Webinar presented by the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles UNEVOC Center.
Presented by: Jérôme Laurent and Stéphanie Pieddesaux
Subject
Protecting marine mammals, such as the endangered North Atlantic black whale, while safeguarding commercial fisheries. This is a problem that worries scientists, fishermen, governments and the public alike. Authorities estimate that tens of thousands of traps and their ropes are lying in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In addition to continuing to fish, the ropes of these lost traps pose a significant entanglement threat to marine mammals. In addition, fishing traps with ropes also represent threats of entanglement when they are active.
The issue: If Canadian fisheries do not demonstrate to the United States, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, that they are operating responsibly and that they are putting measures in place to adequately protect marine mammals, the doors will close for Canadian fish and seafood, while the United States represents their main export market.
In order to maintain this balance, the Merinov Research Center is working closely with fishermen to develop both recovery equipment for ghost fishing gear lost at sea and technologies that would allow whales to free themselves more easily from a rope in full fishing activity in case of entanglement.
To find out more about the research work in progress and the issues related to this problem, you are invited to a webinar with industrial researchers and fisheries project managers at Merinov.
About Merinov
Merinov is the largest integrated center for applied research in fishing, aquaculture, processing and enhancement of aquatic products in Canada, with more than a hundred employees and the completion of 160 projects per year. Merinov also manages the College Center for Technology Transfer (CCTT) in fisheries for the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles.
