Canada announced it will still close fishing areas when right whales are present but authorities plan to step up surveillance to determine whether the whales remain.

The seizure is more than double the 136 traps pulled from Boundary Bay in 2020.

The $44.7 million announced on Thursday is being split between 11 different companies to assist the sector to be more effective and sustainable.

The goal is to help prevent interactions with ships and fishing gear, two of the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths that are threatening the endangered species.

Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said today in a news release that most of the so-called "ghost gear" collected were traps and pots from lobster and crab fishing.

The Fisheries Department said it is building a system to extract the pollutant from the soil and groundwater located close to Kraut Point Small Craft Harbour in Riverport, N.S.

The federal fisheries minister said 19 fish farms around the Discovery Islands near Campbell River, B.C, will not be issued licenses beyond 2022.

Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekne'katik First Nation say they may reconsider should there be a change in the department's approach.

Chief Mike Sack says the seizures by Fisheries Department officers have undermined negotiations with Ottawa aimed at establishing a moderate livelihood fishery.

The study, conducted in early November by the federal Fisheries Department, estimates the cod population in the area will likely remain in the critical zone until 2023.