Whalesafe gear trial results symposium – Summary report

Overview

Meeting structure, objectives and participants

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) hosted the Whalesafe Gear Trial Results Symposium on September 14-15, 2023, in Moncton, New Brunswick. The symposium was a hybrid event, with over 50 people attending in person, and another 60 people participating virtually.

DFO organized the symposium for groups that conducted trials of whalesafe fishing gear to share the outcomes of their work including successes, challenges, lessons learned, and ways forward. DFO is committed to preventing and alleviating whale entanglements in fishing gear. Through the 2021 to 2023 Whalesafe Gear Adoption Fund (WSGF), the department provided nearly $20 million to 34 projects in five provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia).

The WSGF supported at-sea trials of whalesafe gear, and helped manufacturers refine and expand their capacity to supply the Canadian fishing industry with innovative whalesafe gear products. Some groups attending the symposium also received funding from the Canada Nature Fund, Atlantic Fisheries Fund and the Quebec Fisheries Fund. Other symposium attendees included representatives from provincial governments, and DFO staff from various regions and sectors who have a role in implementing whalesafe gear in Canadian fisheries.

Through presentations, panel discussions, poster displays, and focused breakout group discussions, symposium participants shared their knowledge, insights, and concerns, to help inform the adoption of whalesafe gear in Canadian fisheries. By sharing their results with each other, with manufacturers of whalesafe gear, and with DFO, participants made an important contribution to the body of knowledge about whalesafe gear in eastern Canadian fisheries.

Several themes emerged during the discussions, including the need for solutions tailored by region and fishery, harvester safety, adequate lead time for implementation, the need for more trials, and funding. These discussions provided DFO with important information and considerations to inform next steps to implement lower breaking-strength gear requirements starting in 2024, and to support the department's preparation of a five-year Whalesafe Gear Strategy to guide the implementation of whalesafe gear in Canadian fisheries. DFO will seek input on the proposed strategy from fishing industry, Indigenous groups, and other experts, before finalizing it in 2024.

What is whalesafe gear?

Whalesafe fishing gear is designed to prevent whale entanglements, or to reduce their severity if they occur.

The two general categories are:

• Low breaking-strength (LBS)
  Rope, links, or other devices that are designed to break at 1,700 lbs. of force, to make it easier for entangled whales to free themselves and reduce the risk of serious injury or mortality.

• On-demand gear
  Fishing gear that is deployed either with vertical buoy lines stowed at the sea floor, or with inflatable bag systems that eliminate buoy lines. The gear is released by an acoustic signal sent from the fishing vessel.

Another category of gear release devices includes time-based devices, which can be calibrated to release or sever a rope if a predetermined amount of force is exerted on the device for a duration that is longer than normal gear hauling time.

What we heard

Low Breaking-Strength Gear

Benefits to industry

LBS gear can provide a low-cost and relatively simple method for some fisheries to potentially reduce the severity of entanglements. Combined with other protection tools, harvesters may gain a market advantage by fishing with whalesafe gear.

Concerns and questions

Participants noted the risk of gear loss with low breaking-strength gear, which can be caused by use of a poorly tested device, weather, or by conflict/overlay with other fishing gear or other vessels. Lost gear can present a whale entanglement risk, and incur cost for harvesters or others retrieving or replacing the gear. Crew safety remains a concern with some kinds of LBS gear, and only devices that have been tested and shown to not present risk to crew should be approved or required. DFO heard concerns about how fishery officers will be able to enforce these new gear types.

Advice moving forward

Harvesters, gear manufacturers and other participants requested nine to twelve months' notice to adapt and change gear to meet new low breaking-strength gear requirements. In addition to providing time for harvesters to reconfigure their gear, this timeframe also supports suppliers' and manufacturers' ability to meet increased industry demand.

Participants asked DFO to provide a transparent approval process, to support ongoing trials of appropriate LBS devices that will be considered viable options. DFO's fishery officers should be involved in the approval process, because of their enforcement and communication role with industry.

