A calm weather forecast has allowed the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to give the green light to Bay of Fundy lobster boats itching to begin their season on Wednesday morning.

Federal fisheries officials delayed the season, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, because of high winds and rough seas. DFO also considered the impact of boats in the bay on some endangered right whales that have yet to leave for warmer, southern waters.

Fisheries officers counted 22 whales in the fishing area on Friday and eight on Monday. They spotted a few whales in the fishing area this Tuesday morning between The Wolves and Grand Manan, roughly along the ferry route from Grand Manan to Blacks Harbour.

Three-hundred boats are permitted to fish in the Bay of Fundy, but only 10 to 20 licence holders fish in the 100-square-kilometre area where the whales have been sighted.

Whale hotline

DFO regional director Leslie Burke says the fishermen have found a way to avoid gear entanglements should some whales remain in the bay. "They've come up with their own approach to how we would deal with any straggling right whales in the area, and it looks like a pretty good plan that would minimize the risk of entanglement."

Fishermen plan to mitigate danger to the whales by monitoring the position of the whales and banning traps within two kilometres of any whale sighting.

The Grand Manan Fishermen's Association is also creating a whale hotline. People who see whales are to call in with the whale's position, and fishermen can also call in to find out where whales have been seen.

Delaying lobster season is a rare event, but the forecast calling for southeasterly winds of 40 knots made the wait necessary.

Burke says the small boats in the Fundy fleet could have been damaged by the weather.

"Normally, when the winds pick up to be over 35 knots the fishermen have a protocol actually that asks the season be postponed," she said.

Greg Thompson of the Fundy North Fishermen's Association says the first day of the season is often the most lucrative, and opening on a windy day could have given bigger boats an unfair advantage. "People want it to be fair. We have rules of this game and it's much nicer if everybody plays by the same rules."

Thompson, who fishes from the Dipper Harbour wharf about an hour's drive southwest of Saint John, says this is the latest start for the fishing season in recent memory, and some of his colleagues are worried the lobsters will start moving south. "Most fishermen feel every day is important right now because the lobster could leave any day."