Press release - March 9, 2005
Greenpeace today released a report demonstrating that the science presented by the Canadian Government to justify its commercial seal hunt is inaccurate, incomplete and out of date. It concludes that the only sustainable and scientifically justifiable course of action must be to suspend the commercial hunt immediately.
The Canadian Government's three-year Atlantic Seal Hunt
Management Plan (for the period 2003-2005) allows the largest
commercial hunt of harp seals since total allowable catches (TACs)
were first introduced in 1971. Even if management conditions are
strictly adhered to, the hunt is expected to result in substantial
reductions in harp seal populations over time.
"It is irresponsible and scientifically unjustifiable of the
Canadian Government to allow the killing of nearly a million seals
when their own scientists are unable to accurately substantiate the
size of the herd, the actual number of seals taken in the hunt or
the impact of external pressures like climate change on the health
of the population," said Mhairi Dunlop from Greenpeace
International. "The Canadian Government has a long history of
mismanaging marine ecosystems, yielding to the short-term interests
of the fishing and sealing industries at great cost to jobs and
marine life."
The report, "Canadian Seal Hunt: No Management and No Plan",
provides an historical and ecological background against which the
scientific justifiability and ecological sustainability of the
current and proposed future Canadian harp seal hunts can be
evaluated. In particular, it documents the diversity of threats
facing seal populations, including the commercial hunt itself, and
discusses the known and perceived interactions of harp seals with
other components of the ecosystem and with commercial
fisheries.
Among the report findings are:
- Failure to accurately reflect the actual number of seals
killed in the hunt rendering the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
(DFO) quota figures scientifically indefensible. The TAC or quota
for harp seals in 2003-2005 is 975,000 but this figure does not
take into account seals that are 'struck and lost': illegally
hunted, killed and discarded due to pelt damage and those killed
for their organs and therefore not included in the pelt count.
- Population projections are based on assumptions that
environmental and biological factors remain unchanged over the
short and long term, a premise that is highly questionable in light
of the escalating impact of climate change on the oceans and ice
conditions.
- Quotas are based on a seal census conducted at five year
intervals. Because the hunt focuses on seal pups (nearly 95% will
be over 14 days old but under one year old) that do not reach
breeding age for five years, impacts on the herd can take as many
as 10 years to show up and 15 years to establish any meaningful
trends. This renders DFO conservation milestones and monitoring
virtually meaningless.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans claim a "precautionary
approach" to marine protection is a key principle of their
management model. If they are true to their principles they will
stop the hunt in light of this report.
VVPR info: The report written by Dr Paul Johnston and Dr David Santillo, scientists at the Greenpeace laboratories at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, is available on http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/press/