LBS gear options need to be evaluated for their suitability and reliability in specific fisheries. Trials are needed in all relevant fishery areas, tailored to gear type, water depth, and other fishery conditions, to support consistency when evaluating results. Gear trials should be prioritized in relevant fisheries that have not yet done trials.

Harvesters need multiple gear options, so they can make choices considering safety, price, hauler type, and what will best integrate into their gear. DFO should create a 'toolbox' highlighting gear types that have worked in each area, indicating appropriate line placement locations for the LBS gear.

On-demand gear

Benefits to industry

Harvesters using on-demand gear may be able to continue fishing in areas that are closed to traditional gear. Harvesters may gain a market advantage by fishing with whalesafe gear.

Concerns and questions

The high cost of on-demand gear makes it inaccessible to many, especially harvesters using numerous single traps or short trawls of traps. Standardized technology needs to be developed to support interoperability of different on-demand gear systems, allowing harvesters, enforcement agencies, and other ocean users, to see the locations of on-demand gear in low density and high density fishing grounds. Acceptance by harvesters may be an obstacle, and training to support adoption of the new types of gear will be needed.

Advice moving forward

Simplifying gear marking requirements to allow harvesters to switch from traditional to on-demand gear as soon as a closure is announced, without waiting 48 hours, will support seamless operations, saving harvesters time and money. To help them switch quickly between traditional gear and on-demand gear, more training is needed.

Lending programs or gear caches, such as those operated by the Canadian Wildlife Federation's (CWF) canFISH program and by the Canadian Whale Institute (CWI), may provide an interim solution to the high cost of purchasing on-demand gear.

The Government of Canada should consider incentives for transitioning to on-demand gear, such as allowing access to fishing areas that would be closed to traditional gear, or financial incentives such as tax breaks, subsidies or grants.

Marine Mammal Protection Act / market access concerns

An opportunity may become available to differentiate seafood products in the global marketplace that were caught with whalesafe gear, supporting brand distinction and elevation. This would be an incentive for harvesters, if higher prices for whalesafe seafood were to offset the increased cost of the gear. In addition, meeting the United States' Marine Mammal Protection Act import provisions remains a consideration and a concern for Canadian harvesters.

Other

Harvester groups pointed out that data generated and collected through the use of whalesafe fishing gear is valuable, belongs to the harvesters and it should be confidential. Secondary user agreements may be needed to ensure confidentiality for harvesters fishing with on-demand gear.

Guiding questions during breakout discussions

How do you define and measure 'success'?

DFO asked participants to consider how they would define and measure 'success' in the implementation of whalesafe gear in Canadian fisheries.  

Participants considered that success would be fisheries that are safe, sustainable, and financially sound, and that also protect whales. Success of specific devices could be measured by how many harvesters use them. It will be important to assess the dependability of LBS gear, including success rates and how they may contribute to ghost gear.

Measuring landings caught using on-demand gear, compared to traditional gear, and contrasted with the cost of closures to industry, can be an indicator of success of whalesafe gear innovations.

What challenges need to be overcome?

DFO asked participants to identify and discuss challenges to overcome for the successful implementation of whalesafe gear.

More risk assessments are needed; the lack of information about the relative entanglement risk presented by different fisheries and of different whale behaviours hampers evidence-based implementation of whalesafe gear requirements.

Some fisheries feel that they do not interact with North Atlantic right whales as much as others, and thus feel that they should not be subject to the same requirements as other fisheries.

While LBS gear has some value, some participants expressed strong opposition to full implementation, while supporting a phased implementation with harvesters required to incorporate LBS gear into a percentage of their gear.

Manufacturers and suppliers need clarity and assurance about DFO processes and timelines to support their own planning and investment.

In addition to the two main categories of whalesafe gear, other devices are designed to release an entangled whale on the basis of time. These include the time tension line-cutter that has been tested in multiple fisheries, and a double-threshold weak link in development; these devices may be suitable to reduce the duration and severity of whale entanglements in some fisheries, and testing is expected to continue.

