PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 5, 2022
Since 2017, there has been a steady drumbeat eager to “Blame Canada” for the plight of North Atlantic right whales. Only two deaths out of 21 documented in Canadian waters since 2017 were linked to fishing gear. Most of the mortality – when a cause could be determined – was linked to ship strikes by ocean freighters and cruise ships. There has never been a single, documented right whale death linked to Canadian lobster gear in recent history. Canada has spared no effort to protect right whales. We implemented a broad suite of measures. We need more science, less politics; more binational collaboration, less finger-pointing. Ensuring a sustainable future for the right whale knows no borders and needs to be addressed bi-nationally. ~ Geoff Irvine and Nat Richard Lobster Council of Canada and Lobster Processors Association