If you work in a restaurant or for a business that sells seafood, you are in wonderful position to help convince the Canadian government to end the cruel commercial seal hunt. A boycott of Canadian seafood*—even a boycott of only a few Canadian seafood imports—will send the message to fishermen from Canada's East Coast that it isn't in their financial interest to kill seals in their off season.
More than 90 percent of sealers are from Newfoundland. Even in that province, sealing income accounts for less than one percent of Newfoundland’s gross domestic product and only two percent of the landed value of Newfoundland’s fishery. Individual fishermen derive a small fraction of their total incomes from sealing—the rest comes from commercial fishing.
More than 75 percent of Canadian seafood is exported to the United States, producing $2.5 billion annually for the Canadian economy. This figure dwarfs the few million dollars generated from the seal hunt. It is the connection between commercial fisheries and sealing in Canada that gives seafood professionals and consumers the leverage needed to convince the Canadian government and individual fishermen to stop the slaughter of seals. Any of the following actions will help us put an end to Canada’s commercial seal hunt for good.
- Sign our pledge form. Choose not to sell Canadian seafood products until Canada's seal hunt has ended for good. For tips about how to boycott Canadian seafood download our pocket guide.
- Tell your colleagues. Speak with other American distributors of Canadian seafood as well as Canadian seafood suppliers. Let them know you choose not to sell Canadian seafood until the seal hunt has been stopped.
- Contact Canada's ministers of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Bernier, and International Trade, David Emerson, and ask them to help negotiate an end to the commercial seal hunt before Canada's fishing industry pays the price:
The Honorable Maxime Bernier
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-992-8053
Fax: 613-995-0687
-
The Honorable David Emerson
Minister of International Trade
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-943-0267
Fax: 613-943-0219
For more information or to schedule a meeting to discuss our ProtectSeals campaign, please contact Pat Ragan at pragan@hsus.org or 301-258-3141.
* The most common Canadian seafood exports are snow crab, cod, scallops, shrimp, haddock, herring, perch, lobster, mussels, yellow perch, sardines, flounder, tuna, whitefish, swordfish, oysters, sole, trout, and mackerel.
