That brings us to June of this year. On June 16, one right whale was spotted in the Grand Manan basin right whale critical habitat. We found out later that the scientist who spotted the whale identified it as likely transiting. Throughout many conversations with departmental staff on June 18, we begged that there be another sighting attempt before a decision to close was made, and also that our fishermen would continue to follow the mitigation strategy that had been so successful to date. However, the department felt that because of the rigid protocol that was established in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they had to follow the same procedure in the Bay of Fundy.
The result was closure of about a quarter of our lobster district. Around 30 boats were impacted, with an estimated loss of around $1 million from our economy. To add insult to injury, water and air surveillance took place after the decision was made. The whale was not spotted again.
Our fishermen are clear. They do not want to harm right whales. They are very aware of the potential market implications if it happens, but there also needs to be a recognition that there may be other ways to achieve protection for animals while also protecting the economies of coastal communities.
One of the key components of the sighting in June was that the whale was likely transiting. It is understood by right whale researchers that there is a different level of risk based on the activity of the animal. North Atlantic right whales that are feeding tend to gather in groups of more than three. They stay in the area to feed. Feeding means that they are moving with their mouths open, and because of the biology of the species, with the eyes in the back of the head, they do not see what is around them. North Atlantic right whales that are searching for food do not linger in the area. They tend to travel in small groups of less than three animals, and because they are not feeding they have more situational awareness.
We believe there needs to be more than one sighting before such a dramatic closure takes place. There also needs to be recognition of what the activity indicates, particularly in instances where the number of whales is small.
One of the lessons for our group in June was that we're not doing a good job of talking about the things we are doing, and doing well, to protect right whales. We mentioned the timing of our season, that it doesn't overlap with their presence, as one thing. Another thing is the method we are currently using to fish. Much of our fishery, particularly in the deeper water where the whales do frequent, is conducted using trawls, significantly reducing the up-and-down lines in the water. The evolution of the fishery itself has reduced the amount of gear and lines in the water.
There are 136 lobster licences in our district, and they have the potential to fish 375 traps each. That means there could be up to 51,000 up-and-down lines if they were all fished as single traps. Based on the number of partnership licences—where two licensors are combined into one, reducing the gear—and on an informal survey of our fishermen, we believe the total number of vertical lines being used in our district is actually less than 11,000, or around 20% of the potential usage. The amount of traps in that area is much less than what could be fished in that area.
We're working with scientists now on testing other types of gear—“ropeless” gear, for instance, which is not actually ropeless. It has operational challenges. We'd be willing to talk about that as we move forward.
We have developed an alternate mitigation strategy that the department accepted this week. It reduces the amount of rope in the water and limits the distance between traps. We have a “watch and warning” system that will allow us to continue fishing based on one sighting. We're very pleased with the co-operation with the department.