How Canada protects North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing gear

How Canada protects North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing gear

Working with harvesters, Indigenous partners and environmental organizations to prevent, minimize and respond to threats

Preventing entanglements

• Surveillance from airplanes, vessels and underwater acoustic technology
• Closing fishing areas when and where right whales are detected
• Removing lost gear from right whale hotspots
• Mandatory lost gear reporting
• Supporting whalesafe technology, like ropeless and rope-on-demand systems

Minimizing Harm to Whales

• Working with harvesters to test and use lower breaking-strength fishing gear
• Gear marking requirements that identify fishing gear by fishery, region, fishing area and harvester

Responding to whales in distress

• Coordinated disentanglement response with marine mammal response partners

There have been no right whale deaths observed in Canadian waters since 2019.

To learn more about Canada’s measures, visit: canada.ca/north-atlantic-right-whales