For some fisheries, such as those fishing single traps, converting to on-demand gear is cost-prohibitive and may require a shift from singles to fishing with a series of traps connected by groundlines.   Groundlines should be sinking or neutrally buoyant rope to reduce the risk of whale entanglement.

Participants called for more financial support to continue gear trials, and to support industry purchase of gear. Participants called for long-term investment by the Government of Canada to support whalesafe fishery innovations.

How should information be shared?

DFO asked participants about the best ways to further share the information generated at the symposium.

Participants advised that DFO develop a clear communication plan and undertake activities to share information with as many fishers as possible, since not all harvesters are members of organizations.  Suggested methods include targeted visits or information sessions in communities, at wharves, booths at regional marine and boat shows, and other locations where harvesters gather. Web-based information needs to be centralized, providing information about the rules, whalesafe gear strategy, recommended gear, protocols, statistics, etc. DFO should use social media, with caution, providing information on rules in posts that can be shared by industry groups. Meetings should be scheduled around fishing seasons. Advisory committees are a good venue for sharing information with stakeholders and Rightsholders.

Conclusions and next steps

No one-size-fits-all whalesafe gear solution exists; each fishery has its own unique conditions that will influence which whalesafe gear types will be more successful. Fishers will look for safe, affordable, and reliable options that allow them to earn a livelihood, while protecting whales including the North Atlantic right whale, a species facing a population decline with an urgent need for whalesafe solutions. Harvester safety is one of the most important elements when evaluating which gear types will be approved for use in specific fisheries.

DFO officials are reviewing results of gear trials to date, to support the development of a web-based gear 'toolbox' presenting LBS options that will be approved for use in specific fisheries. Symposium participants supported this approach, considering an "evaluation framework" or "toolbox" useful for harvesters making decisions on what gear options to use. Gear manufacturers, industry and non-government organizations advised that DFO should announce 2024 as a year of preparing to implement LBS gear, with the initial requirements in 2025. Interoperability across on-demand gear systems is needed to avoid gear conflict, to support enforcement needs, and to manage data privacy and security. DFO staff collaborate with U.S. counterparts to discuss proposed standards and specifications for on-demand gear.

While some fisheries' participants believe that they do not interact with right whales, or present an entanglement threat to other whale species, it is important to consider that the whereabouts of one-third to one-half of the North Atlantic right whales is unknown at any time of year. Combined with the high rate of rope scarring of right whales, and the well documented sub-lethal impacts of entanglement on the species' recovery, DFO continues to take a precautionary, preventive approach to reducing entanglement risk. Increased use of whalesafe gear is also expected to reduce entanglement harm to other whale species as well.

Increased use of LBS gear may result in more gear loss, and monitoring this potential impact will be a priority for DFO. Ghost gear poses a significant impact to marine life and has been implicated in several North Atlantic right whale entanglements linked to Canadian fisheries. Implementation of LBS should be advanced in a measured fashion, monitoring for potential increases in gear loss rates, to ensure unintended negative consequences are avoided or minimized. Benefits to industry and to whales also need to be monitored, to understand the effectiveness of these gear innovations. The Department will be sharing information about new low-breaking strength requirements with industry and other partners in the near future.

DFO will continue to prioritize prevention of whale entanglements, in particular in areas where fishing activity coincides with North Atlantic right whale presence. Whalesafe gear will complement DFO's prevention measures which include dynamic and seasonal closures to non-tended, fixed gear fishing when and where right whales are detected, and continued support for and expansion of commercial fishing with on-demand gear in these closed areas. LBS gear will provide additional protection to these preventive measures by reducing harm and increasing the likelihood a whale will free itself from an entanglement. DFO's upcoming five-year Whalesafe Gear Strategy will be developed with harvester, Indigenous partner and stakeholder input, and provide a path forward to support increased adoption of on-demand gear to remove vertical lines from the water, as well as LBS gear, to support the coexistence of healthy whale populations with prosperous commercial fisheries.