Above: Photo Credit: Canadian Seal Products
While the Canadian federal government has recently shown support for Canada’s sealing industry, stakeholders say that many legislative roadblocks still stand in the way of bringing Canadian seal products into the mainstream.
Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, has recently shown some support for Canada’s sealing industry. As of January 9, for example, provinces across the Maritimes are now eligible for personal use sealing permits. Before January 9, only Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec residents were eligible for personal sealing permits.
The commercial trade of Canadian seals, however, has been hindered by trade embargos on seal products from both the United States and the European Union, which stand as two of Canada’s largest trading partners. According to Doug Chiasson, the executive director at the Fur Institute of Canada, would-be consumers of seal products exist in these closed-off markets that would buy Canadian seal products if they could.
“We absolutely want to get access to these markets where we’re currently kept out of because of these politically motivated bans that are in some cases 50 years old, in the case of the U.S. and a bit more recent in the case of the European Union. But we hear from folks in those markets quite regularly,” said Chiasson. “Unfortunately, we have to turn sales away.”
Chiasson said that the first step in accessing these markets is for Canadian politicians to drum up the political willpower to begin a dialogue with closed markets like the U.S. and the E.U.
“What we would certainly like to see the government of Canada be more forceful on is to actually have the conversation,” said Chiasson. “It’s been a long time since we’ve even broached some of these conversations with the Americans.”
The situation, according to Chiasson and his associates, has become more dire in recent years. In Atlantic Canada alone, the seal population sits at approximately 12 million animals. These 12 million seals, according to estimates, consume upwards of 13 million metric tonnes of fish every year.
“There really is only one solution, and that is lethal removal. From our perspective as an organization, we think the most respectful way to do that is to increase the commercial harvest of these animals,” said Chiasson.
Bill Penney serves as the marketing lead for Waspu Oil, an omega-3 oil brand owned by Mi’kmaq Commercial Fisheries. For him, one of the best ways to change the hearts and minds of politicians and consumers alike is to showcase the benefits of seal products.
“We can agree on the facts. The facts are seals are not endangered,” said Penney. “There are customers all around the world that are looking for products. Seal can generate so many different products; anywhere from leather to fur products, which are completely eco-friendly.”
Penney said that one of the best-selling points for consumers worldwide is omega-3 seal oil. Seal oil, according to advocates like Penney, is rich in the fatty acid DPA, unlike fish oils which only contain EPA and DHA. Seal oil is reportedly one of the only commercially available sources of DPA fatty acids.
“There’s so many great things in seal oil for athletes that we’re getting a great response, especially in CrossFit and people that really push themselves like long-distance runners,” said Penney. “In the U.S., that’s who’s trying to buy products from us — athletes. A lot of them are shipping it to friends in Canada and then having them re-ship it. We just can’t legally sell it.”
Beyond the benefits of seal products, Penney said that both consumers and governments should take notice of the economic benefit the seal harvest has on certain Indigenous communities.
“This will bring a lot of economic activity to these small communities, and that’s super important,” said Penney. “Part of reconciliation, as well, which is something I didn’t know much about until I got involved — a big component of that is economic reconciliation.”
While many large, sweeping changes could be spearheaded by the Canadian government, Chiasson said there are also many small but meaningful government decisions that could continue to support the Canadian seal harvest.
First, he pointed to the continued funding of Canadian Seal Products, which is a government-funded national and international campaign to raise awareness of seal products. The government funding of Canadian Seal Products is set to cease on March 31, 2024, which Chiasson has pushed to see renewed.
“As we were in Ottawa, that was certainly something that we discussed at length with a number of MPs and ministers is the need for us to continue to be able to represent a united front for the Canadian seal industry, both at home and abroad,” said Chiasson.
Besides continued funding of the Canadian Seal Products campaign, Chiasson said that the Canadian government needs to go to bat for sealers in the European Parliament. The European Union is currently launching an evaluation of two pieces of legislation — the 1983 Seal Pups Directive and the 2009 Trade in Seal Products Basic Regulation. The 1983 regulation outlines measures on how EU countries can ensure that skins and other products derived from harp and hooded seal pups are not imported to EU countries. The 2009 regulation is a general ban on placing seal products in the EU market in response to animal welfare concerns.
“Those regulations have been woefully inadequate and in many cases, have vastly exceeded the intended impacts on the Canadian seal industry and have had a severe negative impact on rural, remote and coastal communities — particularly Indigenous communities,” said Chiasson.
“So, we’re looking for the federal government to intervene directly in that evaluation and not leave it to industry and to Indigenous partners and Indigenous nations to try to respond to this deeply bureaucratic process that the commission is putting on.”
Sealing advocates like Chiasson and Penney have certainly heard the conversation around seals take a positive turn in recent years, but now they are looking for more than just words from their government.
“We’re certainly encouraged by what the minister is saying, but now we’re certainly interested in what the minister is doing and can do,” said Chiasson.
