The Canadian government must better support the seal hunting industry, in particular by conducting more research and expanding market access for its by-products, says the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. In a report published on May 23, the group also asks the government to tighten the screws on NPOs that “continue to spread lies” about the sealing industry by withdrawing their tax exemption.
The 84-page document, presented as a “call to action”, paints a portrait of a sector in bad shape. As part of the committee’s work, Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed that it had stopped establishing official seal catch quotas from 2016 as the number of animals hunted was lower than the total authorized in previous years.
The committee reveals a glaring lack of data on seal populations. In the Arctic and Atlantic, commercial whaling mainly targets harp seals, whose numbers were estimated at 7.6 million in 2019, and gray seals, whose population was around 370,000 in 2021, according to the Ministry. Also in 2021, 4,832 commercial seal hunting licenses were issued in Eastern Canada.
Witnesses also pleaded before the committee for the department to manage seal stocks sustainably. “ [Sans] management, seal stocks will continue to grow and have a negative impact on commercial and non-commercial fish stocks,” they believe. With the exception of the gray seal, which hinders the recovery of groundfish stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada avoids establishing a link between the presence of seals and fish stocks. “Such a degree of uncertainty is unacceptable given the amount of anecdotal information and indigenous knowledge suggesting the contrary,” the committee wrote.
“I know full well that seals eat the bread and butter of our fishermen,” said the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie–Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Diane Lebouthillier, in a written declaration sent to the Duty. “That said, we also know that any action aimed at controlling their population must be done by first having the necessary scientific data in hand and keeping economic objectives in mind.”
Tax to counter disinformation?
The authors of the report took care to emphasize the cultural and economic importance of the industry, particularly for the Inuit. In fact, 90% of the seal hunt takes place in Nunavut, estimates the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
While we can eat seal meat and use its oil as fuel and a source of omega-3, we also use its skin to make coats and other clothing and accessories. The value of captured seals was valued at more than $30 million in 2006 and dropped to 1.1 million in 2015, according to the Library of Parliament. A decline that the committee attributes in particular to bans on the import and sale of derivative products in several countries, including the United States and the European Union.
To counter the voluntary and involuntary dissemination of false or misleading information on the industry, including on hunting methods, the members of the committee propose integrating information on seal hunting into school programs. They also recommend that the Canadian government amend the Income Tax Act so that NPOs and charities “that produce misinformation or disinformation about the seal hunt or the seal products industry or who promote it lose their status exempting them from paying taxes.”
The government must also take steps to make hunting economically viable to revive the industry, the committee said. To do this, he proposes launching a campaign to promote seal products and working to eliminate obstacles to international trade.
Making seal the new lobster
Minister Lebouthillier assures that “developing opportunities around the sealing industry is at the heart of [ses] priorities” and specifies in particular that he raised the subject during meetings with the ambassadors of the United States and Japan.
During his testimony before the Senate committee, Mr.me Lebouthillier gave the example of lobster, which was once a low-end product: “The amounts invested and the work carried out have ensured that today, lobster really has added value on the market. […] We must be able [d’utiliser cette stratégie pour] other species to make value-added products. »
Gil Thériault, director of the Association of Intra-Quebec Seal Hunters, which represents around 400 members, is not very optimistic about seeing changes resulting from this report. Mr. Thériault doubts the effectiveness of a communication campaign in the face of well-organized pressure groups. The products themselves are enough to convince consumers of the merits of hunting, he asserts, but they still need to have access to it “in sufficient quantity and quality”. The government should therefore work upstream to facilitate the work of fishermen, according to him.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare, an NPO, strongly criticized Minister Lebouthillier’s appearance before the committee. “It’s not for lack of marketing efforts that seal meat isn’t already popular: if it tasted good, it would be found in restaurants across the country. There is no reason [d’encourager cette chasse] if no one asks for it,” the organization said in a press release last March.