Marine Mammal Response Program: Annual Report 2022-23

On this page

• Overview
• Response numbers for 2022-2023
• 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

Response numbers for 2022-2023

Between April 2022 and March 2023, there were a total of 2,100 reported incidents involving over 2,400 animals. Of the total number of incidents reported there were 600 responses. Of the total number of incidents reported, 44 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). Of the 44 incidents reported involving SARA species, all 44 were responded to.

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 949 incidents reported and approximately 664 responses performed. 341 of those involved cetaceans and 569 involved pinnipeds. Of the total incidents, 14 involved entangled animals.
• Quebec: There were a total of 697 incidents reported and 351 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 19 were for SARA listed species.
• Gulf: There were a total of 169 incidents reported and 94 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 13 were for SARA listed species.
• Maritimes: There were a total of 247 incidents reported and 130 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 8 were for SARA listed species.
• Newfoundland & Labrador: There were a total of 38 incidents reported and 20 responses performed. Of the responses performed, 1 were for SARA listed species.

Other national initiatives to protect whales

Ghost Gear initiative

• In 2022, through funding for advancing a circular economy for plastics in Canada, the Ghost Gear Program was renewed for five years with an overarching goal that marine pollution from ghost gear is prevented and reduced.
• The Program has a mandate commitment to create a strategy that addresses long-term prevention, mitigation, and response for ghost gear, including the creation of a Canadian Ghost Gear Action Plan by 2027.
• Budget 2022 also saw an additional one year of support for the Ghost Gear Fund, with $10 million being allocated for projects in fiscal year 2022-2023. Building on work and capacity created from projects completed in the 2020-22 years of the fund, the Ghost Gear Fund supported 47 projects, 43 domestic and 4 international. Retrieval projects for 22-23 accounted for over 413 tonnes of ghost gear retrieved, including 10,974 units of gear and 312km of rope (including Hurricane Fiona emergency funded projects, below).
• In response to Hurricane Fiona, which made landfall in Atlantic Canada and Quebec in September 2022, on October 17, 2022, Ministers Murray and former Minister Murray, confirmed $100 million in funding for DFO to support the immediate and urgent work currently being carried out on the recovery of lost fishing gear and repairs of small craft harbours damaged by Hurricane Fiona. Of the $100 million, $1.5 million in emergency funding was allocated towards immediate cleanup and recovery efforts of the hardest hit areas for 22-23, and resulted in 11 Ghost Gear Fund projects. Those projects resulted in 4,553 units of gear being retrieved (or 172 tonnes of ALDFG removed) as well as over 60km of rope.

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.