- Transport Canada has put in place a suite of protective measures to reduce the impacts of marine traffic on the Southern Resident killer whale and the North Atlantic right whale.
- We are also working on long term solutions by advancing quiet ship designs and new technologies to reduce underwater noise from ships at the source and improving our ability to detect whales.
- We look forward to continued collaboration with Indigenous Groups, marine stakeholders, academia, scientists and communities to help reduce the risks that vessel traffic poses to the marine environment while balancing our commitment to the safe and efficient movement of people and goods.
SUPPLEMENTARY MESSAGES
- We work collaboratively with stakeholders to assess the measures put in place each year, and to refine our approach as needed to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic on at-risk whale populations, including the threat of underwater vessel noise and physical disturbance to the Southern Resident killer whale, and the threat of vessel collisions with North Atlantic right whales.
- The latest preliminary estimate of the North Atlantic right whale population released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is 340 animals at the end of 2021.
- As of July 2022, the current population count for the Southern Resident killer whale is 73 individuals, with two confirmed female calves born in 2022.
UPDATE
Budget 2023 provided $151.9 million to Transport Canada and partner departments (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Parks Canada) to continue to protect endangered whales and their habitats. On March 31, 2023, the Government of Canada announced the fishery and vessel management measures for the 2023 season on the East Coast. The 2023 season begins on April 19th. 2023 measures on the West Coast are anticipated to be announced shortly.
SUPPORTING FACTS AND FIGURES
- Science continues to demonstrate the harmful impacts of vessels with respect to acoustic and physical disturbance on Southern Resident killer whales.
- Transport Canada, with the collaboration of Indigenous Groups, and key stakeholders, has implemented a suite of voluntary and mandatory measures to reduce vessel impacts from both large commercial vessels and smaller recreational and whale watching vessels on Southern Resident killer whales.
- To address underwater noise at its source in the longer term, Transport Canada continues to support RD&D of vessel quieting technologies and operational practices through its Quiet Vessel Initiative and to advance the update of guidelines to reduce underwater noise from shipping at the International Maritime Organization.
- On the east coast, North Atlantic right whales face two primary threats: entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes.
- Since 2017, Transport Canada has implemented, on a yearly basis, a combination of mandatory and voluntary measures, covering more than 72,000 km2 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to reduce the risk of vessel strikes.
- No known North Atlantic right whale deaths in Canadian waters since 2020.
BACKGROUND
The suite of management measures is jointly enforced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, Parks Canada Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. To date, 42 Administrative Monetary Penalties have been issued to vessels for failure to comply with measures, for a total of over $100,000.
The vessel traffic management measures for marine vessels to protect North Atlantic right whale are strictly enforced. As of March 15, 2023, Transport Canada has issued a total of $554,300 in Administrative Monetary Penalties to 61 vessels for failure to comply with the measures from 2017 to 2022 inclusively.
ATIP PROTECTED BACKGROUND
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