Socio-economic Importance of the Seal Hunt

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The Seal Hunt is Important

• In Newfoundland and Labrador at least 7 coastal communities derived between 15% and 35% of their total earned income from sealing. That is income for everyone in the community combined.
   
• Sealers state their income from sealing can represent from 25-35% of their total annual income.
   
• 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 indisputable.
   
• The top homeports for sealers have unemployment rates over 30% higher than the national average.

The Seal Hunt is Valuable

• While the value of the seal hunt may appear negligible to some, it is tremendously valuable to those individuals who use it as a source of income at a time of year when economic opportunities are limited in many remote, coastal communities.
   
• 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.

The Seal Hunt Impacts Canadians

• Seals have been harvested for food, fuel, shelter and other products for hundreds of years. The subsistence hunt is a valuable link to our cultural heritage.
   
• Small sealing communities do a lot with a little but do not have many alternative earnings or work options.
   
• Most sealers are fishers who participate in other fisheries. The seal hunt provides them with the income needed to pay expenses such as insurance and fishing gear.
   
• In 1983, the European Economic Community banned the importation of whitecoats and bluebacks. The demand for seal pelts declined which resulted in a dramatic decrease in price. In Labrador alone, the lost sealing revenue reduced total Inuit income by one-third.

Seal Products

• The Government of Canada encourages the fullest possible use of seals with the emphasis on leather, oil, handicrafts, and in recent years, meat for human and animal consumption.
   
• All seal pelts undergo some processing within Canada, creating employment opportunities in plants. Between six and eight facilities have participated in seal processing in recent years, four of which are in Newfoundland and the remainder in Quebec.
   
• Seal oil, once extracted, is marketed in capsule form which is rich in Omega-3 acids. The fatty acids are known to be helpful in preventing and treating hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and many other health problems. Seal oil capsules for human consumption are marketed as a health food supplement.