The federal government is planning some changes to the protections it puts in place for North Atlantic right whales this summer.

At a press conference in Shippagan, New Brunswick Thursday afternoon, Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced measures for 2019 they said incorporates the feedback they received from stakeholders about what was done in 2018 — whether it was too much or not enough.

There were no right whale deaths in Canadian waters last year after a catastrophic season in 2017 that saw 12 die in Canadian waters, primarily a result of ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.

It’s estimated that fewer than 450 North Atlantic right whales remain in the world. Last year, 190 of them were found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. That’s an increase over the previous year, but that also coincided with an increase in surveys and surveillance flights.

While right whales historically spent their time between April and November in critical habitat in the Bay of Fundy and the Roseway Basin, in recent years they’ve been concentrating in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. That water is home to some of busiest shipping lanes in the world and an equally busy fishery, which set them on a collision course.

There’s been a glimmer of good news for the critically endangered species in recent weeks, however. After a year with no calves born, five have now been sighted in the waters off Florida, where the whales spend the winter.

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Wilkinson held several round tables in the fall to meet with stakeholders — harvesters, shippers, Indigenous leaders and environmental organizations among them — from Atlantic Canada and Quebec to reflect on the protection measures put in place for 2018. The goal is to ensure these critically endangered whales are protected while being as sensitive as possible to economic interests.

“I learned a lot — what was working, what was not,” he said. “Much of what I heard has been incorporated into the 2019 measures we’re announcing today.”

One of the biggest changes this year is to the area closed for the season to fixed-gear snow crab and lobster fishing. The size of that static closure was met with some consternation by area fisher harvesters in 2018.

“The closure area will be a different size and shape, and is significantly smaller than the area that was closed last year,” Wilkinson said, noting it encompasses the most at-risk area of the Gulf.

The decision was based on scientific evidence and reflects where 90 per cent of the right whales were observed during peak fishing seasons last year. Spanning 2,400 square miles (6,215 square kilometres), it’s 63 per cent smaller than it was and is more elongated north to south. That area will be closed as of April 28.

“It’s important to note that even with this change, the impact of the overall protection area remains the same,” he added.

Temporary area closures will once again be put in place as needed to reduce the risk to right whales outside of the static closure. If one or more whales are spotted in an area, it will be closed for 15 days. That will be extended if whales stick around.

For 2019, however, Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will temporarily close fishing grounds that are less than 20 fathoms — or 120 feet (37 metres) — for 15 days, but only if one or more right whales are seen in these more shallow locations.

“We’ve made this change because, in Canadian waters, there are very few observations of right whales in water that is less than 165 feet deep,” Wilkinson said.

At the Maritime Fisherman’s Union, President Carl Allen said his members wanted to see a balanced approach heading into this season. Some felt last year’s dynamic and static closures were heavy-handed and unnecessary when the whales didn’t appear to be in their fishing zones.

As for the changes around more shallow water, “That backed up what we’d said all along.”

It’s what lobster fisherman had asked for.

“From the inshore, it looks like we got what we needed,” Allen said.

He doesn’t expect the snow-crab industry will be happy, however, as the large static closure where many harvest crab will be closed as of April 28.

“The size has shrunk, so that’s good. But it would have been nice if they left it until even the 15th of May to close. I think the industry would have liked to have a few weeks in that area,” Allen said.

“Last year there were fisherman who had trouble getting the fish they had (a quota for).”

This year the quota is expected to be raised 30 to 35 per cent, which means more people could have more trouble catching their quota.

“If you’re a person who hunts and you hunt every year in the same place, when someone comes to you two weeks before you start hunting and says you can’t hunt here anymore, it will take you a while to figure out where you’re going to go, to scout out that area to figure out where the deer are travelling,” Allen said.

“This left a lot of people in a tough spot last year.”

The closure date is based on when a right whale was first detected acoustically in the Gulf near Gaspé. Allen said he’s hoping if the whales are later arriving in the area this year, that will shift the timing of the closure for the following season.

