Frequently Asked Questions About
Canada's Seal Hunt
1. What are the current seal populations?
Harp Seals:
There are three harp seal populations in the north Atlantic, of which the
stock off Canada and western Greenland is the largest. The Northwest harp
seal population is healthy and abundant and, since 1970, has nearly tripled
in size to 5.2 million based on a 1999 peer-reviewed survey. A new
population survey was carried out in April 2004, and the results will be
available in spring 2005.
Hooded Seals:
Hooded seals are the second most commercially important species in
Atlantic Canada. There are two whelping areas for hooded seals in Atlantic
Canada: one in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the other off Newfoundland and
Labrador. The Gulf of St. Lawrence component is small (approximately 10,000
animals) and hunting of this herd is prohibited. Based on the last surveys
conducted in 1990-1991, total abundance of hooded seals was estimated to be
approximately 470,000 animals. Scientists are currently preparing for a new
population survey to be conducted in spring 2005.
Grey seals:
There are two grey seal herds, with the main breeding concentrations
being in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and on Sable Island, NS. The grey
seal herd was surveyed in April 2004, and the results will be available in
the coming months. The previous survey, conducted in 1997, estimated the
population to be about 195,000 animals at that time.
2. Which species of seals are hunted?
Six species of seals - the harp, hooded, grey, ringed, bearded and
harbour - are found off the Atlantic coast of Canada, although ringed and
bearded seals are typically Arctic species. Of the six species, harp and
hooded seals account for almost all the seals hunted commercially. A number
of grey seals are also taken for commercial uses under licences issued for
that purpose.
3. What are the hunting quotas?
Commercial quotas:
The management measures for 2003-2005 allow for a three-year total
allowable catch (TAC) of 975,000 harp seals. The TAC for hooded seals is
10,000 per year.
DFO has recently approved a commercial hunt of 10,000 grey seals over two
years along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia, excluding Sable Island and
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Industry must put forward an acceptable
Conservation Harvest Plan (CHP) before this hunt can proceed.
Personal quotas:
Since 1995, residents adjacent to sealing areas throughout Newfoundland
and Quebec have been allowed to hunt up to six seals for their own use.
Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal coastal residents who reside north of
53°N latitude can continue to hunt seals for subsistence purposes without a
licence.
4. How many seals are taken each year?
Harvest levels are highly variable, dependent on environmental and market
conditions.
Harp seals:
The harp seal quota was set at 275,000 from 1997 to 2002. Given the low
harvest in 2000 (92,000), and because there were no conservation concerns,
sealers were permitted to exceed the pre-season quota and harvested 312,000
seals in 2002. The current 2003-2005 management plan allows sealers to take
975,000 animals (over three years). During the 2003 season, 289,512 harp
seals were taken, and approximately 365,900 seals were taken in 2004.
Hooded Seals:
Less than 400 hooded seals have been harvested annually in Canada since
1999.
5. What are seals hunted for?
Seals have been hunted for food, fuel, shelter, fur and other products
for hundreds of years. DFO is no longer involved in product support or
promotion activities, but the department does encourage the fullest possible
commercial use of seals. Seal products consist of leather, oil, handicrafts,
and meat for human and animal consumption as well as seal oil capsules rich
in Omega-3.
6. What types of weapons are used to kill seals?
Sealers use a variety of tools to hunt seals. Ninety per cent of sealers
on the ice floes on the Front (in the waters east of Newfoundland), where
the majority of the hunt occurs, use firearms. Sealers in the Magdelen
Islands (Gulf of St. Lawrence) and on Quebec's Lower North Shore
traditionally use clubs or hakapiks. A hakapik is an efficient tool designed
to kill the animal quickly and humanely. Marine Mammal Regulations state
that sealers must strike the seal on the skull a minimum of two times, and
administer a blinking eye test.
7. How has the Canadian government proven its commitment
to the humane treatment of seals?
The Marine Mammal Regulations stipulate that persons can only dispatch
marine mammals in a manner designed to do so quickly. Under these
regulations, seals may be killed only by the use of high-powered rifles,
shotguns firing slugs, clubs and hakapiks.
Licensing policy requires a commercial sealer to work under an experienced
sealer for two years to obtain a professional licence. Sealers are also
encouraged to take a training course on proper hunting techniques, product
preparation and handling. Personal use sealers must have a hunter's
capability certificate or big game licence and attend mandatory training
sessions before a licence can be issued.
In April 2003, the Marine Mammal Regulations were amended to establish the
practice of administrating the blinking eye reflex test for a clearer
determination of death. Sealers must also land the entire carcass or pelt to
ensure the fullest possible commercial use of the animal and to prevent
seals from being harvested strictly for their organs.
8. How old must harp and hooded seals be before hunters can
take them?
Harp seals can be legally hunted once they have moulted their white coat,
which occurs at about 12-14 days of age. However, they are not usually
hunted until they reach the "beater" stage of development at around 25 days
old. Blueback (hooded) seals moult their coat as early as 15 to 16 months of
age, at which time they can be hunted. The seals hunted are self-reliant,
independent animals.
9. Why do hunters target young animals?
Young harp seals between approximately 3-4 weeks and one year of age are
called beaters - so named because they tend to slap the water when they
swim. Beater seals provide the most valuable pelts and market conditions are
stronger for this type of pelt.
10. Where are seals hunted?
There are subsistence hunts in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, but the
majority of the commercial seal hunt occurs on the Front - an area off the
north and east coasts of Newfoundland and off southern Labrador. About one
third of the migrating population is found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
where a small number of animals is taken near the Magdalen Islands.
