MAGDALEN ISLANDS, Que. - The death of a whale rescuer in New Brunswick has prompted a federal review into how the Fisheries Department responds to whale entanglements.
A fisheries spokesman says efforts to free North Atlantic right whales trapped in fishing gear will be put on hold until the review is complete.
The department said efforts to untangle other whales will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc told CTV News that Ottawa is investigating the death of a New Brunswick lobster fisherman during a whale rescue.
Joe Howlett was killed after he cut the last piece of rope from an entangled whale in the waters near Shippagan, New Brunswick.
Ottawa's move comes in the midst of an investigation into a string of North Atlantic right whale deaths in Canada's eastern waters.
A group of wildlife veterinarians says several whale carcasses found floating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in recent weeks showed signs of blunt trauma.
North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with about 525 estimated to still be alive.
