The sighting of at least two North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has forced the closure of several area fish harvesters.
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Dominic Leblanc tweeted the notice last night.
The presence of two North Atlantic Right Whales has been confirmed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the coast of New Brunswick. As a result, we are implementing the following fisheries closures to fish harvesters in the area. pic.twitter.com/G1lIG2zgoB
— Dominic LeBlanc (@DLeBlancNB) May 20, 2018
A notice to Fish Harvesters states closures will take effect at 4 o’clock tomorrow afternoon and all gear must be removed prior to.
Those affected include snow crab, lobster, as well as Atlantic Halibut.
The closures will remain in effect until further notice.