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MISCOU ISLAND, NB – Those responsible for the search for a North Atlantic right whale entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence hope to prevent it from succumbing to one of the main causes of death of endangered species.
Oceans said that the whale was seen swimming with a rope around his body off Miscou, NB, and that the officers left on Saturday to try to locate and badist the whale. Animal
. Gulf of St. Lawrence between June and September of last year – two of them entangled in fishing gear, according to an incident report from the Canadian Co-operative Health from wildlife. Four others died as a result of blunt trauma, likely caused by collisions with ships.
Five more entanglements were also reported – two whales were released by humans and two lost gear on their own. Jerry Conway, Marine Mammal Adviser at the Canadian Whale Institute in Campobello Island, NB, said that if we spot the whale on Friday, the organization would send his team Whaling Rescue
At such a rescue, the crew was aboard a boat and was trying to release it using either a knife-like instrument at the end of it. a pole, a rope weighted with knives.
"It's a very sensitive operation, and you have to be aware of how whales behave," Conway said in a telephone interview on Saturday. "These whales can be pretty aggressive and we have to watch them closely before going out and doing the detangling operation."
The death of Joe Howlett, lobster fisherman and member of the Campobello whale rescue team, highlighted Conway said: [TRADUCTION]
Howlett was killed a year ago in the waters of eastern New Brunswick when he was hit by a whale just after releasing fishing gear. His death prompted a temporary ban on volunteer whale rescue activities that was lifted in March.
Despite the dangers, Conway said that unraveling creatures is an important step in protecting the endangered right whale population. 19659002] "When whales get entangled, they can disappear, they can not feed themselves, they can not swim," he says.
Several fishing areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are closed
The closures "limit the potential for entanglement of these whales," said Conway, while pointing out that whales are migratory and can pick up fishing gear elsewhere. "When we retrieve the gear, we can determine where the entanglement occurred."
He added that anyone who sees an entangled whale should move away and report back to them. Department of Fisheries
. No reported deaths of right whales this season to date, the number of deaths appears to be increasing for another whale species off the east coast, raising fears that the whales will suffer the same threats as whales. free from the North Atlantic.
Last week, Tonya Wimmer of the Marine Animal Response Society said that since February, about 14 minke whales have been found dead at sea or on the beaches of the Maritimes, mostly in northern New Brunswick. Others have been found in the Bay of Fundy, off Cape Breton Island and off the eastern tip of Prince Edward Island
or about 10 deaths a year. Although many sheep carcbades have been overly decomposed to determine the cause of death, Wimmer has confirmed that several other animals found dead appear to have been killed by collisions or entanglements in fishing gear.
Alex Cooke, The Canadian Press
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