Sam Andrews @oceanoculus.com · Feb 15 Do I have some good news for you this World Whale Day! Canada launched its Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy - a national, five-year plan to reduce the number of whales being entangled in commercial fishing gear. Video credit: NOAA (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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Is the strategy perfect? Nope. Will it help whales? It should - especially if implementation, funding, and collaboration remain strong throughout the process.
Any efforts to reduce entanglements have to work in real fisheries, in real weather, in real economic conditions, which is why I’m happy to see elements like co-development and real-world testing, innovation and scaling, and a sense of shared responsibility in the strategy.
This includes on-demand (ropeless) fishing systems and other modifications designed to prevent entanglements or reduce harm when entanglements inevitably do occur.
The strategy involves collaboration with fishers, gear manufacturers, Indigenous partners, NGOs, scientists, and coastal communities to develop and adopt innovative "whalesafe" gear.
When whales get caught in ropes or fishing gear, the consequences are severe: serious injuries, reduced ability to feed, infections, impaired reproduction, and in some cases, death.
Entanglement is one of the most serious threats facing large whale species in Canada, like the North Atlantic right whale. The video in the first post shows a humpback whale struggling to free itself from ropes and buoys through repeated tail-slapping. The rope and buoy were there for days.