There was no shortage of fishing grid closures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this summer season to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW).
Brett Gilchrist, director of national programs for fisheries resource management for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), said for the most part, the distribution of NARWs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was typical this year.
“There was an interesting distribution of right whales in lobster fishing area (LFA 24) this season,”said Gilchrist.
Usually, when the NARWs start arriving in the spring, “they seem to aggregate in the beginning in Shediac Valley in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and later in the summer up towards Anticosti and different parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and then by November are heading out to different parts. LFA 24 did have a somewhat persistent presence” of NARWs, which resulted in grid closures on May 4 just a week after the fishery opened on April 27.
It was largely an acoustic detection buoy hearing the calls of the right whales in LFA 24. “It happened more this year than it has in previous years. Sometimes it’s a bit of a shock when measures have to be applied,” said Gilchrist.
There was one entangled right whale spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence earlier in the season, said Gilchrist.
“That doesn’t mean it was entangled here. Our right whale response program, if one is spotted anywhere, seeks to disentangle. We can only really tell the origin of the gear if we pull the gear off the whale. We’ve have had multiple entanglements that have been responded to in Canada that turned out to be American gear, so we do have one entanglement this season and we’re looking to disentangle that whale. We haven’t been able to do that at this point (Aug. 13).”
Fisheries and Oceans Canada renewed the voluntary shallow water whalesafe gear pilot in the spring for three years. The pilot allows participating harvesters to continue operating in shallow water areas closed due to NARW detections when using innovative gear, such as break-away gear designed to reduce the risk of entanglement.
Gilchrist said there hasn’t been a whole lot of uptake to the pilot program, mostly because there isn’t that many shallow water detections of right whales.
“It’s a bit of a tricky pilot. It’s only applied when harvesters have the potential to have to move their gear when right whales are detected. The difference between the pilot and detection of right whales in deeper waters is that we have a little bit lower conservation threshold in shallow waters because they just don’t spend time there, not like weeks in the Shediac Valley, so we don’t have a whole lot of scenarios this season actually with shallow water closures that the pilot could have been applied,” said Gilchrist.
The way the shallow pilot works, explained Gilchrist, is if a right whale is detected in less than 20 fathoms, harvesters have the option of moving their gear in accordance with the shallow water protocol or using a combination of tools like reduction of critical lines by using ropeless gear and the use of rope breaking points in their remaining vertical lines that allow the whale, if does get entangled, to break that rope.
“Currently, rope on demand gear is only authorized through a pilot project, so it’s a temporary licence, not a permanent function of the fishery, but DFO has changed its regulations so if that becomes an opportunity in the future to make it a permanent component of the fishery and it works for harvesters, then we change that. Right now, we’re still working with harvesters piloting various areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (and) Bay of Fundy. We’re still piloting the ropeless demand technology.”
The CanFISH Gear Lending Program, based in Halifax, was established in 2022 by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Through the program, harvesters are provided with on-demand fishing gear, free of cost, to allow them to continue fishing in the event of a fishing grid closure. The CanFISH team provides licensing, recommendations and training to effectively use on-demand gear, supporting harvesters throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
“It is not only good for whales, it’s good for harvesters. They don’t need it all season. They can effectively access areas when whales are aggregated in an area. Those pilots continue. It’s a very positive direction. Industry is leading the way on that,” said Gilchrist. “The pilots we have for conservation for the Bay of Fundy, the shallow water pilot and whalesafe gear pilots, these are all really industry trying to find solutions for what works better. Harvesters continue to be leaders when it comes to looking at new ways to fish while protecting whales, particularly endangered species like right whales.”
There are 384 NARWs in the world, including approximately 70 reproductive females, said Axel Rioux, DFO media relations.
“In 2026, so far 23 calves have been observed, offering a cautiously encouraging sign for the species. A total of 10 mom-calf pairs have been observed in Canadian waters so far this year,” said Rioux.
“The potential presence of approximately 10 mother-calf pairs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence underscores the need for heightened vigilance and collaboration among commercial and recreational mariners to protect the most vulnerable part of the population. Mother-calf pairs tend to occupy shallow waters, spend extended periods resting at the surface, and calves can display unpredictable, exploratory behaviour. As such, they tend to be the most vulnerable segment of the population, requiring ongoing monitoring, and protective measures should continue to be implemented where possible,” Rioux added.
“Despite 2026 being a promising calving year for NARW, the population remains endangered and at risk of extinction and continues to be extremely vulnerable to human-related threats, including entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. Based on the position of NARWs detected in Canadian waters over several years, DFO has published a series of research documents examining the distribution, abundance and habitat use of the species. This information has been critical to identifying important habitats for the species and was a key component in the assessment of the NARW’s recovery potential,” Rioux said.
Canada released its national Whalesafe Gear Strategy in February 2026, including next steps to operationalize on-demand fishing gear.
2026 marks the tenth consecutive year that Transport Canada has implemented North Atlantic right whale vessel traffic protection measures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, aiming to reduce the risk of ship strikes. A mandatory 10‑knot speed limit, covering over 65,000 km² applies to all vessels 13 metres and longer throughout much of the Gulf, along with dynamic slowdowns in the main shipping lanes when a North Atlantic right whale is detected. The voluntary slowdown in the Cabot Strait also returned this year and remains in effect until Nov. 15.
In the Bay of Fundy, Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard encourage vessels to slow down when North Atlantic right whales are detected near the Grand Manan Basin and shipping lanes.
“Canada’s North Atlantic right whale protection measures are based on the latest data, science and technological advancements, as well as extensive engagement with partners and stakeholders. These measures, implemented with support and cooperation from harvesters, industry, Indigenous communities, researchers, environmental groups and others, are making a meaningful difference in protecting North Atlantic right whales,” said DFO.
