Hundreds more fishermen in Atlantic Canada are being drawn into the effort to protect endangered right whales this year.
Specially coloured fishing gear rope will become mandatory with the start of the season in every lobster and crab fishery in Eastern Canada. The rope must identify the region, species being fished and individual fishing area.
The requirement is also intended to maintain access to the U.S. seafood market by demonstrating Canada has rules comparable to those in place for fishermen south of the border.
The details were spelled out in a notice to fish harvesters that was issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on Dec. 20, and make good on a promise made by the federal government earlier in 2019.
“The new requirements are part of the government of Canada’s continuing efforts to improve tracking of gear, address ghost gear and further identify management measures threats to marine mammals, in particular North Atlantic right whales,” the notice says.
DFO says further management measures to protect the right whale will be announced in the coming weeks.
The United States Marine Mammal Protection Act requires seafood imports to be caught under fishing rules equivalent to whale protection measures in place in the United States.
Gear marking is mandatory in U.S. trap fisheries.
After almost two dozen right whales have died in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over the past three years, some American politicians, fishermen and environmentalists said Canadian fishing regulations are too lax.
Without further protections, they are calling for a ban on some Canadian seafood.
Brian Guptill, a lobster fisherman on Grand Manan Island, N.B., said it’s all about keeping the border open for Canadian seafood.
“In order to prove that we’re not the problem, gear marking is the solution,” Guptill said.
The notice spells out the colour schemes to be braided into rope used in all non-tended, fixed-gear fisheries in Eastern Canada. One colour will signify the DFO region, another the species and, for lobster and crab fisheries, a third colour will identify individual fishing areas within each region.
The scheme has been designed to distinguish between Canadian and U.S. fishing gear involved in whale entanglements.
Gear marking will be mandatory for ropes attaching gear to the primary buoy. They are known as vertical lines and are seen as the threat to whales from fishing.
A tracer line — a silver transparent tape inside the full length of rope — will be permitted as an alternative.
The tracer line must identify the country, region, species and fishing area.
Mandatory gear marking is already in place for some fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
About 150 lobster fishermen on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore will be among the first impacted by expanded gear marking when their season opens in April.
“They’re well behind the 8-ball getting to us. There’s some colours involved that we don’t even know the availability of,” said Peter Connors of the Eastern Shore Fisherman’s Protective Association.
He said he’s not aware of a single entanglement in his area.
“If they cause some protection, they do some good then. The fishermen will do whatever they can do to comply,” Connors said.
Fourteen fisheries will operate with new colour schemes at some point in 2020.
By landed value, the most significant species affected are lobster and snow crab.
But cod, shrimp and squid trap fisheries, longline and gillnet fisheries are also being assigned mandatory colour schemes.
The interlaced coloured strands must be a minimum of 15 centimetres in length and, at minimum, will be required at the top, middle and bottom of the vertical line, or every 27 metres.
Guptill, also president of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association, is resigned to what is coming.
“Any rope that isn’t marked is going to be blamed on Canada or any fishery that it isn’t marking its rope. So you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he said.
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PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it
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Premier-designate of New Brunswick, Susan Holt, is first woman to lead the province
