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FACTS ABOUT SEALS - 2002
- 2002 Seal Management Measures
- Scientific Initiatives
- Report on Panel of eminent persons
- Greenland Harvest
- Seal Predation on Cod
- Struck and Lost
- Seal Populations (Harp and Hooded)
- 2001 Canadian Harvest Levels - Harp and Hooded Seals
- Economic Benefits
- Human Harvesting
- Enforcement/Monitoring
- Harvesting of Young Seals, Especially Whitecoats, and Bluebacks
2002 SEAL MANAGEMENT MEASURES
Harp Seals:
- To ensure that the seal resource remains sustainable, the department establishes an annual quota for harp seals. This number has been fixed at 275,000 since 1997. The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) is prohibited.
- The annual total allowable catch is a maximum limit and does not reflect the actual number of seals taken in any given year. For example, the 2000 seal hunt yielded a catch of approximately 92,000 seals, while approximately 226,000 were taken in 2001.
- The harp seal herd is considered healthy and abundant - in no way are seals an endangered species. A survey conducted in 1999 estimated the harp seal population at 5.2 million animals; more than double the 1970 population of less than two million. The herd will not be threatened by this year's harvest.
- To ensure that the future management of seals is based on the best possible science and to ensure a balanced perspective on seal harvesting, an eminent Panel on seal management was established. The Panel has recently submitted its report and its findings will help the department to develop a multi-year management strategy for seals beginning in 2003.
Hooded and Grey Seals:
- For the 2002 sealing season, the total allowable catch for hooded seals remained at the 1998-2001 level of 10,000 animals.
- The hunting of hooded seal pups (bluebacks) is prohibited.
- A small harvest of grey seals will be allowed in areas other than Sable Island.
SCIENTIFIC INITIATIVES
- The most recent harp seal population estimate, based on an extensive survey conducted in 1999, places the population at around 5.2 million seals. This indicates that the seal population has remained steady at this level since 1996. In the 1970s, the harp seal population was just under 2 million.
- The latest scientific data estimates that each year harp seals consume some 37,000 tonnes of cod off the east coast of Newfoundland.
- In 2002, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will continue to conduct important scientific initiatives related to increasing the understanding of abundance, distribution and potential impact of seals on fish stocks.
- The current scientific analyses conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists incorporate reported catches in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic along with commercial harvest figures. The data also includes estimates of the number of seals killed but not recovered (referred to as "struck and lost") and accidental catches of seals in the Newfoundland lumpfish fishery.
- In 2000, scientists determined that the replacement yield for harp seals was estimated to be in the order of 500,000 which is close to the current level of total catches. The replacement yield is the number of seals that can be harvested without changing the total population.
REPORT ON PANEL OF EMINENT PERSONS
- In May 2000, the Minister appointed a Panel of eminent persons to evaluate the state of scientific knowledge and to provide advice on a long-term strategy for the management of seal populations. The Panel released its report in the fall of 2001.
- The report presents a thorough review of the scientific information on seal population and on the seal-fish interaction in the Atlantic. The Panel members concluded that the estimated harp seal population was robust and recommended a new hooded seal population survey.
- The Panel also reviewed the available estimates of the consumption by seals of different fish species and concluded that more information is needed to understand the relationship between seals and their prey. They stated that seals consume large amounts of fish throughout Atlantic Canada, but that there is much less evidence that this predation is having a major impact on the recovery of most commercial fish stocks. However, the report also mentioned that, in certain areas, the consumption of cod by seals is considerable and that a reduction in seal predation could reasonably be expected to have a substantial effect on the size of these stocks.
- Finally, the Panel considered several different ways to manage seal populations, but did not recommend any specific scheme. The government of Canada is now consulting on this report with affected groups to develop a multi-year management plan.
GREENLAND HARVEST
- Canada and Greenland hunt harp and hooded seals from the same populations. The Canadian and Greenland governments have been exchanging information on their respective hunts and have agreed to continue such exchanges with the intent of verifying harvest activities and strengthening conservation. For example, discussions are underway with Greenland scientists on a possible joint satellite tagging program to better define movements and stock boundaries.
- The annual catch of harp seals in Greenland has been increasing in recent years. The Greenland government has reported that in 1999, approximately 80,000 harp seals were taken.
SEAL PREDATION ON COD
- Studies of predation by seals on fish in Atlantic Canada have focussed on harp seals and grey seals. Predation by harbour and hooded seals has also been estimated. Harp seals accounted for the largest amount of consumption, followed by hooded and grey seals. However, recent data on diets of hooded seals suggest that they may also be important predators.
- Comprehensive estimates indicated that in 1996, harp seals consumed some 3 million tonnes of food in the Canadian Atlantic, whereas grey seals consumed some 314,000 tonnes. A high portion of the diet of both species was fish, with some invertebrate prey as well. The vast majority of fish prey were small forage fish. Commercial species made up only a small portion of their diet.
- The three major species consumed by harp seals are:
- Capelin (893,000 tonnes);
- Sand lance (350,000 tonnes); and
- Arctic cod (186,000 tonnes).
