Canada
Unscientific politically-motivated experimental grey seal cull
INTRODUCTION:
November, 12, 2012 - Senator Mac Harb, the lone voice of reason in Canadian Senate, is calling for action on behalf of imperiled grey seals:
Dear Friend,
The Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has recently begun a study that could result in the killing of 70,000 grey seals off Canada's East Coast.
The Fisheries Minister is pushing federal scientists to justify the slaughter of seals through contrived studies and one-sided hearings for political reasons. He has decided to ignore factors such as the impact of uncontrolled foreign overfishing in the waters off our coast and the total lack of scientific proof that seals are affecting the cod's recovery.
The committee is considering an irresponsible cull that could, in my view, have serious negative impact on the Atlantic ecosystem and the long term health of many species, including cod. This slaughter would also result in untold costs to taxpayers and to Canada's international reputation.
I have called on the committee to do due diligence and gather scientific evidence from all sides of this issue, not simply the studies that fit in with the unjustifiable goal of killing 70,000 seals. I urge you to write to the committee and its members who can be contacted through the Committee website http://senate-senat.ca/pofo-e.asp.
The government needs to know how Canadians and people around the world feel about this indefensible slaughter.
Sincerely,
Hon. Senator Mac Harb
Source
Plan to cull 70,000 grey seals
gets Senate panel's approval
Gulf of St. Lawrence plan makes no sense, Dalhousie biologist says
October 23, 2012
The Senate's fisheries committee has endorsed a contentious cull of 70,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over a four-year period, in a bid to conserve cod stocks.
The Senate's standing committee on fisheries and oceans began hearings last year to respond to a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat call for an experimental — and unprecedented — cull of grey seals.
On Tuesday the committee released a report that acknowledged "the ecological risks raised by some witnesses" but nevertheless supports "the logic of the proposed experimental reduction of grey seals in this area."
There were an estimated 104,000 of the animals living in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence as of 2010, the Senate committee said in a news release.
The report also recommends setting up a bounty system to compensate hunters, but it didn't say how much the bounty should be. There is no market for grey seal pelts.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) blames the seals for preventing cod stocks from recovering in the Gulf.
Acting fisheries minister Gail Shea is under pressure from the fishing industry to do something about the stalled cod recovery in the Gulf, where there's indirect scientific evidence suggesting hungry grey seals are to blame.
But critics say that plans for a cull have been driven by politics, not science.
A group of marine biologists at Dalhousie University in Halifax issued an open letter last fall that said a cull could produce unintended consequences, including further depletion of the cod.
The letter said the proposal couldn't be justified by existing scientific evidence and was biased because it focused only on the negative impact of grey seals.
Jeff Hutchings, a biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said that a cull of grey seals could not be expected to save cod.
"It's not a two-species ecosystem. It's a multi-species ecosystem," said Hutchings, who appeared before the Senate fisheries committee.
EU ban reduces seal marketHutchings said the available science does not support a cull.
"One cannot credibly predict from a science perspective whether a cull of grey seals would have a positive impact on cod or negative impact on cod … or no impact whatsoever," he said.
Grey seals represent only a small percentage of the annual seal hunt in Eastern Canada, with harp seals by far dominating the traditional market.
However, that market has collapsed in recent years, in the wake of a European Union ban against Canadian seal products.
The Senate committee isn't the first group of legislators to recommend a cull of grey seals. In May 2007, an all-party Commons committee recommended that Sable Island be opened up to a grey seal hunt, but that recommendation was ignored.
Although the Fisheries Department says seal hunters can kill up to 60,000 grey seals annually, only a few hundred have been killed since 2009.
Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers Association, said trying to turn a grey seal cull into a commercial venture could be a hard sell.
"The price would have to go up, because it would have to be worthwhile for sealers to go and harvest these animals in order to make it worthwhile for them to do so," he said.
Source: CBC Canada
The Senate's fisheries committee has endorsed a contentious cull of 70,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over a four-year period, in a bid to conserve cod stocks.
The Senate's standing committee on fisheries and oceans began hearings last year to respond to a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat call for an experimental — and unprecedented — cull of grey seals.
On Tuesday the committee released a report that acknowledged "the ecological risks raised by some witnesses" but nevertheless supports "the logic of the proposed experimental reduction of grey seals in this area."
There were an estimated 104,000 of the animals living in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence as of 2010, the Senate committee said in a news release.
The report also recommends setting up a bounty system to compensate hunters, but it didn't say how much the bounty should be. There is no market for grey seal pelts.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) blames the seals for preventing cod stocks from recovering in the Gulf.
Acting fisheries minister Gail Shea is under pressure from the fishing industry to do something about the stalled cod recovery in the Gulf, where there's indirect scientific evidence suggesting hungry grey seals are to blame.
But critics say that plans for a cull have been driven by politics, not science.
