Key Takeaways
- The last six years there has been a substantial increase in North Atlantic Right Whale entanglements in U.S. and Canadian north Atlantic pot and trap fisheries, creating the need for dynamic management which includes fishery closures to buoy lines.
- The CanFISH Lending Library was started to provide on-demand pot/trap systems to fishermen so they can continue to fish in closed fishing grounds.
- Since it's inception in 2022, fully on-demand sets accounted for 350,000 lbs snow crab catch with a 96-98% overall retrieval success rate.
- To access closed fishing areas in the Halifax region, contact the CanFISH lending library.
Over the last decade, the critical habitat for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) off the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada has expanded in response to changes in environmental conditions with more frequent observations of individuals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This has led to an increase in human-caused deaths of the NARW in Canadian waters, both as a result of ship strikes and entanglement in buoy lines of commercial fishing gear. To decrease entanglements, Canadian fisheries now close lobster and snow crab fisheries for two weeks in regions where NARW are spotted.
The CanFISH Gear Lending Program was created to lend on-demand (also called Ropeless) systems that replace traditional buoy lines to snow crab fishers so they can continue to fish in prime fishing zones when closed due to the presence of NARWs. Managed by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the Program began lending on-demand systems to participating fisheries in 2022 and has already had a large impact on the local fishery. With more than 175 on-demand units at their disposal, they have supported 34 harvesters throughout the Atlantic Canadian provinces to continue harvesting catch in areas that have been closed to traditional fishing gear to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Additionally, more than 200 harvesters are now licensed through the program to use on-demand gear should the need arise in their fishery. CanFISH continues to broaden their reach and are gaining interest from new fisheries regularly and continue to work with industry and regulators to facilitate on-demand fishing in new regions. To date, it is estimated that more than $1 million pounds of catch has been harvested with on-demand gear in Canada through various programs, including CanFISH!
To learn more, visit the CanFISH Gear Lending Program website and consider donating on-demand gear. If you are a snow crab fisher in the Halifax region and want to have the opportunity to fish in closed regions this next year, you can request partnering with the program on their website.d safe for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.