Fisheries and Aquaculture Management - Seals and Sealing in Canada


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Seals and Sealing in Canada

2004 - 2005 SEAL MANAGEMENT MEASURES

The Canadian seal hunt is a sustainable, economically viable activity based on sound conservation principles. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the federal department responsible for managing the seal hunt, introduced a three-year management plan in 2003.

DFO sets quotas at levels that ensure the health and abundance of seal herds. Many factors are considered in establishing quotas.

The Government of Canada respects an individual's choice to support or oppose the seal hunt. We encourage people to form their opinions based on the facts.

Key Management Measures

The seals that are hunted must be independent, self-reliant animals. The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seals (bluebacks) is prohibited.
Persons may not hunt seals in breeding or whelping patches.
Sealers must administer a blinking-eye reflex test for a clear determination of death.

Harp Seals:

The Northwest Atlantic harp seal is the most abundant of all seal species in Atlantic Canada and accounts for most of the commercial harvest. The harp seal herd is healthy and abundant, nearly triple what it was in the 1970s.
The harp seal quota is set at 975,000 over a three year period from 2003-2005 inclusive.
Although this size of harvest will reduce the population if the full quota is achieved, the population will remain at a level where there are no conservation concerns.

Hooded and Grey Seals:

For the 2003-2005 sealing seasons, the annual total allowable catch (TAC) for hooded seals remains at 10,000 animals. As in previous years, there will be no hunt of hooded seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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 the hunt can proceed.

SEAL POPULATIONS

Harp Seals:

There are three populations of this abundant species, of which the Northwest Atlantic stock off Canada 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 the latest peer-reviewed survey in 1999. A new population survey will be completed in 2005.

Hooded Seals:

There are two whelping areas for hooded seals in Atlantic Canada: one in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the other off Newfoundland-Labrador. The Gulf of St. Lawrence component is small (approximately 2,000) and hunting of this population is prohibited.
Hooded seals are the second most commercially important species in Atlantic Canada. The last survey in 1990 estimated a population of approximately 460,000 animals. A new population survey will begin in 2005 and results will be available in 2006.

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 seal population was estimated to be about 195,000 in 1997. A new population survey will be completed in 2005.

RECENT CANADIAN HARVEST LEVELS

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. By comparison, 283,497 harp seals were harvested during the 2003 season and 365,971 seals were taken in 2004.

Hooded Seals:

Less than 200 hooded seals have been harvested annually in Canada since 1998.

Grey seals:

Only small numbers of grey seals are hunted each year and a commercial hunt of 10,000 animals over two years has recently been established. At present, they are harvested in Atlantic Canada, mostly in the Magdalen Islands and Cape Breton. No commercial hunting is permitted on Sable Island, NS.

HUMANE HARVESTING

The killing of any animals, whether they are domesticated or wild, is never pleasant. Society makes use of many different animals for food and clothing. In this sense, hunting 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.
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.
The harp seals that are hunted are independent animals. Once they have been weaned by their mothers, they are self-reliant and left to fend for themselves.
A recent report published by the Canadian Veterinary Journal concluded virtually all harp seals are killed in what veterinarians describe as an acceptably humane manner.
After death, seals - like chickens and other animals - often undergo a period of convulsions which have been mistakenly interpreted by some as indicating that the animal is still alive.
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 before bleeding and skinning. 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.
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. Training is available to sealers to improve proper hunting techniques, product preparation and handling.
Sealers use a variety of tools to harvest 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 approved rifles. Sealers in the Magdelen Islands (Gulf of St. Lawrence) and on Quebec's Lower North Shore traditionally use clubs or hakapiks. First Nations and Inuit also tend to use hakapiks in the subsistence hunt. A hakapik is an efficient tool designed to kill the animal quickly.

ENFORCEMENT / MONITORING

Canada's enforcement of sealing activity is thorough and comprehensive. Canada's Fisheries Act, Marine Mammal Regulations and licensing policies stipulate hunting seasons, quotas, vessel size, methods of dispatch, as well as instruction and training of seal hunters.
The regulations governing the seal hunt are strictly enforced by the Government of Canada. Sealers must dispatch seals in a manner designed to do so quickly and humanely.
Infractions are taken seriously and those who violate the Marine Mammal Regulations are prosecuted. Sealers who fail to observe humane hunting practices, license conditions, and catch requirements are penalized. The consequences of such illegal actions could include heavy court-imposed fines and the forfeiting of catches, fishing gear, vessels and licences.
The seal hunt is closely monitored and tightly regulated to ensure the animals are killed quickly and efficiently. Fishery Officers monitor catches, ensure humane hunting practices, and enforce regulations and licence conditions.
Fishery Officers conduct surveillance of the seal hunt by means of aerial patrols, surface (vessel) patrols, dockside inspections of vessels at landing sites and inspections at buying/processing facilities. Observers are also deployed on the ice and on some vessels to monitor compliance with regulations.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

The harp and hooded seal hunt provides valuable income to about 15,000 sealers and their families in Eastern Canada. Sealing also presents economic benefits to remote, coastal communities where employment opportunities are limited.
The 2004 seal hunt was one of the most profitable in memory. The landed value of seal products provided more than $16 million in direct revenue.
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.
Seals have been harvested for food, fuel, shelter and other products for hundreds of years. The subsistence hunt is a valuable link to Canadian cultural heritage.
Canadian Aboriginals and Inuit have constitutionally protected rights to hunt seals for food, social and ceremonial purposes, subject to conservation requirements.
The personal use/subsistence hunt is not exclusive to Aboriginal and Inuit. Many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal individuals from Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Atlantic Canada also harvest seals for their personal use.

SCIENTIFIC INITIATIVES

The multi-year management plan is based on sound conservation principles and a commitment to strong, peer-reviewed scientific advice.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has maintained an active seal research program for many years. This program is aimed at understanding population dynamics, trends in reproductive performance and survival, migration, diving behaviour and diet. These studies provide a better understanding of predation on fish stocks by seals and how seals interact with other components in the marine ecosystem.
In April 2003, the Government of Canada announced a two-year, $6 million Atlantic Seal Research Program (ASRP) to expand on current research activities for the purposes of understanding of abundance, distribution and potential impact of seals on fish stocks.
The ASRP is divided into three key components: 1) population assessments on harp, hooded and grey seals; 2) seal impact on cod (seal distribution and diet analysis); and 3) evaluation and implementation of seal management tools to aid in the recovery of Atlantic cod stocks (seal exclusion zones; reproductive control).
Population surveys on grey seals and harp seals took place in January and March 2004 respectively. A hooded seal population study is scheduled for March 2005.
When results of population assessments and other research becomes available, DFO will rely on this scientific advice during the development of the next multi-year seal management plan, beginning in 2006.
Satellite tagging is also being conducted to assist scientists determine migratory habits. The results of this work will give the department a better understanding of seal-fish interaction within the marine ecosystem. Approximately 65 seals were tagged in this study.
Part of the funding will also focus on seal exclusion zone research and how they may contribute to the recovery of cod stocks. A pilot seal exclusion zone (SEZ) will assist in the collection of scientific information pertaining to the evaluation and effectiveness of establishing these zones for the protection of cod. A pilot SEZ was implemented in Smith Sound, Newfoundland in January 2004.

SEAL PREDATION ON COD

Studies of predation by seals on fish in Atlantic Canada have focused 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 fish predators.
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 mitigates against easy analysis or simple solutions to problems such as the lack of recovery of cod stocks.


		Last updated : 2005-03-21	Important Notices