After years of record mortality and the implementation of unprecedented protective measures in Canadian waters, North Atlantic right whales are having a good spawning season this year. A potentially encouraging signal for this emblematic species of the repercussions of human activity on marine environments.
On January 23, a team from the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA) was able to observe a 37-year-old female accompanied by the 13and right whale calf, off the coast of Georgia, an important calving area for this species, which frequents the Gulf of St. Lawrence more and more assiduously in the summer.
Of the other females that gave birth this year, some were seen last summer in the Gulf. This is the case of “Snow Cone”, who swims with a line of fishing gear stuck in her mouth, despite the efforts of a team of New Brunswick lifeguards to free her. Last year, she also had a calf, but it was fatally mutilated by a boat propeller. Other new mothers are recognized as good breeders, including “Derecha”, who is on her fifth calf. But in 2020, his offspring was killed by a boat.
Although the birthing season continues until March, biologist Lyne Morissette believes that this year’s data are encouraging, especially since a census published in October estimated the population at only 336 individuals. “It’s not a baby boom, but we’re talking about a good year, especially in a context of lower mortality. This is good news that gives some hope to those who are making efforts to save the species,” explains the cetacean specialist.
It is true that these animals, which are very vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglements in fishing gear, have had some very difficult years recently. In 2017, no less than 17 adult individuals were found dead, including 12 in Canadian waters. And a total of 10 right whales died in 2019.
This record mortality, which forced the Government of Canada to impose unprecedented protective measures for a cetacean species, occurred in a context of very low birth rates. Barely five calves were counted in 2017, zero in 2018, seven in 2019 and ten in 2020. Last year, the birthing season saw the birth of 20 calves, but two died subsequently. And for a decade, the annual average has been 10 births per year.
For Timothy Frasier, professor of biology at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, we must therefore not lose sight of the fact that right whales have a recurring reproductive “problem”, in addition to the deaths caused by human activity. He and other researchers consulted by The duty estimate that it would ideally take around 30 calves per year to see a considerable increase in the population.
In addition to stress from noise pollution in coastal waters and human-related mortality, scientists believe animals may be finding it increasingly difficult to feed properly. “Many females may be unable to accumulate enough fat to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term due to possible reductions in food availability and increased effort to find food,” according to the North Atlantic. Right Whale Consortium, which brings together researchers specializing in the species.
Protective measures
While specifying that we cannot establish a link between the protection measures for right whales in Canada and the encouraging number of calves this birthing season, Lyne Morissette underlines that more positive results can motivate the maintenance of these measures. “From a conservation point of view, it is more encouraging to implement actions when you know that it can give results and that disappearance is not inevitable. If you feel it’s too late, it’s very demotivating, ”she argues.
In concrete terms, the government imposes speed limits on commercial vessels in certain areas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence for a good part of the year. One offender was recently fined $45,000 for failing to meet this limit last year. The federal government also decrees the closure of fishing areas when whales are found there. This is how lobster fishing areas were closed last summer near the Magdalen Islands.
These measures are essential to protect access to a vital American market for fishers, in particular the market for snow crab and lobster. There is indeed a law in the United States that allows authorities to “ban imports” of fishery products if the industry endangers marine mammals. In 2020 and 2021, no right whale deaths were recorded in the Gulf.
Mme Morissette also believes that we will have to learn more and more to “cohabit” with this species, and therefore take it for granted that the protection measures will have to be maintained and adapted year after year. The right whale does seem to have left much of its summer habitat in the Bay of Fundy to come and feed in the St. Lawrence, a phenomenon that could be linked to climate change. According to data provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 120 right whales were observed in 2021 in Canadian waters.
This strong presence of a species classified as “endangered” according to the Species at Risk Act should encourage the Trudeau government to impose stricter measures on commercial vessels, the group Oceana Canada argued on Tuesday. According to data compiled by the environmental organization, 68% of ships that passed through the Cabot Strait in the past two years were traveling faster than the federally suggested speed to reduce the risk of fatal collisions.