Killing fur seals on St. Paul Island, Alaska Territory, 1890sSeal skinning in the 1880s by members of the Nansen expedition to Greenland
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: United States (above the Arctic Circle in Alaska), Canada, Namibia, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden. Most of the world's seal hunting takes place in Canada and Greenland.
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) regulates the seal hunt in Canada. It sets quotas (total allowable catch – TAC), monitors the hunt, studies the seal population, works with the Canadian Sealers' Association to train sealers on new regulations, and promotes sealing through its website and spokespeople. The DFO set harvest quotas of over 90,000 seals in 2007; 275,000 in 2008; 280,000 in 2009; and 330,000 in 2010.[1] The actual kills in recent years have been less than the quotas: 82,800 in 2007; 217,800 in 2008; 72,400 in 2009; and 67,000 in 2010.[2] In 2007, Norway reported that 29,000 harp seals were killed, Russia reported that 5,479 seals were killed and Greenland reported that 90,000 seals were killed in their respective seal hunts.
Harp seal populations in the northwest Atlantic declined to approximately 2 million in the late 1960s as a result of Canada's annual kill rates, which averaged to over 291,000 from 1952 to 1970.[3] Conservationists demanded reduced rates of killing and stronger regulations to avert the extinction of the harp seal. In 1971, the Canadian government responded by instituting a quota system. The system was competitive, with each boat catching as many seals as it could before the hunt closed, which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans did when they knew that year's quota had been reached. Because it was thought that the competitive element might cause sealers to cut corners, new regulations were introduced that limited the catch to 400 seals per day, and 2000 per boat total. A 2007 population survey conducted by the DFO estimated the population at 5.5 million. [citation needed]
In Greenland, hunting is done with a firearm (rifle or shotgun) and young are fully protected.[4] This has caused some conflicts with other seal-hunting nations, as Greenland also was hit by the boycotts that often were aimed at seals (often young) killed by clubbing or similar methods, which have not been in use in Greenland.[5] It is illegal in Canada to hunt newborn harp seals (whitecoats) and young hooded seals (bluebacks). When the seal pups begin to molt their downy white fur at the age of 12–14 days, they are called "ragged-jacket" and can be commercially hunted.[6] After molting, the seals are called "beaters", named for the way they beat the water with their flippers.[7] The hunt remains highly controversial, attracting significant media coverage and protests each year.[8] Images from past hunts have become iconic symbols for conservation, animal welfare, and animal rights advocates. In 2009, Russia banned the hunting of harp seals less than one year old.
^"Frequently Asked Questions About Canada's Seal Harvest". Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
^Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (March 2010). "Current Status of Northwest Atlantic Harp Seals, Pagophilus groenlandicus" (PDF). Science Advisory Report. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
^Fink, Sheryl. Canada's Commercial Sea Slaughter 2009 (PDF) (Report). International Fund for Animal Welfare.
^Cite error: The named reference SælErhvervsportalen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference upi2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Myths and Facts: The Truth about Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt". Human Society International: Canada. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
^Brown, DeNeen L. (18 April 2004). "Activists Decry Growth Of Canadian Seal Hunt". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2009.[permanent dead link]
^Lariviere, Serge (2008). "harp seal (mammal): The sealing industry". Encyclopædia Britannica.
Sealhunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Sealhunting is currently practiced in nine countries: United States (above the...
low to hunt commercially. The Mediterranean monk seal has experienced both commercial and illegal hunting since the Middle Ages and has always been threatened...
The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), also known as Saddleback Seal or Greenland Seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost...
The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant...
the profits from sealhunting are small compared to those of other Namibian industries, with seal watching bringing in more than seal harvesting does.[citation...
Caicura Islets. After the end of large-scale sealhunting in the 19th century, the southern elephant seal recovered to a sizable population in the 1950s;...
Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in sealhunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica...
Mediterranean monk seal and Hawaiian monk seal are ranked as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Besides hunting, pinnipeds also...
250 meters, with an average depth varying between specimens. Monk seals prefer hunting in wide-open spaces, enabling them to use their speed more effectively...
Seal finger, also known as sealer's finger and spekkfinger (from the Norwegian for "blubber"), is an infection that afflicts the fingers of seal hunters...
main threats are hunting, including subsistence hunting, and bycatch. Seal strandings are not considered a large threat to hooded seal populations but...
syndrome caused by the constant life-and-death trials involved in solo sealhunting. No satisfactory reasoning from such disparate ideas have been reached...
seal, northern fur seal, and Cape fur seal, suffered dramatic declines and are still recovering. Currently, most species are protected, and hunting is...
the ban was upheld. Sealhunting occurs in various parts of the world for commercial, subsistence and cultural reasons. Sealhunting is also carried out...
banned the offshore commercial hunting of whitecoats and bluebacks on December 30, 1987. Grey seal Harp sealSealhunting Tore Haug; Kjell Tormod Nilssen;...
920/sq mi). Brandal was historically known as the home of seal hunters, which had annual hunting trips to the White Sea from 1898 until 1939, and to West...
distinguish them from their cousin, the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). The monk seal's physique is ideal for hunting its prey: fish, lobster, octopus and squid...
The ringed seal (Pusa hispida) is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater...
seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was...
island. It is a major breeding ground of harp seal and hooded seal that has been used for sealhunting for more than 200 years. The International Hydrographic...
brown fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. The brown...
The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean...
after King George III. Through its history, it served as a whaling and sealhunting base, with intermittent population scattered in several whaling bases...
Pangnirtung, where sealhunting is essential for survival, the film follows Peter and other Inuit to Europe in an effort to have the EU Ban on Seal Products overturned...
indigenous to North America and Greenland, argue that banning both seal products and sealhunting is detrimental to their way of life and the Inuit culture. Further...
Congress, Ryan traveled to Newfoundland to investigate the practice of sealhunting. He was also known for his vocal criticism of the lack of congressional...
Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly...
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