Canada Lifts Speed Restrictions in Gulf of St. Lawrence
November 20, 2018
Eros (#3701), an 11 year old male, photographed July 19, 2018 in the Grand Manan Basin off the coast of New Brunswick during a survey by researchers from the New England Aquarium.
credit: Johanna Anderson, New England Aquarium
The Canadian government has lifted the mandatory speed restrictions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that were put in place in April of this year. A 10 knot speed restriction had been implemented for ships over 65 feet (20 meters) in the western Gulf of St. Lawrence in order to help protect North Atlantic right whales. Transport Canada says, "it isn't aware of any North Atlantic right whale deaths caused by ship strikes this year," and that, "restrictions could be put back in place if whales are observed in or near shipping lanes." Blunt trauma from ship strikes was confirmed or suspected in five of the twelve known North Atlantic right whale deaths in the Gulf of St. Lawrence last year, out of a total of 17 known deaths occurring in the US and Canada in 2017. It's quite possible that the speed limits put in place this year kept whales from being killed by ships and at any rate, now is not the time to reduce protections for these whales. We have recently reported the new population estimate that puts the number of North Atlantic right whales at only around 408 - a drop from an estimated 451 in 2016 - so to hear about the removal of protections now is particularly disturbing.
The government stated that three penalties were handed down between April 28th and November 15th for not adhering to the restrictions. This alone proves that the speed limits need to be kept in place in order to help ensure these whales stay safe. It's also been reported that when other speed restrictions were in place in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, "A total of 542 ship transits were reported for allegedly breaking the speed limit" and 14 were fined the minimum amount of $6,000 by the Department of Transportation. Although fourteen fines seems to be an improvement over three, with 17 total violations and the speed limit being broken potentially hundreds of times, it's clear that the restrictions need to stay in place.
North Atlantic right whales have been seen with more frequency in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as they seek out suitable food supplies in a warming ocean. As of June 24th of this year, 75 of the highly endangered whales had already seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence which represents nearly 20% of the entire population. Further research showed that in an area called the Orpheline Trough between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, more than 25% of the right whale population had used the area in the past year. They were detected with a combination of aerial surveys, boats, autonomous gliders and sonobuoys. The Orpheline Trough, and the broader Gulf of St. Lawrence, are clearly areas that they now use frequently. Some have also stayed past the summer and deep into the fall as there are still new sightings being reported.
Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia has a map of North Atlantic right whale sightings in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that shows two autonomous gliders making nine confirmed acoustic detections in the past three weeks and survey planes spotting groups of right whales four times from October 31st to November 5th, one of the groups containing seven whales. All of the acoustic detections and one of the visual sightings of right whales were in the area where the speed restrictions have been lifted. If you go to the new map we just linked to, you can select 'Layers' on the left side of the screen and check the box marked 'Reduced Speed Zone' to show the exact boundaries of where the restrictions were. The most recent acoustic detection was actually from one of the gliders today at 2:24 pm, just a few hours before the release of this post.
We strongly disagree with the decision to lift the speed limits and urge the Canadian government to reinstate them immediately. These whales are still in the area and are now in more danger because of the removal of these protections. These whales have lived their lives in the oceans for millions of years and their safety and natural right to the ocean must outweigh the convenience and profit of a few humans.
Source:
Speed restrictions lifted for vessels in the Gulf of St. Lawrence - CBC