Tag Archives: Increasing seal population

Seafood industry urges ‘extreme caution’ on controlling seals to avoid consumer backlash

Canada’s seafood industry is urging Ottawa to use “extreme caution” when considering measures to control the growing seal population, warning they could jeopardize market access and acceptance of Canadian seafood. But according to Conservative fisheries critic Clifford Small, a member of parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador, those concerns are overblown. “It is immensely important that as the government considers potential steps moving forward, its actions do not disrupt either the market access or acceptance of Canadian fish and seafood products, both internationally and domestically,” said Paul Lansbergen, president of the Fisheries Council of Canada. Lansbergen said both the U.S. and the European Union have strict rules regarding the harming of marine mammals during fishing. >click to read< 14:50

Increasing seal population will not harm largest fish stocks in the Baltic

It has long been debated whether the seal predation of fish play a major role in the fish decline in the Baltic Sea compared to human fishing. The debate escalated worldwide since conservation efforts to protect seals and fish-eating birds resulted in increased number of them.  A new study taking into account human pressures on the environment, shows that the seals are not the main problem on commercial fish stocks in the open water of the Baltic Sea. “We currently have 30 000 grey seals in the Baltic Proper, but we can even have more than 100 000 seals and it will still not affect the amount of cod negatively as much as climate change, nutrient load and fisheries. (scratches head) >click to read<07:26