The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales
North Atlantic right whales are in crisis. According to the latest estimates, there are only around 360 of these creatures left.1 The biggest threats to their survival are vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. And without continued Canadian intervention, these animals will not survive. At...
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ftzenodo:oai:zenodo.org:4549293 2023-05-15T17:30:09+02:00 The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales Vance, Alexandra Elmslie, Kim McIver, Reba 2021-02-22 https://zenodo.org/record/4549293 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4549293 unknown doi:10.5281/zenodo.4549292 https://zenodo.org/record/4549293 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4549293 oai:zenodo.org:4549293 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode North Atlantic right whales Oceana info:eu-repo/semantics/report publication-report 2021 ftzenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.454929310.5281/zenodo.4549292 2023-03-11T00:02:46Z North Atlantic right whales are in crisis. According to the latest estimates, there are only around 360 of these creatures left.1 The biggest threats to their survival are vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. And without continued Canadian intervention, these animals will not survive. At least 32 right whales have died in the last four years, 21 of them in Canadian waters. To protect the remaining right whales from extinction and ensure their recovery, the federal government must develop stronger management measures to mitigate the threats they face. In February 2020, Transport Canada announced a trial voluntary slowdown in the Cabot Strait to protect right whales from vessel strikes. From April 28 to June 15 and again from October 1 to November 15, vessels longer than 13 metres were asked to slow down to 10 knots. Oceana Canada assessed how effective this measure was by tracking the speed of vessels during their transits through the Strait in the spring and the autumn using data from Global Fishing Watch, an independent, non-profit organization. The results were disappointing. During the 95 days when the voluntary slowdown was in place, two-thirds of vessel transits failed to stick to the 10-knot slowdown. More than 40 per cent exceeded 12 knots, significantly increasing the risk of inflicting a potentially lethal injury to a right whale. As critically endangered right whales are declining toward extinction, Oceana Canada is calling on Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to take the following actions to further protect them : • Change the current voluntary Cabot Strait slowdown to make it a mandatory, season-long measure. • Extend speed restrictions throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence to all vessels, including those less than 13 metres. • Increase transparency and understanding of fishing fleet movements by releasing all Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data publicly and to Global Fishing Watch. • Reduce the amount of fishing rope in the water through continued long-term support for ... Report North Atlantic Zenodo Canada Cabot ENVELOPE(-54.600,-54.600,-63.383,-63.383) Oceana ENVELOPE(-59.783,-59.783,-65.133,-65.133) |
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North Atlantic right whales Oceana |
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North Atlantic right whales Oceana Vance, Alexandra Elmslie, Kim McIver, Reba The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
topic_facet |
North Atlantic right whales Oceana |
description |
North Atlantic right whales are in crisis. According to the latest estimates, there are only around 360 of these creatures left.1 The biggest threats to their survival are vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. And without continued Canadian intervention, these animals will not survive. At least 32 right whales have died in the last four years, 21 of them in Canadian waters. To protect the remaining right whales from extinction and ensure their recovery, the federal government must develop stronger management measures to mitigate the threats they face. In February 2020, Transport Canada announced a trial voluntary slowdown in the Cabot Strait to protect right whales from vessel strikes. From April 28 to June 15 and again from October 1 to November 15, vessels longer than 13 metres were asked to slow down to 10 knots. Oceana Canada assessed how effective this measure was by tracking the speed of vessels during their transits through the Strait in the spring and the autumn using data from Global Fishing Watch, an independent, non-profit organization. The results were disappointing. During the 95 days when the voluntary slowdown was in place, two-thirds of vessel transits failed to stick to the 10-knot slowdown. More than 40 per cent exceeded 12 knots, significantly increasing the risk of inflicting a potentially lethal injury to a right whale. As critically endangered right whales are declining toward extinction, Oceana Canada is calling on Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to take the following actions to further protect them : • Change the current voluntary Cabot Strait slowdown to make it a mandatory, season-long measure. • Extend speed restrictions throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence to all vessels, including those less than 13 metres. • Increase transparency and understanding of fishing fleet movements by releasing all Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data publicly and to Global Fishing Watch. • Reduce the amount of fishing rope in the water through continued long-term support for ... |
format |
Report |
author |
Vance, Alexandra Elmslie, Kim McIver, Reba |
author_facet |
Vance, Alexandra Elmslie, Kim McIver, Reba |
author_sort |
Vance, Alexandra |
title |
The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
title_short |
The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
title_full |
The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
title_fullStr |
The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Edge of Extinction: Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales |
title_sort |
edge of extinction: protecting north atlantic right whales |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://zenodo.org/record/4549293 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4549293 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-54.600,-54.600,-63.383,-63.383) ENVELOPE(-59.783,-59.783,-65.133,-65.133) |
geographic |
Canada Cabot Oceana |
geographic_facet |
Canada Cabot Oceana |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
doi:10.5281/zenodo.4549292 https://zenodo.org/record/4549293 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4549293 oai:zenodo.org:4549293 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.454929310.5281/zenodo.4549292 |
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1766125977917718528 |