Marine Mammal Response Program: Annual report 2021-22

On this page

• Overview
• Marine Mammal Regulations
• Incident numbers by region
• Other national initiatives to protect whales

Overview

The Marine Mammal Response program annual report is comprised of incident and response data received from DFO regions and external partners across Canada during the fiscal year.

Response partners

DFO has several contracted partners who deliver critical marine mammal response services nationally.

• The Campobello Whale Rescue Team (CWRT) – Canadian Whale Institute (CWI)
• Tangly Whales – Whales Release and Strandings
• Groupe de recherche et d'éducation sur les mammifères marins (GREMM)
• The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS)
• Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue
• The British Columbia Marine Mammal Response Network (BCMMRN)

Veterinarians

• The University of Montreal
• The Atlantic Veterinary College
• Dr. Steven Raverty Consulting

Between April 2021 and March 2022, there were a total of 1,758 reported incidents involving over 2,000 animals. Of the total number of incidents reported there were 1,089 responses. Of the total number of incidents reported, 273 were incidents involving Species At Risk (SARA) (several incidents were listed as an unidentifiable species; therefore, the number of incidents involving SARA species could be higher). Responses occurred for 265 of the 273 incidents reported involving SARA species. There are multiple reasons why a response to a report many not be required or may not be possible, e.g. duplicate reports of the same incident, no option for safe response, etc.

The types of incidents included: entanglements, close vessel approaches, harassment, collisions, live strandings, injured / sick, sightings / free swimming, dead (beached and floating), distressed, shootings, and animals interacting with the public.

The types of responses included: freeing entangled whales and pinnipeds, collecting samples and performing necropsies on dead animals, reuniting stranded animals with their pods, responding to harassment calls, refloating live beached animals, monitoring sick animals, monitoring close approaches by vessels, and warming cold stunned sea turtles.

There are multiple reasons why a response to a report many not be required or may not be possible, e.g. duplicate reports of the same incident, no option for safe response, etc. It is important to note that the numbers provided in this report have been collected on an opportunistic basis via reports from response organizations. Consequently, the true number of animals impacted by human activities cannot be determined. As not all incidents are reported, the data here is likely an underestimate of the true impact to these species and populations.

Marine Mammal Regulations

All marine mammals are subject to the provisions of the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act. The Government of Canada amended the Marine Mammal Regulations in 2018 to provide greater protection for marine mammals including Canada's at-risk whales.

It's against the law to disturb a marine mammal. You can't:

• feed, swim or interact with a marine mammal
• move a marine mammal (or entice/cause it to move)
• separate a marine mammal from its group or go between it and a calf
• trap a marine mammal or a group between a vessel and the shore, or between a vessel and other vessels
• tag or mark a marine mammal

Only authorized marine mammal rescue personnel and partner organizations who use specialized equipment and techniques may help marine animals in distress.

If you see any marine mammal in distress, do not approach, and report it as soon as possible.

Incident numbers by region

• Pacific: There were a total of 883 incidents reported and 719 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 223 were for SARA listed species.
• Quebec: There were a total of 435 incidents reported and 160 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 22 were for SARA listed species.
• Gulf: There were a total of 158 incidents reported and 78 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 12 were for SARA listed species.
• Maritimes: There were a total of 241 incidents reported and 105 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 3 were for SARA listed species.
• Newfoundland & Labrador: There were a total of 41 incidents reported and 27 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 5 were for SARA listed species.

Other national initiatives to protect whales

Ghost Gear initiative

• Canada continues to show its leadership on the global fight to reduce ghost gear, the leading cause of marine plastic litter.
• In 2020, DFO launched the Ghost Gear Fund to support third-party led projects under four pillars: ghost gear retrieval, uptake of new technologies to prevent or mitigate ghost gear, responsible disposal, and international leadership. The Program was funded to assist harvesters, environmental groups, Indigenous communities, the aquaculture industry, and coastal communities to retrieve harmful ghost gear from Canadian waters.
• To date, the Ghost Gear Fund has helped remove approximately 1,261 tonnes of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear and 127 kilometers of rope from Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Thus far, 703 retrieval trips have been completed, retrieving 6,739 units of lost gear. Retrieval efforts have resulted in 259 units of retrieved gear successfully returned back to harvesters.

Whalesafe Fisheries Management Measures and Gear Innovation

• DFO has implemented a range of national marine mammal protection measures in our fisheries over the past several years. These include:
  • requirements for reporting interactions between fisheries and whales;
  • updates to the Marine Mammal Regulations to further outline disturbance restrictions and identify limits on how close vessels can get to whales;
  • support for the development and implementation of innovative of fishing gear to reduce whale entanglements.
• For whalesafe fishing gear, in 2020 the Minister announced a requirement for non-tended, fixed gear fisheries, including lobster and snow crab, in Atlantic Canada and Quebec to adopt low breaking-strength gear (LBS) components by the 2023 fishing seasons.
• Gear trials of innovative fishing gear, including LBS gear and on-demand gear that removes vertical buoy lines from the water, have shown that different types and configurations of whalesafe gear are likely to be effective in different operating conditions.
  • Assessment of trial results has supported a limited, voluntary approach for adopting LBS gear in 2024.
  • Additional gear trials are needed, and the Department is interested in focusing on on-demand gear trials in fisheries where it is suitable.
  • DFO continues engagement with industry, Indigenous partners and stakeholders.
• Whalesafe Gear Adoption Fund provided nearly $20M to 34 projects for 2021 through 2023.