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Facts about Seals - 2003

2003 - 2005 SEAL MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Fisheries and Oceans Canada introduced a three-year management plan based on sound conservation principles and a commitment to strong, peer-reviewed scientific advice. This plan provides greater flexibility for both the department and industry to adapt to variable environmental and market conditions over a three-year period.

Harp Seals:

  • The harp seal quota is set at 975,000 over three years with an annual quota of up to 350,000 in any two years of the plan. For example, sealers can harvest 350,000 seals in two of the three years, but are limited to 275,000 seals in the other year.
     
  • The harp seal herd is healthy and abundant - in no way are harp seals an endangered species. The harp seal population has nearly tripled in size - from less than two million in the early 1970s to more than five million in 2002.
     
  • The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) is prohibited.

Hooded and Grey Seals:

  • For the 2003-2005 sealing seasons, the annual total allowable catch 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.
     
  • The hunting of hooded seal pups (bluebacks) is prohibited.
     
  • A small harvest of grey seals will be allowed in areas other than Sable Island.

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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 harp seal population has remained steady at this level since 1996. In the early 1970s, the harp seal population was just under two million.
     
  • 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.
     
  • Several stakeholders have requested the department consider seal exclusion zones as one method to protect aggregations of spawning and juvenile cod from seal predation in specific areas. The department is committed to evaluating the feasibility and value of these zones as well as identifying suitable locations and methods of control.

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OBJECTIVE-BASED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

  • Fisheries and Oceans Canada is adopting an Objective-Based Fisheries Management (OBFM) approach for harp seals. OBFM uses control rules and reference points to establish management measures for a fishery. Where there is an abundant resource, OBFM will facilitate a market-driven harvest that will enable sealers to maximize their benefits without compromising conservation.
     
  • Reference points are pre-established population levels that trigger specific management actions when they are reached. Reference Points have been set at 70%, 50% and 30% of 5.5 million, the maximum observed size of the harp seal herd.
     
  • Control rules are specific, pre-established actions that are triggered at certain reference points. Control rules include measures such as a lower Total Allowable Catch (TAC), changes to season length and area closures.
     
  • If market conditions result in the full TAC being taken for the three-year plan, it is estimated the population would decline to about 4.7 million by 2006 - well above the 70% reference threshold. The department is committed to maintaining the harp seal population above the 70 % reference point.
     
  • The harp seal population has nearly tripled in size - less than two million in the 1970's to more than five million. Some reduction in the population is possible at this time while maintaining the principle of sustainable use of this natural resource.

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GREENLAND HARVEST

  • Harp and hooded seals from the Northwest Atlantic herd are also hunted in Greenland. Greenland's annual harvest levels are in the order of 90,000 to 110,000 harp seals and 7,500 hooded seals.
     
  • Canada and Greenland do not have a shared management regime for seals, but the two countries meet regularly to share information updates on the nature and level of hunting that takes place in both countries.

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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.
     
  • There are several factors contributing to the lack of recovery of Atlantic cod stocks such as fishing, 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.
     
  • 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.
     
  • The four major species of fish consumed annually by harp seals are:
     
    • Capelin (893,000 tonnes)
    • Sand lance (350,000 tonnes)
    • Arctic cod (186,000 tonnes)
    • North Atlantic cod (37,000 tonnes)

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ECONOMIC BENEFITS

  • The harp and hooded 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.
     
  • The 2002 seal hunt was the most profitable in memory. The landed value of seal products was over $20 million, with many more millions of dollars being generated from economic spin-offs (estimated total value of $48 million).

     
  • 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, ceremonial and economic purposes.

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SEAL POPULATIONS (HARP AND HOODED)

Harp Seals:

  • The harp seal population is healthy and abundant and has nearly tripled in size - 5.2 million based on the latest peer-reviewed survey. By comparison, it was 1.8 million in 1970.

Hooded Seals:

  • Hooded seals are the second most important commercially important species in Atlantic Canada. The last survey in 1990 provided a population estimate of approximately 470,000 animals.
     
  • There are two stocks of hooded seals in Atlantic Canada: one in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the other off Newfoundland. The Gulf of St. Lawrence herd is small and hunting of this population is prohibited.

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2002 CANADIAN HARVEST LEVELS - HARP AND HOODED SEALS

Harp seals:

  • The harp seal quota was set at 275,000 from 1997 to 2002. Given the high prices offered to sealers, 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.

Hooded Seals:

  • Although there is uncertainty concerning the size of the actual population, less than 200 hooded seals have been harvested annually in Canada since 1998 and the Greenland harvest has not changed appreciably.

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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 harp and hooded 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.
     
  • A recent report published by the Canadian Veterinary Journal concluded 98% of harp seals are killed in what veterinarians describe as an acceptably humane manner.
     
  • Regulatory amendments governing the seal hunt were approved by the Special Committee of Council, following extensive public consultations, and came into effect March 20, 2003. These amendments are designed to improve the effectiveness and relevancy of the Marine Mammal Regulations as they apply to commercial and non-aboriginal sealing as well as provide consistency with existing policies.
     
  • 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. Sealers are encouraged to take a training course on proper hunting techniques, product preparation and handling.

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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 harp and hooded seal hunt by means of aerial and vessels patrols, dockside inspections of vessels at landing sites and inspections at buying/processing facilities.
     
  • The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Surêté du Quebec 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.

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HARVESTING OF YOUNG SEALS, ESPECIALLY WHITECOATS, BLUEBACKS

  • The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seal pups (bluebacks) is prohibited.
     
  • Adult harp and hooded seals cannot be harvested when they are in whelping patches or breeding grounds.
     
  • Seals mature very quickly. The seals that are hunted are independent animals. Once they have been weaned by their mothers, approximately two to three weeks after birth, they are self-reliant and left to fend for themselves.
Date Modified: 2008-08-01

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