As for quotas, it’s worth noting that ahead of 2017’s catastrophic loss, DFO had made an “exceptional” 101 per cent increase to the snow-crab quota for the season. That put more gear in the water over a longer period of time, and put right whales at increased risk.

That was despite knowing for several years that right whales were regularly being observed in an area in the Gulf that overlapped with the fishery and faced significant risk of entanglement in gear.

Pilot projects around whale-safe gear continue, and later this year DFO plans to host a gear innovation summit to look at technological solutions to reduce risk to whales and eliminate abandoned or lost gear — known as ghost gear —that’s among the most deadly debris in the ocean.

For the upcoming season, there are no mandated gear modifications.

“Right now the only thing we’re asking industry is to mark their gear and to report any lost gear,” DFO officials said during a technical briefing.

In addition to a million to support entanglement response, the department said it will continue to work with other agencies to improve detection of whales and how to predict their whereabouts.

Wilkinson said preparations are also underway to try and open the snow-crab fishery as early as possible again.

“As you know, this decision is heavily dependent on ice and weather conditions, and the safety of harvesters must be a top priority. The Canadian Coast Guard is preparing its resources for icebreaking, search and rescue and aids to navigation to support the snow-crab fishery as soon as it is safe to do so.”

On the shipping front, the government is reintroducing a mandatory speed restriction for vessels 20 metres or longer to a maximum of 10 knots when travelling in the western Gulf as of April 28. Vessels will be allowed to travel at safe operational speeds in parts of two shipping lanes north and south of Anticosti Island when no right whales are spotted in the area.

However, mandatory slowdowns will be put in place for 15 days when whales are spotted in the lanes. Transport Canada said aerial monitoring will continue to spot whales, as will projects to advance the use of drones and acoustic monitoring.

Last year, government aircraft logged more than 2,075 hours in the air to track right whales and to enforce fisheries closures. That’s in addition to monitoring carried out by American agencies and has led to the collection of another year’s worth of scientific data.

“Once again, the government and the marine industry are working together to ensure safe navigation and avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” Garneau said.

“I want to thank our partners for continuing to work with us, especially on important measures like the one announced today. The mandatory speed restriction will help save this iconic species.’’

At Oceana Canada, Kim Elmslie said her organization is pleased the government is continuing to put measures in place and investing in innovation and entanglement response.

“We think of 2017 as the crisis year, but the crisis hasn’t passed,” she said. “This is an animal headed for extinction, so it is encouraging the government is looking at a long-term solution.”

However, she is concerned by the changes to the fishery closures and shipping lane slowdowns, as they’re based on one year of data gleaned from enhanced surveillance last year.

“That’s scientifically defensive, but it’s not a lot of data to base it on. It’s a little bit of a risk. To counter that, I’d like to see more of an investment in surveillance.”

However, Transport Canada is cutting aerial surveillance by 50 per cent this season. While NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, has been doing surveillance in the area as well, “We can’t always depend the U.S. government to to fill the gap,” Elmslie said.

“There wasn’t really an announcement from DFO about what their surveillance will look like. I’d like to see more details on the surveillance plan for those fisheries areas. The more data we collect from these overflights, the more information we have to inform fisheries closures and make them better quality for next year.”

That’s relevant as far as exports are concerned. In the U.S., the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) allows authorities to bring imports from a fishery to a halt if there is proof that activity is causing whales harm.

Given that 85 per cent of Canadian lobster exports go south of the border, satisfying the threshold set out in the legislation matters.

For now, American regulators appear to be content with where things stand. Wilkinson commended everyone who has worked with the government on these measures — environmental organizations, communities, universities, scientists and harvesters. He said regardless of who was at the table, their starting point was focused on the need to support the recovery of this endangered species.

“The discussions were always around how best to protect the whales,” he said. “I was very pleased to engage in conversations about how best to do that.”

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