North Atlantic Right Whale - Notice to revoke all prohibited fishing grid(s) in the Gulf of St Lawrence
November 14, 2025 – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is providing notice of grid status updates related to North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW). The information presented herein is consistent with the 2025 NARW management measures previously announced by DFO.
All times listed in this document are in Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT).
New updates are in effect in the following waters (refer to the corresponding annex for details):
- In accordance with the fisheries management measures to protect NARW in effect since April, the management measures are hereby lifted for the 2025 season in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Therefore, all grids that were previously prohibited in the Gulf of St Lawrence will be revoked. A complete list of revocation of prohibited grid can be consulted in Annex 1.
All NARW related prohibited fishing grids currently in effect in Canadian waters are provided in the following corresponding annexes:
- Annex 1 – for the Gulf of St Lawrence
- Annex 2 – for the Bay of Fundy
- Annex 3 – for the Roseway Basin Critical Habitat
- Annex 4 – for all waters outside of the dynamic or critical habitat areas
DFO asks licence holders to be vigilant during fishing activities concerning the presence of NARW. Furthermore, please be reminded that it is the responsibility of the licence holder and operator to take into account the marine safety notices issued, amongst others, by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Transport Canada, as well as the standards and best practices in marine safety, and to take all measures to ensure safe fishing operations.
Any reference to the term “Notice” in this document means this “Notice to Fish Harvesters”. The Notice to Fish Harvesters, including its annexes, is provided for information purposes only. In case of discrepancy between the information in the Notice to Fish Harvester and the Notice on the Orders Registry System, the latter will prevail. For more detailed information please visit the order registry for your region.
(The above maps have no legal bearing and are provided for visual reference only.)
For more information
Please visit the interactive map on the latest right whale observations for regular updates.
Annex 1 – Gulf of St Lawrence – NARW related fishing prohibitions in effect
New information related to the revocation of prohibited fishing grid(s)
If there are no new detections, the fishing prohibition(s) for the following grid(s) will be revoked on November 15, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.:
- Full grid(s) GL28, GL29, GL30, GL31, GL32, GL33, GL34, GL35, GL36, GM28, GM29, GM30, GM31, GM32, GN28, GN29, GN30, GN31, GN32, GO31, GO32, GO33, GS44, GS45, GS46, GT44, GT45, GU45, GW37, GW38, GW39, GW42, GW43, GW44, GW45, GW46, GW47, GW49, GW50, GW51, GX37, GX38, GX39, GX40, GX41, GX42, GX43, GX44, GX45, GX46, GX47, GX49, GX50, GX51, GY37, GY38, GY39, GY40, GY41, GY42, GY43, GY44, GY45, GY46, GY47, GY48, GY49, GY50, GZ36, GZ37, GZ38, GZ39, GZ40, GZ41, GZ42, GZ43, GZ44, GZ45, GZ46, GZ47, GZ48, HA35, HA36, HA37, HA38, HA39, HA40, HA41, HA42, HA43, HA44, HA45, HA46, HA47, HB34, HB35, HB37, HB38, HB39, HB40, HB41, HB42, HB43, HB44, HB45, HB46, HC35, HC38, HC39, HC40, HC41, HC42, HC44, HC45, HC46, HD44, HD45, HD46, HD47, HE44, HE45, HE46, HE47, HE48, HF44, HF45, HF46, HF47, HF48
- Portion of grid(s) GK28, GK29, GK30, GK31, GK32, GK33, GK34, GK35, GK36, GM33, GM34, GM35, GM36, GN33, GN34, GX36, GY35, GY36, GY51, GZ34, GZ35, GZ49, HA34, HA48, HA49, HB36, HB47, HB48, HC34, HC37, HC47, HG46, HG47, HG48
The fishing prohibitions are in effect for the following fisheries when the fishing seasons are open in the Gulf, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Quebec Regions:
- Snow crab
- Toad crab
- Rock crab
- Lobster
- Whelk
- Greenland halibut (fixed gear)
- Winter flounder (fixed gear)
- Bait (fixed gear)
- Sea urchin (fixed gear)
- Herring (trap net)
The fishing prohibitions will also be in effect for Atlantic halibut (fixed gear), mackerel (gillnet) and herring (gillnet) when gear is left unattended.
Annex 2 – Bay of Fundy – NARW related fishing prohibitions in effect
There are no prohibited fishing grids related to NARW in the Bay of Fundy.
Annex 3 – Roseway Basin Critical Habitat – NARW related fishing prohibitions in effect
There are no prohibited fishing grids related to NARW in the Roseway Basin Critical Habitat.
Annex 4 – Outside of the dynamic and critical habitat areas – NARW related fishing prohibitions in effect
There are no prohibited fishing grids related to NARW outside of the dynamic and critical habitat areas.
- Date modified: