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The chair of a group that brings together officials from Canada and the U.S. to help make ropeless fishing a reality says there's been a surge in testing new technology over the last year, which could help the rapidly declining North Atlantic right whale population.
Sean Brillant, who works for the Canadian Wildlife Federation and is chair of the Ropeless Consortium, said they are approaching roughly 1,000 trials across the Eastern Seaboard, the bulk of which has been done in the last 12 months. |
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"Two years ago, we were just getting laughed in our faces at the idea of doing this," Brillant said.
The methods being tested include techniques that allow a line to be stored with a trap at the ocean bottom, and then released to the surface only when a fisherman is ready to haul in their catch. The aim is to cut the risk that whales will be caught in long lengths of rope floating in the water.
The third annual Ropeless Consortium meeting was held this week. Researchers, members of the fishing industry and government officials first came together in 2018 to help develop ropeless technology that is economically viable for fishermen and reduces entanglements of large whales. |
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