After right whales found dead, new speed limits for ships
Digital Reporter
Friday, August 11, 2017, 12:49 PM - The Canadian government has announced new measures to protect whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, after at least 10 right whales were found dead in those waters in recent weeks.
Ships travelling in the Gulf from Quebec's North Shore through to the waters around northern Prince Edward Island will now be subject to a temporary speed limit of 10 knots for ships larger than 20 metres. Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard will enforce the limit, with violators fined up to $25,000.
"We continue to work with partners to better understand what may have caused the deaths of the North Atlantic right whales — to that end, several necropsies were carried on as many whales as possible," Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement.
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The measures were announced Friday morning at a press conference in New Brunswick.
Since the first whale carcasses were discovered drifting in the gulf in June, the government says it has taken several other measures, from operating surveillance flights and stepping up marine warnings to watch for the whales, to closing at least one snow crab fishing zone and ordering fishermen in some other zones to stick to shallow water or delay opening.
Right whales are an endangered species that has been struggling for decades. At last estimate, only around 500 individuals are believed to remain in the wild, so the loss of 10 animals for whatever reason would represent about two per cent of the remaining species.
Right whales migrate to feeding grounds in Atlantic Canada in the summer and fall from more southern U.S. waters. They can be found in the Bay of Fundy, Scotian Shelf and Gulf of St. Lawrence, according to DFO.
DFO says the threats against right whales include ship collisions, fishing gear entanglement and underwater noise.
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SOURCE: Transport Canada | Fisheries and Oceans Canada | IUCN
