Snow crab fishery closed after 8th right whale found dead in Gulf of St. Lawrence

After the death of aneighth right whale on Thursday, Fisheries and Oceans has closed the snow crab fishery in part ofthe Gulf of St. Lawrence to try to keep whales from getting tangled up in fishing ropes.

Anecropsy for the eighth whale to be found dead in the gulf since June was scheduledforMiscou IslandonFriday morning, and how it died is not known.

Another whale has been spottedentangled in fishing gear in the gulf, but the federal department has backed away from rescue attempts.

Deaths 'unprecedented'

But the closure of the snow crab fishery in Area 12 off northern New Brunswick was a response to the latest whale death, Fisheries and Oceans said.

The harvest was already 98 per cent complete, the department said, adding the early closure would still have an impact on fishermen.

"The recent whale mortalities in the area are unprecedented and this closure is an important measure to address the situation," the department said in a news release.

TonyaWimmer,director of the Marine Animal Response Society, said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was usinga boat to bring the dead whale close to shore Thursday night, but the necropsy will not take place until early Friday, when the whale will be moved to a beach on Miscou.

She said the rescue group, along with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans andcolleagues with theCanadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, will performthe necropsy to determine what killed thewhale.

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Pierre-YvesDaoust, a wildlife pathologist at the Atlantic Veterinary College inPrince Edward Island,said the whale was spotted by plane on Wednesday by the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The agency has been studyingright whales along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and surveying whales in thegulf.

"That administration has been very useful in our own attempt at figuring out what the problem is right now this summer in the gulf," said Daoust, who is also amember of the Canadian Wildlife HealthCooperative.

"Considering the warm weather and thefact thatany day that passes can cause a lot of decomposition inside the carcass," he said. "That really makes it that much more difficult for us."

Necropsy Friday

The necropsy will determine what happened to the latest whale found dead, and Daoustsaid he isn't ruling anything out.

Collisions with ships are suspected in some of the earlier deaths.

Wimmersaidprevious necropsies revealed some whalessuffered blunt trauma and bore signs of chronic entanglement.

Human safety is paramount, whether you're dealing with a live animal or a dead one.- TonyaWimmer

"Whether there's also still something underlying in terms of the animal's health, that's still to be determined," she said.

These accidents can happen any time there is human activity in a place where marine animals are also found.

Scientists, industryand government are trying to find a waythe twocan co-exist, Winner said.

"What we're seeing here is obviously an imbalance of that, where the animals are in these places and the human activities are there."

Since the death of whale rescuer JoeHowlett last week, Fisheries and Oceans has not automatically responded to whales tangled up in gear.

Howlett, who co-founded the CampobelloWhale Rescue Team, wasperforming arescue in the Gulf of St. Lawrence froma Department of Fisheries vessel based inShippaganwhen he died.

"Everyone is taking a pause and looking at what happenedobviously, human safety is paramount whether you're dealing with a live animal or a dead one," Wimmer said.

She said she's been told the Fisheries Department willmonitorthe entangled whale,aiming to get better photos and video of how the animal is bound up inthe ropes.

Follow entangled whale

As of Thursday evening, no update was available on the entangled whale.

Experts are waiting on the sidelines to see what can be done, and Wimmer hopesthe whale will be able to shed the gear on its own.

Jerry Conway, an adviser with theCampobelloWhale Rescue Team, said Fisheries and Oceansis also trying to put asatellite tracking tagon the trailing gear so it can follow the entangled whale.

The number of deaths haven't been seen like this since the days of whaling.- Jerry Conway

With the tracking, Conway said he hopes ateam will be put together, and rescue permits reissued, so the whale can be freed from the ropes.

Preliminary discussions are underway but Fisheries and Oceansisn't committed to freeing the whale, he said.

Conway said he was concerned and disappointed when he heard an eighthwhale had died and another one was caught in gear.

He called for a complete review of fishing gear and shipping lanes and how they relate to areas in the gulf where right whales have been turning up in unexpected numbers.

"This is an unprecedented event in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year," Conway said."The number of deaths haven't been seen like this since the days of whaling."

Just over 500North Atlantic right whales remain.