ACAN - Study on the impacts of Transport Canada’s North Atlantic right whales (NARW) protection measures on the commercial vessels and commercial fishing industries in the Gulf of the St Lawrence

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Study on the impacts of Transport Canada’s North Atlantic right whales (NARW) protection measures on the commercial vessels and commercial fishing industries in the Gulf of the St Lawrence.

Since 2017, the Government of Canada has taken concrete steps to protect North Atlantic right whales (NARW), which have been increasingly present in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Transport Canada (TC) works to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic to help protect this iconic species while continuing to ensure the safe, secure and efficient movement of people and goods. Measures such as vessel speed restrictions and areas of restricted navigation are informed and adapted year-over-year by evolving science, data, and input from industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders.
Commercial vessels and fishing vessels are two key industries that have been impacted by Transport Canada’s NARW vessel traffic management measures in the Gulf of St Lawrence, but knowledge gap about the specific socio-economic impacts of those measures remain.
A report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans for the PROTECTION AND COEXISTENCE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE IN CANADA (April 2023), recommends that the Government of Canada meaningfully consult stakeholders in all regions of Atlantic Canada to assess the socio-economic costs of measures it is developing and work with stakeholders in a transparent and cooperative manner to avoid eroding access to ocean resources for those who depend on them.
As such, Transport Canada wants to conduct a study on the economic impacts of the NARW vessel traffic management measures on the commercial vessel and fishing industry in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The work will involve the following: identify the impact of Transport Canada’s vessel traffic management measures on the traffic (origin and destination), transit time and transit speed of commercial and fishing vessels broken down by vessel types; evaluate the economic impacts of the measures on the transit costs of the commercial vessel industry broken down by the type of cost; evaluate the economic impacts of the measure on the transit costs of the commercial fishing industry broken down by the type of cost.
The scope of this study must extend to all the commercial and fishing vessels who transited in Transport Canada’s vessel traffic restriction areas of the Gulf of St Lawrence from 2017 to 2022 and the provider must consult with fishing associations in Eastern Canada.