Preventing Whale Entanglements with Ropeless Fishing Gear

North Atlantic right whales are caught between the Canadian and American fishing industries. These cetaceans have begun frequenting the Gulf of St. Lawrence since 2015. This section of the river begins at Pointe-des-Monts and opens into the Atlantic Ocean via the Cabot and Belle Isle straits. The species is abandoning the Bay of Fundy and the Scotian Shelf, where the Grand Manan Basin and Roseway Basin protected areas are located, respectively. The risks of ship strikes and entanglements in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are substantial. A study published in 2012 concluded that 83% of documented North Atlantic right whales have experienced at least one entanglement in their lifetime, and 59% have suffered two or more! Calves and juveniles are more prone to entanglement than adults.

Other species of large whales are also susceptible to entanglements. The cases of Capitaine C[DA2] rochet, a fin whale, and Tryphon, a sperm whale, are well known to the public. These two individuals succumbed to their respective entanglements in crab trap ropes. More recently, off the coast of Cape Breton, a sperm whale starved to death after ingesting 150 kilos of fishing gear (article in French). Entanglements in fishing gear can also affect turtles, seals and seabirds.

Entanglements are caused in part by fixed gear such as traps used to catch crustaceans and fish. These devices can number in the thousands! Whales must navigate their way through a habitat cluttered with such gear, which gets caught in their mouths or wrapped around their bodies and fins. Accidental entanglements in ropes or traps are very energy intensive for marine mammals. They compromise the animals’ ability to swim, feed and reproduce, in addition to occasionally leading to amputations, lacerations, and reduced fertility. These incidents can ultimately end in death by drowning or exhaustion. The new field of alternative fishing equipment is therefore part of an effort to reconcile fishing activities and marine wildlife conservation.

Traditional fishing gear to blame

Many entanglements are caused by traditional fishing gear. The Marine Mammal Observation Network reports that “On Canada’s east coast, fixed gear such as traps/pots, gillnets or bottom-set longlines are the types of tackle most often to blame in this type of event.” In the Maritimes and in Quebec, the snow crab, rock crab and lobster fisheries use traps tethered to buoys that float on the surface, which allow owners to locate their equipment. The breaking strength of the ropes connecting the trap to the buoy in the event of an entanglement depends on the diameter of these ropes. A large diameter rope is less likely to snap in the event of an entanglement, while a small diameter can cause lacerations to the skin of trapped animals.

It is illegal to intentionally leave fishing gear in the water. This kind of deliberate action mainly pertains to fishers engaged in illegal harvesting that have to hide their equipment. Indeed, for law-abiding parties, it would be too costly to simply abandon their equipment at sea. Lower yields and equipment losses are hardly in their best interest!

The Canadian federal government has adopted a series of protective measures whenever the presence of one or more North Atlantic right whales is detected during the fishing season. Speed restrictions are imposed on certain types of boats and fishing areas are closed if this endangered cetacean is known to be present. Fines may be issued for failure to comply with these mandatory measures.

Innovative fishers

Solutions often come from the fishing industry itself! Across Canada, numerous initiatives have been launched to reduce the severity and duration of entanglements. A rethink is underway to redesign buoys and traps with fewer vertical ropes cluttering the marine environment

The Whalesafe Gear Adoption Fund has been established by the Canadian government to fund the purchase, testing and enhancement of fishing gear. This $20 million fund aims to encourage the marketing and supply of this new equipment by Canadian manufacturers across the country.

The canFISH Gear Lending Program, a non-profit organization supported by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, offers a loan service to fishers to test cages with ropes on demand, weak ropes and attachments as well as than other accessories.

Information sharing and collaboration between organizations give rise to initiatives such as the Whale-Insight interactive map, which can be used to report and track sightings of North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters. The recovery of ghost gear is also an important part of efforts to reduce marine mammal entanglements.