In reading the "study" the words estimated and inferred were used dozens of times. Small sample size from only 4 locations. Not likely to move the needle for any meaningful pinneped management changes.
I wouldn't be so quick to discount the science. There are a lot of other peer reviewed studies that support the methodology employed. Also consider the list of authors - all experts in this field. This study also supports many of the recommendations flowing from the FOPO
https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/FOPO/report-12/page-120#32
CONCLUSION
Summarizing the Committee’s findings based on testimony heard and recommendations offered, members generally concluded that a way forward should focus on developing domestic and international markets for ethically and humanely harvested pinniped products.
Reflecting testimony presented in the sections of this report on an increased seal harvest, on infrastructure for pinniped harvests and on the barriers to the sale of pinniped products, our recommendations are that:
Recommendation 1
A pinniped harvest continue to be ethical, humane, sustainable, regionally specific and economically beneficial, bolstered by a certification and membership program that reflects these values and backed by severe penalties for non-compliance.
Recommendation 2
All applicable federal government departments work with provincial governments to promote maximum utilization of the harvested resource through processing and supply chain alignment.
Recommendation 3
DFO review and, as needed, update its funding mechanisms, such as the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, and pursue opportunities to work with funding partners to support capacity building in Canada’s sealing industry.
Recommendation 4
An all-of-government program be rapidly implemented by Canada for the national and international promotion of the ethical, humane and sustainable seal hunt to restore the reputation of Canadian sealers and to remove international trade and public perception barriers to harvests of pinniped resources.
Recommendation 5
In light of the economic and cultural harms on Indigenous peoples as a result of misinformation campaigns around pinniped harvesting and the resulting ban of the EU importation of Canadian pinniped products, that all possible measures are taken by the Government of Canada to re-establish international markets as a means of economic and cultural reconciliation.
Recommendation 6
Federal and provincial governments collaborate on enabling practical sealing rules and regulations that allow ease of entry for harvesters, harvesting and processing infrastructure, insurance coverage for vessels and promotional campaigns to ensure a sustainable industry.
Recommendation 7
Programs be launched to promote pinniped products (food, fur products, nutrition supplements, etc.) to Canadians and to international markets with a special focus on the benefits of such products in Canada’s foreign aid initiatives.
Recommendation 8
Deliver programming that promotes the generational transfer of pinniped harvesting skills and skills development for professional harvesters.
Science at Fisheries and Oceans Canada
The Committee’s findings further concluded that changes to DFO science are necessary to better understand the interrelationships of marine species and the impact of pinnipeds on the overall balance between them. The Committee supports the findings of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Atlantic Seal Science Task Team report of April 2022 that concluded that seal populations must be included in the effective management of ocean ecosystems. Improvements to the management regime are necessary to understand the health of marine species, identify factors leading to species being at risk, and rebuild species to a state of abundance necessary to maintain a sustainable population and balance in the ocean ecosystem as well as permit economically viable and responsible harvests to take place.
On March 9, 2023, the Committee’s 8th report of the 44th Parliament,
Science at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, was tabled in the House of Commons. This report detailed what the Committee found to be deficiencies in the way the DFO collects, assesses, and reports data on the health of ocean species. Similar concerns emerged in this study, as outlined in the sections of this report on scientific information on pinnipeds and knowledge gaps, leading to recommendations that:
Recommendation 9
The DFO acknowledge and act on concerns of stakeholders, scientists, harvesters and Indigenous bodies that the population of most pinnipeds have expanded to points of imbalance in certain regions, with negative impacts on fisheries and livelihoods.
Recommendation 10
The Government of Canada prioritize the timely collection and the timely, consistent and public reporting of regionally specific scientific data on pinniped populations, the predator-prey relationship between pinnipeds and other species, seasonal variations in pinniped range and diets, and the impact of climate change on pinniped populations including breeding and feeding habits and habitats.
Recommendation 11
The collection and assessment of scientific data and the resulting fisheries management decisions be informed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers’ local knowledge and observations.
Recommendation 12
The Government of Canada recognize the increased costs of research in the Arctic and take necessary steps to provide the resources needed for comprehensive data collection, including the mobilization of communities in that effort.
Management
During the hearings, the Committee heard testimony questioning the DFO’s management of fisheries. Stakeholders perceive that DFO’s main management strategy is to control fishing effort as a way to preserve fish stocks rather than address environmental, habitat or predation factors. While DFO purports to manage fisheries with an ecosystem-based approach that should consistently identify natural predation such as that of pinnipeds, the department does not connect this approach to actions to manage pinnipeds or the conservation of other fish stocks. Reflecting testimony presented in the sections of this report on the impact of pinnipeds and on the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, Committee members have concluded that a more comprehensive and effective approach to fisheries management should also include the following recommended actions:
Recommendation 13
Given the complexity of marine food webs, DFO deliver their purported utilization of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries and pinniped management that includes consideration of predator-prey relationships and the interconnection between species.
Recommendation 14
Meaningful consultation with those ‘out on the water’ including fishers, pinniped harvesters, processors and holders of Indigenous traditional knowledge and coastal communities must be incorporated in the decision-making process for management measures.
Recommendation 15
Pinniped management must be agile and responsive to location-specific factors along each of Canada’s three coasts, including impact on the sustainability of prey populations and climate-change driven changes in migratory patterns, behaviours, and diet of predators and prey.
Recommendation 16
Taking steps to reduce pinniped predation of salmonid and other prey species made vulnerable at ‘pinch points’ in all Canadian waters including fish ladders, hatcheries and at the mouth of tributaries (especially where log booms are positioned) through consultation with companies and agencies responsible for them and, if necessary, through a targeted harvest of ‘specialist’ pinnipeds, building on the conservation success achieved in other jurisdictions such as Washington and Oregon States and Norway.
Recommendation 17
Consult with Canadian and American harvesters and Indigenous fishers on a bilateral strategy to address pinniped predation of fish stocks that provides the public with a clear, accurate picture of the impact of regional instances of pinniped overpopulation, measures to address this issue that are demonstrably ethical, humane and sustainable, do not draw US
Marine Mammal Protection Act sanctions and include a mechanism to evaluate results in terms of the overall health of monitored fish stocks.
This report’s objective is to draw the attention of DFO, relevant departments and the Canadian government to important observational and empirical evidence that the over-population of pinnipeds on Canada's three coasts is having a significant and damaging impact on the health and conservation of fish stocks and is creating an imbalance in our marine ecosystems. At the core of the recommendations offered is the Committee’s strong belief that measures to address this issue are urgently required. It is time to act.