11. What percentage of seals is hunted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
versus Newfoundland?
Approximately seventy per cent of the hunt occurs on the Front in
Newfoundland, while about thirty per cent occurs in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. Northern areas, Labrador, and personal use quotas account for
approximately five per cent of the hunt.
12. How long does the hunt last? When does it begin and end?
The season for the commercial hunt of harp and hooded seals is from
November 15 to May 15 as established in the Marine Mammal Regulations. The
majority of sealing occurs in late March off the Magdalen Islands, and about
the second week of April off Newfoundland.
The season for the subsistence hunt of ringed seals in Labrador is from
April 25 to November 30, as established in the Marine Mammal Regulations.
13. How many licences are issued every year?
Commercial:
In recent years, commercial licences issued to sealers averaged 11,000
per year, although not all licences may be used in a
given year. With improving markets and record high prices paid for
seal pelts, in 2004, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) issued
over 13,000 commercial sealing licences.
A freeze on new commercial and personal use seal licences is in effect for
all areas of Atlantic Canada and Quebec (with the exception of the Quebec
Lower North Shore, Aboriginal sealers, and the hunt for grey seals). The
licence freeze will allow industry to review access controls to keep the
hunt stable and profitable.
Personal:
Since 1995, personal use sealing licences have been issued to residents
adjacent to sealing areas in Newfoundland and Labrador (south of 53°N
latitude), the Quebec North Shore, the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen
Islands. These are areas hard hit by the groundfish fishery closures. This
type of licence allows the holder to take up to six seals for personal
consumption.
14. Are the hunting methods supported by veterinarians or
non-governmental organizations?
The Government of Canada (GOC) has strict regulations to ensure a humane
hunt. Canada's Royal Commission on Seals & Sealing has found that the
methods currently used in hunting seals compare favourably to those used to
kill any other wild or domestic animal.
In addition, non-governmental associations such as the Canadian Veterinary
Medical Association (CVMA) have also found that the large majority of seals
taken during the seal hunt (98%) are killed in an acceptably humane manner
(see their September 2002 report - Animal Welfare and the Harp Seal Hunt in
Atlantic Canada -
http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=339547)
Any violations of Canada's regulations are taken very seriously - over 200
charges have been laid by the GOC against sealers since 1996.
15. What is DFO doing to monitor the hunt?
The seal hunt is closely monitored and tightly regulated to ensure the
animals are killed in a quick and humane manner. Fishery Officers monitor
sealing activity on the ice, ensure humane harvesting practices, and enforce
regulations and licence conditions.
Fishery Officers conduct surveillance of the seal hunt by means of aerial
patrols, at-sea patrols, dockside inspections of vessels at landing sites
and inspections at buying/processing facilities. Independent observers are
also deployed on sealing vessels to monitor compliance with regulations.
DFO works with veterinarians, experienced sealers and industry
representatives to ensure the animals are dispatched and processed using
methods comparable to those used to hunt or process any other wild or
domestic animal.
16. We are told that DFO takes sealing infractions seriously.
What could happen if a sealer violates the regulations?
Infractions are taken seriously and sealers who fail to observe humane
hunting practices, licence conditions, and catch requirements are penalized.
The consequences of such illegal actions could include court-imposed fines
and the forfeiting of catches, fishing gear, vessels and licences.
17. What is the market value of seal pelts?
Given extremely favourable market conditions in 2004, the landed value of
the harp seal hunt was $20 million, compared with an estimated landed value
of $5.5 million for 2001. The value is based on the average price buyers
paid to sealers. In 2004, that price was approximately $70 per pelt.
18. How much money do sealers earn?
Sealers' income depends on the market value of seal pelts. DFO is not
responsible for keeping statistics on current industry markets. However,
sealers have noted that the income derived from sealing can represent 25-35
per cent of their total annual income.
19. How much of Canada's population benefit directly from the
seal hunt?
The harp and hooded seal hunt provides valuable income to a large number
of sealers and their families in Eastern Canada. Sealing also presents
economic benefits to remote, coastal communities where employment
opportunities are limited. The subsistence hunt is also a valuable link to
Canadian cultural heritage.
20. Does the Government of Canada provide subsidies for the
seal hunt?
The seal hunt is an economically viable activity and is not subsidized by
the Government of Canada.
21. Does the sealing industry give Canada a bad reputation
overseas?
It could, if people don't hear the accurate facts surrounding the seal
hunt. Facts such as: virtually all seals taken in the hunt have been killed
in a way that independent observers deem humane; and white coat seal pups
that people see in PR campaigns have not been hunted in Canada for almost 20
years.
There are over 5 million harp seals off the coast of Canada. People hear
from ads that seals are killed inhumanely and in such great numbers that the
population cannot be sustained. This is simply not true. DFO makes every
effort to ensure that the facts are accurately reported to the public.
22. Do you allow the seal hunt to help the recovery of cod
stocks?
The commercial seal quota is established based on sound conservation
principles, not an attempt to assist in the recovery of groundfish stocks.
Seals eat cod, but seals also eat other fish that prey on cod. There are
several factors contributing to the lack of recovery of Atlantic cod stocks
such as fishing effort, the poor physical condition of the fish, poor
growth, unfavourable ocean conditions and low stock productivity at current
levels.
It is widely accepted in the scientific community that there are many
uncertainties in the estimates of the amount of fish consumed by seals.
Seals and cod exist in a complex ecosystem, which makes it difficult to find
simple solutions to problems such as the lack of recovery of cod stocks.
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