TAKE ACTION - cwf-fcf.org · Learn about the whales of Atlantic Canada and find out where the...
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JUL + AUG 2017 JUL + AUG 2017 44 CANADIAN WILDLIFE WITH CWF STAY ACTIVE WHALE: NICK HAWKINS. INSET: CWF. HELP THE TURTLES SUMMER BUNDLE — AVAILABLE AT CWF SHOP NOW! Introducing CWF’s limited edition Help the Turtles Summer Bundle, featuring the newest member of our adoptable plushies — the painted turtle — along with a cargo bucket hat, a beautifully illustrated turtle poster, a Canada 150 Conserve the Wonder poster, an “I Brake For Turtles” car window cling and a hardcover English copy of wildlife children’s story On the Reef. ShopCWF.ca. JOIN THE QUEST TO FIND CANADA’S GREAT WHALES Learn about the whales of Atlantic Canada and find out where the animals are swimming in near real time. The Whales, Habitat and Listening Experiment (WHaLE) uses underwater drones to track whales in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and help prevent ship strikes. Find out more at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/whales. PLASTIC CAN BE A PROBLEM….BUT YOU CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION If current trends continue, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. CWF has developed an online home assessment survey to help Canadians determine their plastic footprint and find ways to reduce it. And this summer, check your mailbox for CWF’s petition urging the government to support sustainable packaging efforts or add your support online at RiverstoOceans.ca. The Canadian Wildlife Federation is calling for an immediate 30 per cent reduction in risk to right whale entanglement to help protect the critically endangered species. Sean Brillant, CWF senior conservation biologist, tells us why Canada needs to seize this opportunity to save the majestic animal. With only about 500 North Atlantic right whales remaining, Brillant says we must act now. HOW CAN WE HELP PREVENT ENTANGLEMENT? CWF has proposed a relatively simple strategy that could prevent the death of one or two right whales every year. This can be achieved if we restrict fishing from two small areas off the coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia during the summer. This is enough to make the difference between the recovery and extinction of the Shelf, N.S.) between July and October. These restrictions would displace only 140 tonnes of seafood catches, and this would be offset by achieving important sustainability targets. Reducing the risk of entangling right whales in commercial fishing gear will help secure Canadian seafood exports to the U.S., which now require importers to prove their catches were harvested with minimal harm to marine mammals. So essentially it’s a win-win. We will prevent whales from getting entangled in fishing line and sell more of the seafood we catch when the whales have leſt the area. COULDN’T WE JUST CHANGE THE TYPE OF FISHING LINE SO IT DOESN’T HARM THE WHALES? In the U.S., efforts to reduce entanglements through modified fishing gear have not been successful to date. The far better option is to stop fishing at locations and times where entanglement risk is elevated. In Atlantic Canada, almost all the entanglement risk to right whales occurs during July (12 per cent), August (50 per cent) and September (37 per cent). When whales become entangled, they suffer many wounds, have difficulty swimming and feeding, and may die. Even if they break free, the wounds and infections can cause slow, painful deaths. It’s just not right to let that continue. WOULD REGULAR FISHING RESUME AFTER PEAK WHALE SEASON? Yes, this would be a seasonal measure. The groundfish fishery contributes most (86 per cent) of the annual risk of entanglement for North Atlantic right whales. Groundfish in these basins include cod, haddock, hake and flounder. Fishing would resume in October so the impacts for local harvest would not be dramatic. Further- more, if we do not see a reduction in entangle- ment rates aſter a few years with this plan, we will not want to continue it. We are only interested in changing fisheries in ways that will make real improvements to conservation. HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE AND GET INVOLVED? • Hinterland Who’s Who is releasing a new video about right whales this summer. Check it out at hww.ca. • Visit the Quest to Find Canada’s Great Whales page (CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/ whales). See Take Action at right for more. • And don’t forget to notify the Canadian Marine Animal Response Alliance (CMARA) if you see a marine animal in distress (marineanimalresponse.ca). Learn more at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca. 5 QUESTIONS FOR SEAN BRILLANT The Right Whale Thing to Do Dr. Sean Brillant is a Senior Conservation Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation with a focus on Marine Conservation. He is CWF’s lead on the critical plight of right whales. TAKE ACTION GREAT CANADIAN CAMPOUT It’s Canada’s 150th, but our beautiful wildlife and natural spaces have been at home here for much longer. Connecting to nature through camping is the best way to immerse yourself in the world of natural wonder at our doorstep. Vote YES with CWF in our efforts to have camping declared “Canada’s Official National Pastime.” Visit GreatCanadianCampout.ca. WILD FAMILY NATURE CLUB Summer is a perfect season to head outdoors with the kids for a little playtime in nature. CWF’s Wild Family Nature Club provides a great opportunity for families to connect with one another to have fun in nature and share their experiences. To find out more about clubs in your area or to start your own, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/Education. ISTOCK species. The reduction in risk would be substantial, and the disruption to fisheries would be minimal. About 108 right whales become entangled in fishing line each year. That’s one in five. This can’t continue. HOW WOULD THIS PLAN AFFECT THE LOCAL FISHERY? CWF’s plan calls for restricted fishing in the Grand Manan Basin (in the Bay of Fundy, N.B.) and the Roseway Basin (part of the Scotian Severe entanglement scars mark the tail stal k of a North Atlantic right whale. CANADIAN WILDLIFE 45
Transcript of TAKE ACTION - cwf-fcf.org · Learn about the whales of Atlantic Canada and find out where the...
