January 23, 2018
Snow crab fishing in the Gulf of
Saint Lawrence will be curtailed to protect endangered right whales from
tangling in fishing gear, a Canadian official said Tuesday.
The area is home to nearly one
quarter of the world's last 458 right whales, which conservation officials say
are among the most threatened species in the world.
Autopsies showed that several
whales had bled to death after what were likely collisions with ships, or
drowning or starving to death after getting caught up in fishing nets.
Fisheries Minister Dominique
Leblanc told reporters that the new measures, which include reducing the amount
of rope floating in the water and mandatory reporting of lost fishing gear, will be
enforced "very aggressively."
Additional measures would be
announced in the coming months, he said.
Ottawa last summer announced a
speed limit of 10 knots for boats travelling in the Saint Lawrence seaway.
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