Sept. 8, 2026
HALIFAX, Sept. 8, 2026 Researchers at the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) have produced the first study assessing the risk of vessel strike to North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Published in the scientific journal Endangered Species Research , the study also assessed current management measures in place in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, finding that the restricted area is most effective to reduce whale-vessel encounters and the severity of a collision.
“This research is very important as it helps determine if what we are doing is making a difference - and how much more is needed,” said Sean Brillant , CWF senior conservation biologist, marine programs. “This evidence-based approach to conservation is a foundational principle of CWF.”
In collaboration with researchers from Dalhousie University, who provided vessel traffic data from 2015 to 2023, this study is the first assessment of vessel strike risk to North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The whales shifted their summer distribution to this habitat in 2010. Vessel strike risk accounted for the type of vessel, number of vessels and transits, and the lethality of a collision, based on the speed and size of the vessels. Using this information, researchers were able to compare strike risk of the different management measures before and after the measures were implemented. This includes static, dynamic and seasonal speed limit zones, restricted areas, and the voluntary slowdown in Cabot Strait, an Atlantic Canadian outlet to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Results found that the restricted area in Shediac Valley, east of New Brunswick and northwest of Prince Edward Island, was the most effective measure to reduce the co-occurrence between whales and vessels and to reduce the severity of a potential lethal collision. In contrast, the risk in other areas, such as the static zone and areas outside those currently managed in Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, has increased over the years. Findings of the study suggest that this is due to the rise in maritime traffic observed worldwide and to the fact that the current speed limit is not sufficient to significantly reduce lethality, particularly for large vessels.
“Even when large vessels reduce their speed to the 10-knot limit, an 80 per cent probability of causing fatal injuries to an adult whale remain,” said CWF marine research scientist Alexandra Mayette , lead author of the study. “For a population with only 70 breeding females, this means management measures such as the restricted area in the St. Lawrence Gulf remain critical to species health and survival.”
Cargo ships, tankers and fishing vessels contributed most to the overall strike risk, due to either their size, speed, the number of transits they make monthly, or the fact that their activities overlap with a high probability of North Atlantic Right Whale presence. This emphasizes the importance of understanding vessel traffic patterns over time to ensure conservation management efforts are effective.
Canada is a global leader in terms of protection measures to reduce vessel strike risk for North Atlantic Right Whales, Mayette said.
“Although the results do not show the reduction in risk that we had hoped for, we are encouraged the Government of Canada continues to implement these conservation measures and is seeking new ways to further reduce this risk.”
Vessel strikes are one of the two main threats to the survival of North Atlantic Right Whales across their habitat. Impacts from vessel strikes tend to be more cryptic, more immediately lethal, and less externally visible, compared to entanglements.
The CWF marine conservation science team continues to find ways to better assess the risk of vessel strikes for whales and use evidence-based solutions to protect them.
The study was possible with funding from the Nature Canada Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk Program and Pew Charitable Research.
For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
Key Facts
- The North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) population is estimated at around 380 individuals, in addition to 23 calves born this year a record since 2009. However, the population counts only about 70 breeding females. If this number falls below 50, the population would be considered functionally extinct, which means that the population is no longer able to reproduce sufficiently to ensure its survival, although individuals can still exist in the population.
- Management measures, implemented by Transport Canada, for the protection of NARW in the Gulf of St. Lawrence started in 2017, after 12 NARW were found dead in Canadian waters, four of them suspected to be from a vessel strike. There hasn’t been a known NARW mortality caused by a vessel strike in Canadian waters since 2019.
- The management measures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the protection of the NARW are implemented by Transport Canada, from the end of April to mid-November.
- Studies on vessel strike risk had been conducted in the past in the Bay of Fundy, but this is the first since NARW shifted their summer distribution in the 2010s, spending more time in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
- New models to calculate the lethality of a vessel strike, such as the ‘ whalestrike’ tool, estimate that if a large vessel, such as a cargo or tanker, was to strike an adult whale, going at 10 knots, it still has an 80 per cent probability of causing fatal injury to the whale.
- North Atlantic Right Whales will begin migrating from their northern feeding grounds in Canada to their overwintering areas in the United States in the fall.
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About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to conserving wildlife and habitats in Canada for the use and enjoyment of all. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on wildlife and the environment, carrying out actions to conserve and restore species and habitats, developing and delivering conservation education programs, advocating for changes to government policy and programs, and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
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Contact: media@cwf-fcf.org
