N.B. fishermen test new gear in bid to stay on the water when right whales spotted

As of Aug. 13, fishermen in New Brunswick were forced to pull their traps and stop fishing on 35 separate occasions this year after North Atlantic right whales were spotted.

But a new pilot program in the southwest is trying to keep lobster and crab boats on the water.

Crab fisherman Greg Beckerton and two lobster fishermen, Judson Mitchell and Peter Mawhinney, are testing five new types of ropeless gear, with the goal of choosing two for a wider test in the spring.

Traditional fishing gear uses rope that connects the traps on the ocean floor to a buoy on the surface. 

With just 350 to 360 North Atlantic right whales believed to be left in the world, any time a whale is spotted an area is closed to fishing to prevent the threat of entanglement. 

Beckerton hopes that alternative fishing gear that limits the use of traditional rope will allow fishing to continue when whales are in the area. 

"In a closed-area situation we could use this gear, and it would definitely be an advantage," he said. 

With many closures over the past four years in his fishing area off Saint Andrews, Beckerton volunteered to be part of the scientific study, which is a partnership between the Fundy North Fishermen's Association and the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

Hanna Vatcher, a fishing gear technologist with the federation, spent a week with Beckerton on the water training him to use ropeless on-demand gear from five different manufacturers.

"I think it's very important for harvesters to get their hands on this gear and see it working on their vessel," she said. "At the end of the day, it helps the fisherman and and it helps the whales, and that's what we're all about."

On-demand gear works via acoustic signals, said Vatcher.

Once traps are dropped into the water, they can be recalled by sending a signal from a cellphone, which releases the coiled rope and buoys.

Some models have balloons that inflate and lift the traps to the surface when the signal is sent.

"We've been working in different conditions. So yesterday was very foggy. It was hard to spot the buoys. Sometimes we could only see about 50 metres from us, but units still came up," she said of the gear system tests.