- For grey seals, the main prey species was sandlance (133,000 tonnes). Grey seals also consumed an estimated 55,000 tonnes of Atlantic cod.
STRUCK AND LOST
- In any harvest, animals may be killed but not recovered and therefore not included in the reported landings. This is referred to as "struck and lost".
- Fisheries and Oceans' scientists have been carrying out studies designed to estimate the amount of struck and lost that occurs. The proportion of seals lost appears to be negligible for young animals killed by clubbing and relatively low for beater seals killed on the ice. However, a higher proportion of older seals shot in the water may be lost.
- The vast majority of the Canadian harvest takes place on the ice; therefore, struck and lost rates for these animals is very low.
SEAL POPULATIONS (HARP AND HOODED)
Harp Seals:
- The harp seal population increased steadily since the early 1970s, when it was just under 2 million, to approximately 5.2 million in 1999.
Hooded Seals:
- The Atlantic hooded seal population was estimated to be approximately 450,000 - 500,000 animals in 1990. There is uncertainty about the current population but it is assumed to have remained the same or to have increased.
- Surveys conducted in 1990 and 1991 estimated that 80,000 pups were born in the Front and 2,000 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
- Hooded seals normally make up only a minor part of the commercial and personal use hunts. In recent years, the harvest of hooded seals has been less than 200 animals per year.
2001 CANADIAN HARVEST LEVELS-HARP AND HOODED SEALS
Harp seals:
- Market levels and weather conditions determine the level of each year's hunt (within the allowable quota of 275,000). In 2001, sealers harvested 226,493 harp seals.
Hooded Seals:
- The total allowable catch for hooded seals is 10,000 animals. Because of poor markets and unfavorable weather conditions, the 2001 hunt for hooded seals yielded only 140 animals.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS
- The seal hunt provides valuable income to about 12,000 sealers and their families in eastern Canada, particularly in some Newfoundland communities that lack many employment opportunities.
- Sealing and fishing have been time-honoured traditions that allowed people to provide for their families through knowledge of the marine environment and hard work. The seal hunt helps isolated towns and villages in the winter season when there are few economic alternatives. These are communities that have been hard hit by the downturn in the groundfish industry.
- Aboriginal peoples have hunted seals for food, fuel and clothing for hundreds of years. Today the seal hunt is of importance to aboriginal peoples for food, social and ceremonial purposes.
HUMANE HARVESTING
- The killing of any animals, whether they are domesticated or wild, is never pleasant to watch. Society makes use of many different animals for food and clothing. In this sense, the harvesting of seals is not fundamentally different from the exploitation of livestock.
- Seal hunting methods have been studied and approved by the Royal Commission on Seals and Sealing. The Commission found that the methods used in hunting seals compare favourably to those used to hunt any other wild or domestic animal. These methods are designed to kill the animal quickly.
- Veterinarians have also been observing the Atlantic seal hunt to determine if further improvements to hunting methods are needed.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada is reviewing the regulations governing the seal hunt, the Marine Mammal Regulations. These regulations include provisions to ensure that the hunt is conducted in a humane manner.
- The department encourages the fullest possible commercial use of seals with the emphasis on leather, oil, handicrafts, and in recent years, meat for human and animal consumption as well as seal oil capsules rich in Omega-3.
- Before sealers can qualify for a professional licence, they must obtain an assistant licence and work under the supervision of a professional sealer for two years.
ENFORCEMENT/MONITORING
- DFO's enforcement of sealing regulations is thorough and comprehensive. Regulations and policies stipulate hunting seasons, quotas, vessel size, methods of dispatch, as well as instruction and training of seal hunters.
- Enforcement objectives are to seek overall compliance with the Marine Mammal Regulations. Fishery Officers will be monitoring catches, ensuring humane harvesting practices, and enforcing the regulations and licence conditions.
- Fishery Officers conduct surveillance of the seal harvest by means of aerial and vessels patrols, dockside inspections of vessels at landing sites and inspections at buying/processing facilities.
- Observers may be deployed on the ice and on some vessels to monitor compliance with regulations.
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the provincial police force are also available when situations arise requiring their assistance.
- An enforcement operational plan is produced for each harvesting season. The plan is reviewed on an on-going basis during the harvest and enforcement resources may be re-directed from other areas/fisheries if the need arises.
HARVESTING OF YOUNG SEALS, ESPECIALLY WHITECOATS, BLUEBACKS
- In 2000, the department imposed new conditions on commercial sealing licences to prohibit the taking of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seal pups (bluebacks). These conditions will again be imposed in 2002.
- The Supreme Court of Canada heard this case in October 2001 and is expected to make its decision in the near future.
- A prohibition against hunting bluebacks and whitecoats has always been in place for personal use sealing licences.
- Adult harp and hooded seals cannot be harvested when they are in whelping patches or breeding grounds.
- Seals mature very quickly. For example, young harp seals are independent and completely self-reliant two to three weeks after birth.
