Closure triggered by Entangled Right Whale

A single North Atlantic right whale sighting has triggered an automatic 15-day closure in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

On June 16, officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada spotted an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near Morell, Prince Edward Island. (Photo credit: Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

Officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) recently re-sighted an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near Morell, P.E.I. According to Brett Gilchrist, Director of Fisheries Resource Management for National Programs at DFO, this particular whale has been involved in multiple past entanglements.

“The whale was first detected in the U.S. last December with fishing gear on it. And we detected it again earlier this year,” Gilchrist said.

The whale is a juvenile male, born in 2021. It was first spotted entangled off the coast of North Carolina in December 2024 and later seen again in late May near Les Escoumins, Quebec, in the St. Lawrence Estuary.

“At the very least, some of the gear seen in 2024 photographs indicated lobster gear from the Bay of Fundy was on the whale,” said Gilchrist. “It may still have that gear on, or it may have collected new gear since."

“We can’t tell from the most recent photos if it has picked up any new gear,” he added. “But we suspect it’s still the same gear from the previous sightings.”

According to Mr. Gilchrist, there is a set protocol that the department follows when a whale is detected.

The affected area spans approximately 2,000 square kilometers, and lobster harvesters operating in that zone must remove their gear for the 15-day duration.

If another whale is detected between days nine and 15 of the temporary closure, the area remains closed for the rest of the season, based on the assumption that multiple whales may be present in the area.

“That’s part of our seasonal closure protocol,” Gilchrist said. “In the Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin in Nova Scotia, if a whale is detected in the second half of the 15-day closure, then it’s extended for another 15 days.”

DFO officials are continuously monitoring for the presence of right whales.

“We have our science colleagues—our ecosystem and ocean science team—as part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducting aerial surveillance efforts,” Gilchrist explained.

Surveillance flights are carried out to detect right whales in Canadian waters. In addition to aerial monitoring, DFO collaborates with U.S. counterparts, who conduct similar surveys in American waters.

Gilchrist added that Fisheries and Oceans Canada also relies on acoustic monitoring devices placed in the water to help detect whale presence through sound.

Original story by Yutaro Sasaki Whale sightings and rescues explained | PNI Atlantic News