Right whale sighting shuts down lobster fishing section for at least 15 days - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 11, 2024, 12:07 AM | Calgary | -0.4°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
PEI

Right whale sighting shuts down lobster fishing section for at least 15 days

Some lobster fishers in LFA 24will have topull their trapseven though they're justthree weeks intothe fishing season after the confirmed sighting of a North Atlantic right whale.

Closure of a portion of LFA 24 could be extended if there are more sightings

An overhead shot of a North Atlantic Right Whale cow with her calf from the documentary
An overhead shot of a North Atlantic Right Whale cow with her calf from the documentary "Last of the Right Whales." The species is listed as endangered. (Last of the Right Whales)

Some Island lobster fisherswill have topull their trapseven though they're justthree weeks into the fishing season.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is askinglobster fishers to remove all gear in a portion of Lobster Fishing Area 24 within the next 96 hours due to the confirmed sighting of a North Atlantic right whale.

The whale wasat the 10 and 20 fathom line in LFA 24 off the Island's northern coast, the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association said in a release.

"DFO asks licence holders to be vigilant during fishing activities concerning the presence of North Atlantic right whales," the Fisheries and Oceans said in a notice.

The North Atlantic right whale is listed as endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act.

"This is a 15-day closure, and Day 1 begins on the official day the closure activates," the PEIFA said.

The area will reopenif there areno sightings, the PEIFA said.

From Tignish to New London

A rendering of the closed grid in LFA 24 covers basically Tignish to New London.
The closed grid in LFA 24 goes basically Tignish to New London. (CBC/Google Earth)

The grid goes basically fromTignish to New London. Some areas thatcould be affected according to the PEIFA are:

  • Tignish.
  • Alberton.
  • Hardy's Channel.
  • Malpeque.
  • Lennox Island.
  • Darnley.
  • French River.

The closure is limited to waters deeper than 10 fathoms,or just over 18 metres.

"Fishers are allowed to fish in waters shallower than the 10-fathom protocol line," the PEIFA said.

DFO has an interactive map of right whale sightings.

'The heart of our season'

Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the P.E.I. Lobster Marketing Board, said the early closure is "very disappointing."

"I haven't seen the grid area yet to see how many of our fishers it is going to affect, but it is going to affect some for sure, and that's very disappointing," he said.

"It's the heart of our season."

A man stands next to his fishing boat
'This is a huge part of the P.E.I. economy and it is just being greatly affected by whales swimming by an area,' Charlie McGeoghegan says. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)

The season atLFA 24 lasts two months. If sections are closed for 15 days, that could have a "huge impact" on fishers' bottom lines, McGeoghegan said.

"We can't control where the whales go. They are obviously chasing food," he said. "Just, it makes it hard for us to do our job when there are interactions like that. I really think there needs to be another solution to this...

"This is a huge part of the P.E.I. economy, and it is just being greatly affected by whales swimming by an area."

McGeoghegan isn't aware of any right whale ever getting caught in lobster fishing gear, he said.

Corrections

  • This story initially quoted the PEIFA saying if whales were sighted again between days 9 and 15, the area would be closed until Nov. 15. DFO later said that because the sightings were in shallow waters, the closure would be extended by another 15 days rather than until Nov. 15
    May 24, 2023 3:31 PM AT

With files from Laura Meader.