Season's 1st North Atlantic right whale sighting is bracing P.E.I. fishers for the next one

The 2023 lobster fishing season was just three weeks old whentwoendangered right whales were spottedto the east of WesternP.E.I.

For the first timeever, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans shut that section of Lobster Fishing Area 24, meaninglobster crews had to move their traps to shallower waters until the whales left, rather than risk them becoming entangled in fishing gear.

Nearly one year later, a marine biologist says P.E.I. fishers are reflecting on the lessons they learned, afteran entangled right whale was spotted on Friday northeast of New Brunswick, promptingfishing closures in the Gulfof St. Lawrence.

"The closure comes right almost to the tip of LFA 24 on the northwest end of Prince Edward Island," said Melanie Giffin from theP.E.I. Fishermen's Association."So it doesn't affect LFA 24, but it would only take the whale moving a small distance to shift that closurea little bit."

According to DFO, there have been seven sightings so far this year. That could include duplicate sightings.

Giffin said theimpact of last year's closure onP.E.I.boats was "pretty big," though itlastedjust 15 days, sincethey had never been in the situation before.

"There was a lot of moving gear, a lot of condensed gear into a small area, and a lot of questionscame up aroundhow we do the protocol," said Giffin."Itreallytriggered a lot ofnew questions since it was the first time we had experienced it here on the Island."

There have been a few changes since last year, she said.For starters, the 2023 closure was to the10-fathomline,leavingsome fishers in shallower water than the rest.

"One thing that the fishers in the area asked for was tohave a meetingwithDFOand potentially extend that line just a little bit," said Giffin. "DFOobliged them on that."

It was a big learning experience. Melanie Giffin, P.E.I. Fishermen's Association

In addition, she saidDFOtypically gives fishers a 48-hour window to get their gear from the water. But that theoretically meant boats could haul in their gear, remove any lobster,reset it to catch more, and then remove it again during that window.

A new rule is in place to prevent that. Once the gear is out, itmust be moved outside thearea that closed.

"That's no longer allowed," said Giffin."It just reduces the risk to the whales."

Finally, she saidDFOhas committed to communicating better with the association so that itcan share any information it gets with thefishing crews.

"It was a big learning experience, just making sure they know where to check and who to talk to about what's closed; if it's going toextend,if it's going to reopenall of those things come into play at that point."

While people wait to see what happens with the whale recently spotted in the Gulfof St. Lawrence, Giffin said she hasn't received many questions from P.E.I. fishers yet.

But she does know they are keeping a close eye on its whereabouts.

"Fishers are paying closer attention to the whale insight map and notices that come out fromDFOto ensure that they are not interacting with the whale in any way," she said.