The Whale Research Group operates along the 17,000 km of coastline in Newfoundland and Labrador. In cooperation with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans - Ships Branch and the Canadian Coast Guard work is also conducted throughout the Grand Banks. Service Service to the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing community has been an important part of the groups work. A principle focus has been the development of the Entrapment Assistance Program. The program is offered to the 27,000 inshore fishermen throughout the province who incidentally catch large whales and sharks.
Basking sharks are the most common large shark by-catch.
When a fisherman calls with an entrapped animal, an expert team is dispatched to assist in releasing the animal and retrieving the fishing gear in good condition. Acoustic alarm devices have been developed to prevent collisions of large whales with fixed gear. These devices assist the animals in avoiding gear by enhancing detectability and defining the nature of the barrier. Fishermen like the devices and have readily adopted them. Additional service work is performed during ice entrapments of cetaceans.