Pressures in the United States to ban the import of crab

US environmental groups are calling on their government to put more pressure on Canada to take additional measures to protect right whales. They even talk about a ban on the importation of Canadian snow crab.

Representatives from nine organizations co-signed a letter that was sent earlier this week to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

They are concerned about the current status of right whales, an endangered species. They hope to put pressure on the Government of Canada.

There are only about 400 right whales in the world, including only 100 females. Twenty-eight North Atlantic right whales have died in North American waters since 2017, eight of them in Canadian waters this summer. Some of the dead whales were breeding females.

Many died after collisions with ships and getting entangled in fishing gear, but not all. For example, a necropsy performed on a 9-year-old male, nicknamed Wolverine, in June on Miscou Island showed that the crab fishing industry would not be responsible for the death of this whale.

A new Marine Mammal Protection Act is to come into force in the United States effective January 1, 2022. It will prohibit the importation of marine species caught with fishing equipment that could result in death or serious injury. marine mammals. The law targets countries that do not have measures comparable to those in the United States.

Although Canada has put in place measures to protect right whales, the signatories of the letter believe that they do not go far enough to ensure the mammal's survival.

"It's heartbreaking to see one right whale after another get entangled in Canadian waters," says Sarah Uhlemann, international director of the Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Arizona. The organization is among the signatories of the letter.

"We do not show anyone's finger. The US needs to do more to remove fishing lines from the water, but Canada needs to strengthen and expand its current measures to meet US standards, curb entanglement, and ensure the survival of our beloved whales. border. "

In an interview with other media, Uhlemann said Canada's snow crab should be banned in the United States at the moment.

The federal government has imposed measures in recent years to protect right whales, including the establishment of a comprehensive protection zone, a static closure zone in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the coast of Canada. Miscou Island and restrictions on speed. The presence of a single whale in some dynamic areas results in a temporary closure of 15 days. Fishermen must remove all fishing gear from the water within 48 hours before a temporary closure.

In May, Ottawa also announced investments of $ 2 million to develop new projects that would reduce the risk of entanglement.

Comparable measures

L'Acadie Nouvelle joined Dr. Christopher Taggart, a professor in the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, for a contextual presentation. The academic estimates that the measures adopted in Canada are at least equal to those in the United States.

For example, to his knowledge, the US government does not impose closure of static areas on fishermen (snow crab is not caught in the waters of the US East Coast) and it does not ask fishermen to withdraw their gear fishing water when a right whale is observed.

After verification, Acadie Nouvelle was not able to find similar regulations either.

"That does not mean it does not exist, but I'm not aware of regulations," says the oceanography expert. "In Canada, protection has reached such proportions that there are static and dynamic closures."

Dr. Taggart is committed to the survival and health of the species. At this point, the best thing that could happen is for Canada and the United States to take the bull by the horns to solve the problem together.

"It's a transboundary species. It is true that there are talks here and there, but everyone needs to be able to sit around a table with an explicit desire to solve the problem. In my opinion, this is what environmental groups should be asking for. "