Canada-U.S. tensions expected to be big topic at right whale meeting Thursday

Canadian-U.S. trade relations and tensions around fishing regulations areexpected to be top of mindThursday at a discussion about North Atlantic right whales.

Dozens of people from the fishing industryand conservation groups are in Moncton to meet with officials fromFisheries and Oceans Canada.

At the centre of tensions is whether Canada is doing enough to protect the endangered marine mammal.

It was another devastatingsummer for the species 10 died, nine in Canadian waters.

The latest to be found dead was a whale namedSnake Eyes, whose body was discovered floatingoffLong Island.

The whale's death, believed to bethe result of an entanglement the animalsuffered in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in late July or early August, only exacerbatedtensions between the two countries.

Hanging over Thursday's meeting is the threat that in 2021, the U.S. could ban Canadian seafood importsif officialshere don't put in place equivalent protection for marine mammals.

New, stronger measures expected

The meeting will be a chance for stakeholders to reflect on the federal government's 2019right whale protection measures.

For the second year in a row, fishing closures and speed restrictions were put in place.

The fishermen find themselves in a delicateposition. The measures affect their catch, but they're in jeopardy of losing an important trading partner if efforts don't satisfy U.S. officials .

And right now, all seems to pointto stricter measures in the year ahead.

After six whale deaths had been reported by Canadaby early July, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver requested an emergency meeting with Fisheries and Oceans and Transport Canada, urging immediate action.

Afterwards, Oliver hintednew, stronger measures on both sides of the border were on the way.

"We believe that only broad-based measures will be effective and resilient to changes in whale distribution, ecological conditions, fishing effort, and shipping patterns over time," Oliver said in an Aug. 12 statement.

Scientists believe increased water temperature is changing the whales' migration patterns,which has been part of the challenge in protecting them this year.

The U.S. officialhad also expressed plans for moreaccountability from fishermen.

"Over the next few months, we will coordinate with Canadian officials on future gear marking schemes in order to improve the ability to identify the source of gear seen on or retrieved from large whales along the eastern seaboard," Oliver said.

Talks about ropelessfishing gear, seen as a compromise between needs of industry and marine protection,are also on Thursday's agenda, but the equipment is still in the early testing stages.