Ensuring a Sustainable and Humane Seal Harvest - Nunavut ...

The Committee found that there was local support for a grey seal harvest during itstrip to southwest Nova Scotia. There is also support for increasing the TAC for this species,currently set at approximately 10,000 animals. The TAC is divided between harvesters inthe Gulf of St. Lawrence (2,100 animals) and on the Scotian Shelf (8,300 animals).Interestingly, the 2006 harvest was much smaller than the TAC with close to 1,800 animalsharvested. 52 The Committee also heard that there is a potential market (450 tonnes) forgrey seal meat. 53 According to DFO, the grey seal population, like the harp seal, ismanaged using the OBFM approach. Under this approach however, grey seals arecurrently considered as “data poor,” 54 which has implications on the department’s eventualdecision whether or not to increase the TAC for this species.Sable Island and parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are excluded from the currentharvest. However, the Committee learned from Dr. Hammill that, although there arepotential legal problems and other issues, from a biological point of view, a well-managedharvest “should be fine” 55 on Sable Island.Conclusions and RecommendationsFor over 30 years, Canada’s commercial seal harvest in the Northwest Atlantic hasbeen the target of campaigns to end the harvest of these marine mammals. In the 1970’sand the 1980’s these campaigns resulted in the collapse of the international sealskinmarket. When Canada resumed the harvest with increasing quotas and catches in the mid-1990s, the anti-seal harvest campaigners stepped up their efforts to end the commercialharvest, and Canadian sealers and First Nations are now facing the very real possibility ofa complete ban on the importation and use of seal products in Europe. Campaigns ofrecent years have been characterized by misinformation and appeals to emotions throughthe use of inflammatory images and language.During its study, the Committee focused its attention on four aspects of the sealharvest: sustainability, humaneness, economic, social and cultural importance, and its rolein achieving and maintaining an ecological balance within the marine ecosystem.1. Sustainability of the seal harvest: It is the Committee’s opinion that theCanadian seal harvest is a sustainable activity. It agrees with theEuropean Commission position that: “The seal populations in questionare currently not endangered and are therefore not regulated by theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).” Inaddition, experts told the Committee that the Northwest Atlanticpopulation of harp seal was probably one of the best managed wildlife52535455Ibid.Peter Stoddard, Committee Evidence, November 9, 2006.Mike Hammill, Committee Evidence, November 9, 2006.Ibid.22