This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète of 1er November 2022. To subscribe,Click here.
Off Tadoussac Bay, not far from the Prince shoal lighthouse, which marks the passage to the Saguenay Fjord, there were dozens of them sticking their heads out of the water, but also looking towards the boat. observation deck carrying about fifteen tourists on a cool October day.
Even though we were in the heart of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, and therefore in beluga whale habitat, it was not this endangered species that was watching us. No, the curious looks were those of gray seals. It must be said that these pinnipeds, which can weigh more than 270 kg (600 pounds) as adults, congregate in the area in the fall, before beginning their migration.
But where do they go in the winter? Unlike several species of marine mammals, such as certain large cetaceans that frequent the estuary in the summer before traveling thousands of kilometers during their migration, gray seals do not leave Canadian waters.
“They rather tend to disperse in certain areas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence or the Scotian Shelf”, located south of Nova Scotia, explains Xavier Bordeleau, specialist in biology and conservation of marine mammals at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The researcher adds that breeding-age seals can actually form large groups on different islands during the whelping period. Sable Island (170 km off Nova Scotia), for example, is “the largest breeding ground” for the species in Canada, according to federal government data. By way of comparison, the harp seal and the hooded seal tend to give birth directly on the pack ice in winter.
Births of gray seals take place from late December to early February. During their two-week nursing period, the young double in weight and reach about 50 kg at weaning. The seal pups moult during their first month of life and their white coat gives way to dense waterproof fur, after which they quickly head out to sea to learn how to feed themselves.
Return from the hunt
More than 10,000 gray seals can be found on Brion Island, located northeast of the Magdalen Islands. This is also where hunters conducted a commercial hunt last winter, but under “scientific supervision”. Some 500 seals were killed on this occasion. Many Madelinots would also like to open the door to the restoration of this hunt, rooted in their culture, but victim of repeated attacks by animal activists.
The gray seal, which produces meat and an oil rich in omega-3, is also very abundant in the east of the country and in the Gulf. According to the most recent data from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, there are more than 366,000 specimens.
Their population has grown so much in recent decades that it now exerts intense predation pressure on several species. According to a study conducted in particular by federal government researchers, this marine mammal could even eradicate cod in the southern Gulf over the next few years. It is also possible that it represents a threat to other species of interest to commercial fishing, including lobster.
In this context, the federal government’s analyzes show that several thousand gray seals could be killed each year without posing a risk to the survival of its population.
It remains to be seen what the outlets would be for the products obtained from this pinniped. Animal rights groups, which have campaigned for several years against seal hunting, contributed to the European Union’s decision in 2010 to impose an embargo on seal products. A decision based on hunting methods, considered too “cruel”. This ground had never before been used to block the import of wildlife products.