Featured Image Credit: Brian J. Skerry / National Geographic Stock / WWF
By: Sarah Sharkey
Twelve right whales have been found dead in Canadian waters in this year alone, four more have died across the border in American water. Fisheries Minister Dominic Le Blanc met in Moncton, N.B. with a diverse group of scientists, native groups, and agents from the fishing industry.
After the meeting, LeBlanc said “From fishing gear changes to sharing data and real-time information, to looking at ways to have more reliable surveillance that will allow, for example, certain shipping corridors or certain speed limits in different areas to reflect better data. I was quite inspired and encouraged by the suggestions.”
He is set to be releasing new marine mammal regulations that will definitely include a 100-meter buffer zone between boats and marine mammals, including the North Atlantic right whale. LeBlanc has stated that the government will look at all available options and information to ensure the best possible protection for these whales.
As he works to provide a better protection protocol, scientists are working furiously to learn as much as they can about these whales. The more they know, the more effectively we can save this species. But we are racing the clock, as LeBlanc stated: “Scientific research can and must necessarily take some time, and in the case of protecting the North Atlantic right whales, time is not necessarily on our side.”
Learn more from our source.