Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to present today.
The Grand Manan Fishermen's Association represents independent owner-operator fishermen on Grand Manan and White Head Island in the Bay of Fundy. Our approximately 200 members fish lobster, scallop, groundfish and herring. The landed value of these fisheries averages over $75 million annually, and it is a major employer for our isolated community of 2,600 people.
Charlotte County as a whole represents 30% of the provincial landings in New Brunswick, and one in five jobs in this county are in the seafood sector. There were just over 400 fishing companies in the county in the 2016 census, and almost half of those were based on Grand Manan and White Head Island.
For generations our fishermen have been coexisting with North Atlantic right whales. We have worked collaboratively with researchers with and without government involvement to do the right thing. Fishermen understand that right whales and all marine mammals have a place in the ecosystem, and a healthy ecosystem ensures their longevity as much as it does that of the animals that live there. We have taken measures that have provided real protection but haven't always been quantifiable in a government report. Fishermen believed in the process and actively engaged and participated.
Our biggest asset is the timing of our lobster fishery. Our lobster season opens next month in November, and it runs until the end of June. The recovery strategy for North Atlantic right whales states that the Grand Manan Basin is critical habitat, but only in late summer and early fall so if there is any overlap it's relatively minimal.
In 2018, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans arbitrarily closed a portion of our lobster district after a single sighting of a single right whale in June. Local fishermen and scientists have long understood that a single sighting early in spring does not necessarily herald the arrival of right whales into the bay. With rare exceptions, a single right whale will arrive in the bay seeming to scout for food. Unless there is feed, it quickly moves on. We believe that 10-day closure cost our community over a million dollars in landings.
While there is a monetary cost, there was also a social cost. There is now reluctance by fishermen to report any sighting of any whale for fear of the repercussions.
After the closure, the GMFA submitted a pilot project to the department that essentially had a sliding scale of measures based on risk. Those measures reduced end lines, rope at the surface of the water, and included a section of weaker rope in the end lines. A single sighting of a single whale would result in measures to reduce rope, but would still allow continued fishing. Subsequent sightings would mean additional measures. This project was used once since 2018 when a right whale was seen the week before our season, which only highlights how rarely our season overlaps with right whales' presence. Despite that, this pilot project was cancelled this winter because it was inconsistent with other measures.
Heading into this season we are faced with the uncertainty of potential closures. We are concerned because there is not scientific evidence to support a 15-day closure based on a single sighting. The impact of a closure, particularly in the fall, can be devastating. Lost fishing days cannot be recuperated as weather deteriorates and lobster movements reduce during colder weather. We know that during that time right whales are heading south and do not stay in the Bay of Fundy.
We estimate that well over half of our landings happen in the first few weeks of the season. Not fishing because there was a single sighting of a transiting right whale is unbearable. Not fishing when there are no right whales because of an arbitrary measure is unacceptable. The economic hardship of these arbitrary measures are being borne by individuals and rural coastal communities like mine.
Our membership is disenfranchised with the process mainly because, despite having an abundance of right whales in the Bay of Fundy up until the past decade, there has never been a known entanglement of a right whale in LFA 38 lobster gear.
The plight of North Atlantic right whales is a real problem that needs real solutions, not only those that are easy to communicate. There is a vast difference in fisheries across Atlantic Canada. It is highly improbable that there is going to be any one cookie-cutter approach that will work for everyone. Solutions will only be found if there is a willingness to listen.
Thank you.