A group of marine biologists at Dalhousie University in Halifax issued an open letter last fall that said a cull could produce unintended consequences, including further depletion of the cod.
The letter said the proposal couldn't be justified by existing scientific evidence and was biased because it focused only on the negative impact of grey seals.
Jeff Hutchings, a biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said that a cull of grey seals could not be expected to save cod.
"It's not a two-species ecosystem. It's a multi-species ecosystem," said Hutchings, who appeared before the Senate fisheries committee.
EU ban reduces seal marketHutchings said the available science does not support a cull.
"One cannot credibly predict from a science perspective whether a cull of grey seals would have a positive impact on cod or negative impact on cod … or no impact whatsoever," he said.
Grey seals represent only a small percentage of the annual seal hunt in Eastern Canada, with harp seals by far dominating the traditional market.
However, that market has collapsed in recent years, in the wake of a European Union ban against Canadian seal products.
The Senate committee isn't the first group of legislators to recommend a cull of grey seals. In May 2007, an all-party Commons committee recommended that Sable Island be opened up to a grey seal hunt, but that recommendation was ignored.
Although the Fisheries Department says seal hunters can kill up to 60,000 grey seals annually, only a few hundred have been killed since 2009.
Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers Association, said trying to turn a grey seal cull into a commercial venture could be a hard sell.
"The price would have to go up, because it would have to be worthwhile for sealers to go and harvest these animals in order to make it worthwhile for them to do so," he said.
Source: CBC Canada
IFAW: Grey seal cull not supported by science
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct 23, 2012) - The Canadian Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans today released a report recommending a mass cull of 70,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St Lawrence, a recommendation the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) calls an unethical and risky gamble that is not supported by science.
"Seals are being used as a scapegoat to deflect attention from the very serious issues facing fisheries such as bycatch and overfishing" said Sheryl Fink, Director of IFAW''s Seal Program, "There has been absolutely no scientific evidence presented to date that would suggest culling seals will help in the recovery of cod or any other fish stock."
The Senate launched its study into the ''management'' of grey seals in October 2011 and over the course of its review heard strong testimony from several prominent and respected Canadian marine scientists, who warned that culling grey seals could have unexpected and unintended consequences, that culling grey seals to benefit cod recovery is not supported by the available science, and that there is nothing to suggest that cod stocks will benefit as a result.
A recent study co-authored by scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Dalhousie University examined cases of culling predators and found that where culls of marine mammals have been attempted, in almost all cases the removals had either unknown or no effects on fish stocks, even in cases where seal populations were reduced by 50-80%.
"A grey seal cull is a risky, unethical and costly way to make it appear like the Government of Canada is doing something for cod recovery," said Fink, "when the reality is that since the collapse of the cod fishery 20 years ago, the Government of Canada has done very little. In fact, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has allowed catches in the Southern Gulf of St Lawrence to exceed the scientific advice for this stock for most of the past decade."
In a nation-wide poll conducted by Environics research, 73% of Canadians said they were opposed to a government-funded cull of grey seals.* The estimated costs of a seal cull, which one Government commissioned report placed at $35 million, coupled with the repercussions to Canada''s international reputation, make the costs of a grey seal cull extremely high.
"A grey seal cull is nothing more than a short-term, knee-jerk response to appease the fishing industry that is based on emotion and the desire to win votes - not science. If the government implements a cull, Canada will undoubtedly be scorned once again on the international stage for its astounding lack of respect for science and the opinions of a majority of Canadian citizens."
*Canadians with an opinion
Notes to editors:
- IFAW has produced a report entitled "Grey Seals in Atlantic Canada: To cull or not to cull" and a short animated video (see below) called "Seals and Fisheries: Look below the surface" which gives an overview of the culling issue.
- Prominent Canadian scientists have presented testimony to the Senate Fisheries Committee and have warned of the risks and uncertainties associatedwith a grey seal cull, they include: Dr. Boris Worm, Marine Research Ecologist, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University; Dr. Sara Iverson, Professor, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University; Dr. Jeff Hutchings, Department of Biology at Dalhousie University and Chair of the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on Sustaining Canadian Marine Biodiversity, and others.
- A grey seal cull is likely to involve shooting seals in open water, a practice several veterinary panels have deemed to be unacceptable due to the high potential for seals being injured but not killed. If a cull involved herding and clubbing pups on coastal islands during the whelping period, there are additional animal welfare issues.
- The financial cost of implementing the various cull scenarios will be significant, with previous estimates between $15 and $35 million or more.
Source: IFAW
Take action
Send a letter to Canada's Senate
Please let Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans know that blaming seals is not the solution to the serious problems facing fisheries.
IFAW has prepared a template email for you to send. We encourage you to personalize this copy to make it more effective. Please ensure that you are polite at all times.