JUL + AUG 2017JUL + AUG 201744 CANADIAN WILDLIFE
WITH CWF
STAY
ACTIVEW
HALE
: NIC
K HA
WKI
NS. IN
SET:
CW
F.
HELP THE TURTLES SUMMER BUNDLE — AVAILABLE AT CWF SHOP NOW! Introducing CWF’s limited edition Help the Turtles Summer Bundle, featuring the newest member of our adoptable plushies — the painted turtle — along with a cargo bucket hat, a beautifully illustrated turtle poster, a Canada 150 Conserve the Wonder poster, an “I Brake For Turtles” car window cling and a hardcover English copy of wildlife children’s story On the Reef. ShopCWF.ca.
JOIN THE QUEST TO FIND CANADA’S GREAT WHALES Learn about the whales of Atlantic Canada and find out where the animals are swimming in near real time. The Whales, Habitat and Listening Experiment (WHaLE) uses underwater drones to track whales in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and help prevent ship strikes. Find out more at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/whales.
PLASTIC CAN BE A PROBLEM….BUT YOU CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION If current trends continue, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. CWF has developed an online home assessment survey to help Canadians determine their plastic footprint and find ways to reduce it. And this summer, check your mailbox for CWF’s petition urging the government to support sustainable packaging efforts or add your support online at RiverstoOceans.ca.
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is calling for an immediate 30 per cent reduction in risk to right whale entanglement to help protect the critically endangered species. Sean Brillant, CWF senior conservation biologist, tells us why Canada needs to seize this opportunity to save the majestic animal. With only about 500 North Atlantic right whales remaining, Brillant says we must act now.
HOW CAN WE HELP PREVENT ENTANGLEMENT? CWF has proposed a relatively simple strategy that could prevent the death of one or two right whales every year. This can be achieved if we restrict fishing from two small areas off the coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia during the summer. This is enough to make the difference between the recovery and extinction of the
Shelf, N.S.) between July and October. These restrictions would displace only 140 tonnes of seafood catches, and this would be offset by achieving important sustainability targets. Reducing the risk of entangling right whales in commercial fishing gear will help secure Canadian seafood exports to the U.S., which now require importers to prove their catches were harvested with minimal harm to marine mammals. So essentially it’s a win-win. We will prevent whales from getting entangled in fishing line and sell more of the seafood we catch when the whales have left the area.
COULDN’T WE JUST CHANGE THE TYPE OF FISHING LINE SO IT DOESN’T HARM THE WHALES? In the U.S., efforts to reduce entanglements through modified fishing gear have not been successful to date. The far better option is to stop fishing at locations and times where entanglement risk is elevated. In Atlantic Canada, almost all the entanglement risk to right whales occurs during July (12 per cent), August (50 per cent) and September (37 per cent). When whales become entangled, they suffer many wounds, have difficulty swimming and feeding, and may die. Even if they break free, the wounds and infections can cause slow, painful deaths. It’s just not right to let that continue.
WOULD REGULAR FISHING RESUME AFTER PEAK WHALE SEASON? Yes, this would be a seasonal measure. The groundfish fishery contributes most (86 per cent) of the annual risk of entanglement for North Atlantic right whales. Groundfish in these basins include cod, haddock, hake and flounder. Fishing would resume in October so the impacts for local harvest would not be dramatic. Further- more, if we do not see a reduction in entangle-ment rates after a few years with this plan, we will not want to continue it. We are only interested in changing fisheries in ways that will make real improvements to conservation.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE AND GET INVOLVED? • Hinterland Who’s Who is releasing a new
video about right whales this summer. Check it out at hww.ca.
• Visit the Quest to Find Canada’s Great Whales page (CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/whales). See Take Action at right for more.
• And don’t forget to notify the Canadian Marine Animal Response Alliance (CMARA) if you see a marine animal in distress (marineanimalresponse.ca).
Learn more at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
5 QUESTIONS FOR SEAN BRILLANT
The Right Whale Thing to DoDr. Sean Brillant is a Senior Conservation Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation with a focus on Marine Conservation. He is CWF’s lead on the critical plight of right whales.
TAKE
ACTION
GREAT CANADIAN CAMPOUT It’s Canada’s 150th, but our beautiful wildlife and natural spaces have been at home here for much longer. Connecting to nature through camping is the best way to immerse yourself in the world of natural wonder at our doorstep. Vote YES with CWF in our efforts to have camping declared “Canada’s Official National Pastime.” Visit GreatCanadianCampout.ca.
WILD FAMILY NATURE CLUB Summer is a perfect season to head outdoors with the kids for a little playtime in nature. CWF’s Wild Family Nature Club provides a great opportunity for families to connect with one another to have fun in nature and share their experiences. To find out more about clubs in your area or to start your own, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/Education.IS
TOCK
species. The reduction in risk would be substantial, and the disruption to fisheries would be minimal. About 108 right whales become entangled in fishing line each year. That’s one in five. This can’t continue.
HOW WOULD THIS PLAN AFFECT THE LOCAL FISHERY? CWF’s plan calls for restricted fishing in the Grand Manan Basin (in the Bay of Fundy, N.B.) and the Roseway Basin (part of the Scotian
Severe entanglement
scars mark the tail stalk of a North Atlantic
right whale.
CANADIAN WILDLIFE 45
