Parliamentarians of Canada are warning that seal populations pose a danger to fish stocks and are upsetting marine ecosystems in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
A bipartisan report from the House of Commons standing committee on fisheries and oceans says, immediate measures are needed from the federal government and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which includes a rise in the humane seal harvest.
This report’s main objective is to draw the attention of DFO, relevant departments and the Canadian government to important observational and empirical evidence that the overpopulation of pinnipeds on Three coasts in Canada is having a significant and damaging impact on the health and conservation of fish stocks and is creating an inequity in our marine ecosystems.
Last week MPs issued their report the Ecosystem Impacts and Management of Pinniped Populations.
Over three months, the committee held hearings which started in March. The core of the report is the Committee’s strong belief that measures to address this issue are immediately required.
It is for this reason that the Committee makes 17 recommendations directed to the Government of Canada which touch on pinniped science; the importance of a sustainable, humane and ethical pinniped harvest; the development of the infrastructure necessary for an increased pinniped harvest and the promotion and marketing of seal products both in Canada and internationally.
Among the recommendations is one calling for Canada to prioritize the timely collection and public reporting on certain seal populations, what they are consuming and their impact on other fish species.
The findings are welcomed by one of the witnesses who appeared before the committee, Ginny Boudreau of the Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association. She also attended as a member of a seven-member Atlantic seal science task team convened by DFO in 2020 to address the impacts of seal predation on fish stocks in Atlantic Canada.
The Atlantic seal task team highlighted the same issue in May 2022, in blunter terms, calling DFO’s efforts to measure the impact of the huge seal population in Atlantic Canada.
The industry-led report, commissioned by DFO disputed the department’s claims that, for most part, seals are not harming fish populations.
The Sable Island grey seal herd off Nova Scotia is the largest in the world, home to the vast majority of the Scotian Shelf population, which is estimated at 310,000.
This month, DFO scientists lowered their estimate of the harp seal population, primarily off Newfoundland and Labrador, down to 4.7 million from 7.6 million, based on new modelling. The lower estimate reflects higher and more variable juvenile mortality since 2000.
The committee report does not call for a cull, but the MPs say the federal government should encourage humanely increasing the seal harvest.
Since 2009, the European Union has banned seal imports, except those harvested by indigenous communities, a testament to the impact of the international campaign against Canada’s seal hunt and a reminder of the challenge facing any effort to increase the seal harvest. Unlike the seal population, the market for seal products is not healthy.
During hearings this spring, Canada’s seafood industry urged extreme caution when considering measures to control the growing seal population, warning they could threaten market access for and acceptance of Canadian seafood.
President of the Fisheries Council of Canada, Paul Lansbergen told MPs that, some domestic buyers and importers do not want to be related with companies and countries which are connected with the sealing industry, so there must be an extreme caution by the government. So as to not threaten existing customers for Canadian seafood companies of our efficiency for products.
