Changes coming in Gulf of St Lawrence to help save whales

OTTAWA, Ontario – Canada is changing the dates of the country's snow crab season and establishing a permanent speed limit in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in hopes of protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale.

There are only about 450 of the whales left. Last summer at least 18 were found dead off the east coasts of Canada and the U.S.

Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday necropsies done on the 12 found in Canadian waters showed most had become tangled in fishing gear or hit by boats.

Scientists reported this week that this year's surveillance of the whales as they migrate north toward the Gulf for the summer has failed to spot a single newborn. LeBlanc says the lack of newborns underscores the need to make changes.