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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. Based on a 2004 survey, the estimated total population size is now 5.8 million animals.
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 2005, total abundance of hooded seals was estimated to be between 547,000 - 603,000 animals.
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, Nova Scotia. The grey seal herd was surveyed in April 2004 which estimated the population to be about 250,000 animals.
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 Total Allowable Catches (TACs)?
Commercial quotas:
The management measures for 2006-2010 allow for a
one-year Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 270,000 harp seals in 2007.
In 2006, the harp seal TAC was 335,000.
The one-year TAC for hooded seals is 8,200 for 2007. The TAC for hooded
seals was 10,000 in 2006.
In 2007, the TAC was 2,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and 7,000
on the Scotian Shelf. In 2006, TAC levels were the same. The hunting of grey
seals will continue to be prohibited on Sable Island.
Personal quotas:
Since 1995, residents adjacent to sealing areas throughout Newfoundland and Labrador 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:
2006 was the first year in a five-year management plan in which the TAC will be set annually. In 2006, 354,344 harp seals were taken.
Hooded Seals:
Less than 400 hooded seals have been harvested annually in Canada since 1999.
Grey Seals:
In 2006, 777 grey seals were taken in a developing market.
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 in the Magdelen Islands (Gulf of St. Lawrence) and on Quebec's Lower North Shore, where about 25% of the hunt occurs, use both rifles and hakapiks, while sealers on the ice floes on the Front (in the waters East of Newfoundland), where 75% of the hunt occurs, primarily use rifles. 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 until it's crushed, and administer a blinking eye reflex test or manually check the skull.
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. About one third of the migrating population is found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where a small number of animals are taken near the Magdalen Islands.
11. What percentage of seals is hunted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence versus Newfoundland and Labrador?
Approximately seventy per cent of the hunt occurs on the Front in Newfoundland and Labrador, 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 in early April on the Front.
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.
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) until May 31, 2007. The Department is working with industry to establish criteria for new entrants into the fishery.
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, an independent veterinarians report
published in the Canadian Veterinary Journal 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 in the most humane way possible.
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?
While markets for seal pelts are subject to significant variation from one year to the next, the 2006 seal hunt was one of the most profitable in memory. Given extremely favourable market conditions, the landed value of the harp seal hunt was $33 million. The average price per pelt received by sealers was $97, an increase of 77% over the 2005 average value of $55.
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.
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.
19. How much of Canada's population benefits directly from the seal hunt?
Estimates from DFO and the province of Newfoundland
and Labrador find that between 5,000 and 6,000 individuals derive some
income from sealing. This is approximately 1% of the total provincial
population and 2% of the labour force. This is a substantial number of
individuals in the context of small rural communities.
Although sealing may seem to be a minor industry within the larger economy,
many locally-important industries share this characteristic. For example,
crop production and forestry each account for less than 1% of Canadian GDP,
but their local economic importance is undisputable.
20. Does DFO provide subsidies for the seal hunt?
The seal hunt is an economically viable activity and is not subsidized by DFO.
21. 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.
