Right Whales in the Bay of Fundy - May sightings

I received a report of 5-6 right whales on May 17 from the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association Whale Hotline. The whales were seen south of the island by a lobster fishermen. The Whale Hotline was established after a large number of right whales lingered in the Bay north of Grand Manan in 2006. The information goes out to fishermen so they can be alerted to the presence of right whales in areas where they may be fishing. They are asked to voluntarily avoid the area where the right whales are or to avoid hauling or setting gear in that area until the whales move on. They are also encouraged to report any entangled whales and a disentanglement team may be able to respond, depending on weather conditions.

May is a bit early for right whale sightings in the Bay of Fundy but not unheard of. It does mean that lobster fishermen have to be more diligent in watching for right whales to avoid entangling them. There has been a lot of work in this regard and things like the Whale Hotline, a voluntary Code of Conduct, articles in fishing newsletters, and presentations on disentangling whales help with this.