Monday, November 13, 2006

Whales Linger in the Bay of Fundy

Bay of Fundy whales have been in the news a lot in the past few days. Here's photo of a Right whale seen last week by Quoddy Link Marine the coast of Black's Harbour on the New Brunswick side of the bay. Whales in the bay are not normally very newsworthy but whales in the bay at this time of year are! Usually by now all but a couple Bay of Fundy whales have gone into the Gulf of Maine then south for the winter.

Yesterday, the Department of Fisheries & Oceans reported 22 whales in the bay during an aerial assessment and it is estimated that there could be up to 30 out there.

The most pressing concern is that the lobster fishing season is about to re-commence in the this part of the bay. The $30-million fishery takes place in two areas and involves about 300 boats. Possible entanglement of whales in fishing gear as well as boat strikes pose risks to our visiting whale population.
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6 comments:

  1. Lamna nasus11:25 p.m.

    Hi Terri,

    I have been trying to follow whats happening with the whales / weather / start of the lobster season but getting up to date info is difficult.
    Have the whales left yet?

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  2. Archive Manager8:49 a.m.

    Hi Terri:

    The Right Whales are still here (Nov. 21, 2006), although they have moved somewhat to the area between the Wolves and Grand Manan. The lobster fishermen have a "hot line" that advises them about the areas they should avoid. You can follow this saga at www.bayoffundy.ca or see commentary about the issue at fundywhale.blogspot.com.

    Cheers
    Art MacKay

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  3. Terri8:55 a.m.

    Thanks for your note. The whales are still there. Last reported sighting that I'm aware of was on Sat, Nov 18. There is an excellent Bay of Fundy newsgroup: http://groups.google.ca/group/bayoffundy
    that is keeping really close tabs on them - they even have a whale "hot line" so people can phone in sightings. The lobster season did start last week though.

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  4. Terri9:01 a.m.

    Thanks for the update, Art!

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  5. Lamna nasus2:02 p.m.

    Hi Terri and Art,

    Many thanks for the links.

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  6. Archive Manager3:44 p.m.

    The latest word is that the right whales are all but gone from this area. It's still a long, dangerous journey south, but folks down there are working hard to insure their safety.

    Art

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