OTTAWA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Canada on Wednesday announced new measures to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

An unprecedented number of North Atlantic right whales have been found dead since last year, with 12 in Canadian waters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.

The global population is approximately 450 with only roughly 100 females of breeding age remaining, according to the release.

"To protect these whales from further harm, the government of Canada put urgent measures in place, which included shutting down the snow crab fishery in the area to minimize gear entanglements, increasing surveillance, and implementing a slowdown on large vessels to avoid collisions," the release said.

The government will also dramatically increase aerial and at-sea surveillance in a bid to detect the whales, said Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Dominic LeBlanc.

"Following a devastating summer in 2017 and a worrying breeding season where no new calves were sighted this winter, we need to do everything we can to help ensure the survival of the species," LeBlanc said.