[LINK] "Commercial seal hunt off Canada's East Coast one of the worst on record"

[rfmcdonald]

"Good" is my response to news that the seal hunt went badly. Leaving aside the bad science suggesting that seal predation is a significant factor behind the cod fisheries and the questionable ethics of Canadian government promoting dangerous crawls about the ice as an economically viable seasonal career, there's a grim humour to watching one element of the Canadian government pursue the European Union for its ban on seal product imports even as the rest of the government tries to complete a free trade deal with the European Union.

As the annual East Coast seal hunt draws to a close, federal officials have confirmed this season was one of the worst since the early 1990s, when the industry struggled to recover from a European ban on white pelts from young harp seals.

The total number of harp seals killed in the 2011 commercial slaughter was about 38,000 — less than 10 per cent of the allowable catch, set at 400,000.

The industry's latest slump is the result of a shrinking world market and poor ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the north coast of Newfoundland, where harp seal mothers need large ice pans to give birth to their young.

Last year, the European Union's 27 member states banned importing most seal products, a move that has depressed pelt prices to between $20 and $30 — barely enough for seal hunters to cover the cost of fuel and insurance for their small boats.

The use of large offshore boats was banned in 1987, the same year the federal government banned the killing of whitecoats. The United States banned importing seal products in 1972.

Last week, the Canadian government said it will move ahead with its bid to challenge the latest European ban through the World Trade Organization, even though Ottawa is also trying to secure a free trade deal with the EU.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution last week suggesting the WTO challenge should be dropped before the free trade talks move ahead. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he hopes to complete negotiations by 2012.