Canada shifts Gulf of St. Lawrence right-whale fishing grids

Right-whale grid closures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence moved again on Oct. 1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s notice to fish harvesters says new fishing prohibitions start at 5 p.m. Atlantic Daylight Time on Oct. 3, 2026, for full grids GL25, GM24, and GM25, and for portions of grids GK23, GK24, GK25, and GL24.

DFO gave 48 hours’ notice. Affected gear has to be out of those grids before that time, and no new gear may be set after the notice. If there are no new detections, the same notice lifts the prohibition at 5 p.m. ADT on Oct. 1 for full grids GY43, GY44, GZ43, and GZ44. The notice says it is information only. If it conflicts with the Orders Registry, the registry controls.

In the Gulf, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec regions, the prohibitions apply, when those seasons are open, to snow crab, toad crab, rock crab, lobster, whelk, Greenland halibut on fixed gear, winter flounder on fixed gear, bait on fixed gear, sea urchin on fixed gear, and herring in trap nets. They also apply to unattended Atlantic halibut fixed gear and to unattended mackerel and herring gillnets. The Bay of Fundy had no right-whale prohibited grids in this notice. Dynamic closures can change with the next detection.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada — North Atlantic right whale prohibited fishing grids, Oct. 1, 2026.