Personal-use licences for seal hunting will be made available in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick this year as part of a federal pilot project.
Until now, only hunters in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec could apply for such licences in Eastern Canada.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada will grant an unspecified number of 2024 personal-use licences to hunt grey and harp seals, two species whose numbers fall into a “healthy zone,” according to the federal department.
Each licence will let the holder harvest up to six harp and/or grey seals, DFO said in a news release Tuesday.
“The seal harvest is of great importance and value to many communities, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, as it meets fundamental needs such as food, culture, warmth and economic independence,” federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier was quoted as saying in the news release.
“It is essential to emphasize that this harvest is strictly regulated and monitored,” the statement said.
Hunters will be required to participate in “humane harvesting information sessions.”
DFO’s most recent population estimate for harp seals dates back to 2019, when it stood at 4.7 million seals. Its most recent estimate for grey seals was 366,400, in 2021.
CBC News requested interviews from both the federal department and the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association but nobody was made available.
Harp and grey seals are two of the four kinds of seals that spend at least part of the year in the waters around P.E.I. The others are harbour and hooded seals.
Grey seals can be found near the Island year-round, while harp seals come to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the early spring to give birth on ice floes — or on shore if ice conditions are not suitable.
