endangered whales.LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

A new federal strategy will allow Canadian harvesters to fish sustainably even when endangered whales are present. <\/p>\n

The Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy<\/a> aims to reduce entanglements in vertical buoy lines \u2013 the ropes connecting surface markers to traps or trawls on the ocean floor \u2013 and lessen the harm when entanglements occur. <\/p>\n

The strategy, promised last year and released Tuesday<\/a> by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, commits to designated management areas open to on-demand \u201cropeless\u201d gear \u2013 which eliminates vertical lines \u2013 in areas where entanglement risk is highest. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t something you want to rush,\u201d said Brett Gilchrist, director of national programs at DFO, noting extensive consultations with harvesters and Indigenous groups delayed the release. \u201cGetting it right was critical \u2013 making sure we didn\u2019t launch something that would immediately lead to resistance from harvesters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entangled: The tides of change for endangered whales<\/a><\/p>\n

Currently, harvesters can use on-demand gear under scientific permits, but they typically only do so after right whale detections trigger closures. The strategy would flip that approach, proactively designating fishing areas where the gear is standard practice, not a last resort.<\/p>\n

The priority is Canada\u2019s east coast, where critically endangered North Atlantic right whales overlap with fishing seasons. DFO will establish pilot areas in 2027, management areas by 2028, and expand to all high-risk fisheries nationwide by 2030.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

SMELTS on-demand acoustic technology was tested in Massachusetts last year.LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long-term is not more closures, it\u2019s finding ways for fish harvesters to fish sustainability and properly in a way that\u2019s safe for whales,\u201d says Mr. Gilchrist.<\/p>\n

As The Globe reported<\/a> last fall, entanglement is a primary cause of death and decline for right whales \u2013 86 per cent<\/a> have been entangled at least once, some as many as nine times. Other whales also face entanglement risks. In fact, according to DFO, the whales most often reported entangled in fishing gear are humpback whales on both the east and west coasts, fin whales on the east coast, and grey whales on the west coast. <\/p>\n

Alden Gaudet, a PEI snow crab fisher, was resistant to using on-demand gear \u2013 until it saved his season. In 2022, when right whale closures hit the island\u2019s fishery for the first time, he found himself pushed 90 nautical miles from his home port, burning double the fuel, with most of his quota still in the water. <\/p>\n

\u201cI cursed this out and I made fun of it,\u201d says Mr. Gaudet, referring to the on-demand gear. <\/p>\n

He switched to the ropeless gear borrowed from the CanFISH Gear Lending Program<\/a> \u2013 the first lending program for adaptive fishing gear in Canada \u2013 landing his full quota. He\u2019s depended on it ever since whenever right whale presence cues closures.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I see things in a different light,\u201d he says. \u201cWithout this gear, I\u2019m nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

An endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing gear is seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, northeast of New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula.Robert F. Bukaty\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Snow crab harvesters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have collectively landed roughly one million pounds using on-demand gear in areas otherwise closed to conventional fishing. Last year, for the first time, lobster harvesters in the Bay of Fundy landed catch using the technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis strategy is a game changer,\u201d says Sean Brillant, senior conservation biologist at Canadian Wildlife Federation, which hosts the CanFISH library. While harvesters say whalesafe gear requires on-boarding that initially slows down fishing effort, extensive gear trials in Canada and the U.S. show whalesafe gear works, says Dr. Brillant. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a fringe tool. This is an effective tool. Harvesters feel they can use this stuff to continue to make a living. And that\u2019s a very encouraging result,\u201d says Dr. Brillant, adding that he hopes the strategy\u2019s launch will encourage greater harvester uptake.<\/p>\n

Six ways to show humanity to endangered right whales<\/a><\/p>\n

The Globe reported last fall<\/a> that fewer than 10 Canadian harvesters currently use ropeless gear in regular operations, though that number grows to about 200 when including those who borrow equipment or are preparing for potential closures. <\/p>\n

The strategy identifies two main categories of whalesafe gear: on-demand or systems that eliminate vertical buoy lines entirely, and low breaking-strength rope designed to break at 1,700 pounds of force, allowing whales to free themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider 1700-pound rope whale safer but not necessarily whale safe, as entanglements would still occur,\u201d says Amy Knowlton, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium.<\/p>\n

Ms. Knowlton also urges DFO to develop clear metrics for success in undertaking risk assessments, a process that DFO plans to define with stakeholders, starting with right whales, then expanding to other whale species and areas in Canada. <\/p>\n

\u201cDetermining the level of risk posed by any given fishery to whales should not just be based on whether gear from the given fishery has been found on a whale as obtaining this detailed information can be challenging and only tells a small part of the entanglement story,\u201d says Ms. Knowlton.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Using ropeless gear, crab fishers affix multiple traps to an on-demand device that deploys a buoy or balloon when they\u2019re ready to haul in the traps.Alden Gaudet\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Mr. Gilchrist says the fundamental question for assessing entanglement risk is asking, \u201cDo you have a fishery that co-occurs with whales?\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy pledges that DFO \u201cwill not impose on-demand gear on fish harvesters where viable alternative options exist,\u201d language that signals flexibility for industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cFisheries that don\u2019t necessarily have a regular interaction or co-occurrence with whales need alternative tools,\u201d says Mr. Gilchrist.<\/p>\n

The strategy will also give whalesafe gear manufacturers the predictability they need to invest, which should bring down the price point \u2013 a key barrier to adoption. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce it becomes a normal application in fisheries, the cost is going to come down quite a bit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The strategy arrives as entanglements continue to threaten the species\u2019 survival. Last month, a four-year-old North Atlantic right whale named Division (#5217<\/a> in the catalogue maintained by the New England Aquarium<\/a>) was found dead off North Carolina, his mouth and blowhole cut by embedded fishing line. First spotted tangled in December, he had been entangled three times before. Division is the first detected right whale death since May, 2024.<\/p>\n

Another whale, male #5132<\/a> born in 2021, became entangled in Canadian lobster gear from the Bay of Fundy in December, 2024, and remained so when last sighted in June, 2025. Athena (#5312<\/a>, born in 2023) was entangled in Canadian snow crab gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June, 2024, requiring rescue by the Campobello Whale Rescue Team. An additional eight entanglement cases with attached gear occurred in 2024, though country of origin has not been determined.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach case adds to the urgency,\u201d Mr. Gilchrist said. \u201cBut that urgency is already there. That\u2019s why the strategy is moving along.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are currently an estimated 384 North Atlantic right whales. The species has been under an Unusual Mortality Event declaration since 2017. This year\u2019s calving season has brought hopeful news \u2013 22 new calves spotted so far \u2013 but entanglement and vessel strikes remain leading causes of death and injury. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really about getting harvesters out safely and allowing them to succeed on the water while protecting these important species,\u201d says Mr. Gilchrist.<\/p>\n

This story is produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center\u2019s Ocean Reporting Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Lobsterman Mike Lane uses on-demand fishing gear off the coast of Massachusetts in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,66,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-452082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-science","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}