The FFAW is questioning a new “weak rope” gear policy being implemented in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The policy was put in place by the federal government to prevent right whale entanglements in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The FFAW says while endangered North Atlantic right whale entanglements are a legitimate concern in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, not a single such entanglement has been reported in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery.
There have been some right whale sightings over the last week or so, but the animals are rarely seen in Newfoundland waters.
FFAW-Unifor secretary treasurer Robert Keenan says the new policy means that the rope will break apart and allow a whale to escape, but there is no evidence to suggest that it won’t break apart under the normal strain of the weight of a catch and ocean tide. That, says Keenan, raises even more environmental concerns, something they’ve conveyed to DFO.
It will just result in more ghost gear sitting on the bottom of the ocean according to Keenan, and a lot of added cost for fish harvesters.