The federal government has announced new fishing measures to protect the North Atlantic right whales. Fishing is one of the economic drivers in the rural village of Chéticamp, with 18% of the population working in the industry, and so local fishers have been keeping a close eye on new developments affecting their work.

The new measures will be in place as soon as fisheries open this spring. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is establishing new “dynamic” areas -- instead of pre-establishing closure areas for the whole season, only sections where a whale is seen will be closed. Whole-season closures will apply to areas where groups of whales are detected. If it’s just one whale, the area will close temporarily for 2 weeks – to be extended if the whale is still there. If another whale is detected in that same area, it will close until November 15 2020. The DFO is also putting in place speed limits of 10 knots per hour.

Leonard LeBlanc, president of the Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Coalition, believes that the industry needs to find a way to coexist with the right whales. “We know the right whale is endangered right now,” he said. “There are few of them. ... We have to do as much as we can to try to minimize the impact on whales or at best make sure there is no impact on whales, and to try to still make a living on the water as fishermen. The fisheries are worth millions of dollars to the economy and it’s basically one of the main drivers here in the village of Chéticamp, so we can't afford to lose the fisheries, but at the same time we can't afford to lose the whales.”

LeBlanc thinks that the new rules protecting right whales will help keep local fisheries competitive on the international level. “I think the rules are being put in place because of the requirements from the American government and the American market, especially,” he said, “Fishermen in Maine are making similar changes to protect the right whales and in order for us to keep our place in the market, we have no choice but to have similar changes to protect the right whales. 

CHNE’s extended interview with Leonard LeBlanc can be found here. LeBlanc also speaks about how he sees the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the industry, new safety measures for fishers at sea, and more.