N.B. fishermen test new gear in bid to stay on the water when right whales spotted
CBC
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.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.