Lobster Council Calls on Government and Industry to Work Together Towards NARW Protection and Industry Survival

JUNE 13, 2018 HALIFAX—The Lobster Council of Canada is calling on the Federal government to work with lobster harvesters and other stakeholders to ensure that the industry’s ongoing commitment to protecting the North Atlantic Right Whale is addressing all issues.

“The Canadian lobster fishery is committed to NARW protection and has been taking steps long before the devastating mortality rate last year,” says Geoff Irvine, Executive Director of the LCC. “The Canadian lobster fishery is one of the most sustainable in the world. Our ongoing mitigation strategies, our defined lobster seasons, our trap limits and gear rigging methods, as well as the newly introduced federal regulations all help to mitigate the risk to the NARW.”

The LCC is urging the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to work with harvesters to ensure that all stakeholders are able to weigh in on the ongoing mitigation measures. If DFO engagement with harvesters is genuine, it will certainly lead to better outcomes for the NARW and all stakeholders involved. It will be within this context of engagement that calm and compliance - the outcomes that the LCC supports - will prevail.

The Industry began developing its own mitigation strategies which included monitoring, self-imposed suspensions and gear tracking as early as 2006. Since then the fishery has implemented many mitigation measures to protect the NARW including:

• A reduction in the amount of rope floating on the surface of the water

• Mandatory reporting of lost gear

• A comprehensive sighting/interaction policy including a whale hotline number and ongoing aerial monitoring

• Dynamic and static closure of the fishery based on NARW location and movement

• Daily oversight of regulatory compliance by the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans

• Governing protocols as set out by Canada’s Species At Risk Act

• In addition to these ongoing measures, lobster harvesters in various Canadian fishing regions are testing new technologies including hydrophone microphones to help pinpoint NARW locations and ropeless gear technology. As well, several harvesters are training with whale rescue teams on whale disentanglement.

“While we all agree we must do what we can to ensure the protection of the NARW, we believe we must continue to monitor the impact many of these mitigation measures are having on the people and communities that rely on the lobster fishery for their livelihood,” says Irvine. “We need to continue to look for the right balance to allow the fishery to continue while ensuring the NARW protection.”

The LCC concedes that the Government of Canada has implemented measures it believes are the most immediate solution to protecting the NARW and respects that they needed to implement these measures very quickly to begin to address the situation. The LCC is now asking the government to work with industry stakeholders to continue to monitor the effectiveness of all the regulations to ensure they are the best mitigation measures possible to protect the NARW while also recognizing the economic survival of our coastal communities.

“As an industry we are very committed to continue to work with regulators on both sides of the Canada/US border to ensure that we are doing all we can to implement proven mitigation tactics that will have a real impact on the long-term sustainability of the NARW,” adds Irvine.

The Lobster Council of Canada was established in 2009 to bring together all Canadian lobster industry stakeholders including harvesters, live shippers, processors, First Nations, and governments to work on projects of mutual benefit. The mandate of the Lobster Council of Canada is to enhance the value of the Canadian lobster sector in a sustainable fashion by addressing the issues of importance to the industry.