Solution to grey seal problem twofold

Provincial fisheries minister Ron Chisholm asked Ottawa recently to urge the European Parliament to reject a proposed ban on the import of seal products. He also wants the federal government to increase the grey seal quota.

There is a quota of 12,000 for the Maritimes region, but in the past, hundreds rather than thousands of seals have been harvested.

Sealers must be assistant sealers for two years before becoming professional and the biggest problem they face is access to the seals.

Society spokesperson Denny Morrow says a promise made to him by federal fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn earlier this year hasn’t been kept.

“He was here in early spring and committed to me during a meeting that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans would be looking to make changes in how Nova Scotia seal hunters could be licensed to make it easier for new hunters to get licenses. Since that commitment, I’ve heard nothing from Ottawa,” he said.

However Morrow is pleased about Chisholm’s initiative.

“It’s a big step forward to have the Department of Fisheries doing this. I give the minister full credit for speaking out publicly in the media about the need to reduce the grey seal numbers and the need to do it on Sable Island. We do need the higher quota and we do need access to Sable Island. That’s where the big herd is at and where it’s concentrated,” he said.

A continuing problem faced by those concerned about the impact of an estimated 300,000 grey seals on the fishery is that Department of Fisheries and Oceans seal scientists continue to say they are unsure about the impact of grey seals on fish stocks says Morrow.

“As long as they say that publicly it’s very difficult to gain acceptance from the general public around the world about the need to reduce the numbers. The scientists continue to ignore the impact of parasites in fish that come from grey seals that we know are killing the fish. We have fishermen who are observing spawning fish being chased off spawning grounds by large number of grey seals,” he said.

Morrow added that in the United Kingdom grey seals have been scientifically observed eating large amounts of herring, cod and haddock.

“They are opportunistic feeders, whatever is most abundant in the area and serves their nutritional requirements, gets eaten,” he said.