Tag Archives: harp seal
Woefully inadequate – DFO’s science on impact of seal population doesn’t go nearly far enough
Efforts by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to measure the impact of the massive seal population in Atlantic Canada are “woefully inadequate,” according to a newly released task force report. The industry-led report, which was commissioned by DFO, disputes the department’s claims that, for the most part, seals are not harming fish populations. Industry has long argued that seals are having significant impacts on groundfish stocks, pelagic stocks, shellfish and salmon. >click to read< 09:13
Access To Information docs from DFO shine light on collapse of Atlantic Harp seal harvest
As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the harp seal harvest last year was halved from 2016 despite subsidies paid to processors to promote seal meat recipes. A total 30,435 harp seals were hunted last year, a fraction of the 217,850 taken annually prior to a European Union ban on Canadian seal exports. Legislators have blamed the 2009 E.U. ban on exports of Atlantic pelts, oil and other Atlantic seal products for the death of the industry.,, The Commons fisheries committee in a 2017 report Newfoundland & Labrador’s Northern Cod Fishery said Canada should promote a larger seal hunt, >click to read< 22:30
Could a seal cull help cod recover? It’s not so simple, scientist says
The equation seems simple: seals eat fish, fish are declining, kill the seals, fish recover. But experts warn that many factors need to be considered before drastic measures are taken. With talk revived about ending the recreational fishery, some believe a seal would be a more effective way to help cod stocks recover. But is a cull the answer to our fish stock problem? (HELL YEAH!) Eldred Woodford of the Canadian Sealers Association is taking an even stronger stance, and calling for an all-out seal cull.,, Alejandro Buren, a research scientist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, says many factors are at play when looking at food web relationships. >click to read<20:28
Call for Increased Seal Hunt as Population Surges
Hungry East Coast seal populations have surged in recent decades, spurring calls for an increased seal hunt — and even a possible cull — to protect fragile caplin and northern cod stocks. The Northwest Atlantic harp seal population is estimated at about 7.4 million animals — almost six times what it was in the 1970s, according to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Grey seal numbers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have grown from about 5,000 animals in 1960 to an estimated 98,000 in 2014, according to the department. >click to read<16:04
