Yet another dead North Atlantic Right Whale has washed up on the western shore of Newfoundland.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans reports that is the 10th confirmed dead Right Whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence since the first week of June.
DFO has taken the following steps to protect the whale population:
- Closing Snow Crab Fishing Area 12 in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (all fishing gear to be removed from the water)
- Issuing a notice to the commercial fishing industry in the Gulf of St. Lawrence asking fishermen to watch for whales and to report any sightings;
- Surveillance flights along the coasts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to determine if there are any additional possible Right Whales carcasses;
- Surveillance flights to confirm positions of live Right Whales continues in the Gulf;
- Broadcasting notices on the marine radio system to request shipping and fishing industries be on alert for whales;
- Addressing threats to marine mammals in Canadian waters and enhancing capacity to respond to marine mammal incidents through the Government of Canada’s $1.5 billion investment in the Oceans Protection Plan;
- Issuing a notice requesting that mariners voluntarily reduce speed along the Laurentian channel in shipping lanes between the Magdalen Islands to the Gaspé peninsula until September 30, 2017;
- Providing $56,000 to Dalhousie University to support the development of a real-time whale alert system for mariners, which can inform measures to help reduce whale and ship collisions in Canadian waters; and
- Continuing to work with partners to necropsy dead whales to better understand what may have caused their deaths.
The Right Whale is an endangered species in Canada, and it’s estimated there are only a little over 500 left in the wild.
Here is the timeline of the recent discovery of dead Right Whales:
| Whale | Discovered | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | July 19, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – northeast New Brunswick |
Necropsy: July 21, 2017 Miscou Island, New Brunswick |
| 7 | July 6, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – near Magdalen Islands |
Necropsy: July 10, 2017 Magdalen Islands, Quebec |
| 6 | June 23, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
Necropsy: June 30, 2017 Norway, Prince Edward Island |
| 5 | June 22, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
Samples were taken at sea on June 22, 2017 |
| 4 | June 21, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
Necropsy: July 1, 2017 Norway, Prince Edward Island |
| 3 | June 18, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
Necropsy: July 9, 2017 Magdalen Islands, Quebec Samples were also taken at sea on June 22 2017 date. |
| 2 | June 19, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
Necropsy: June 29, 2017 Norway, Prince Edward Island |
| 1 | June 7, 2017 Gulf of St. Lawrence – south-central area of Gulf |
None |
