Question Period Note: Seal Predation Science

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists are actively involved in research to better understand the role of seals and their impacts on fish stocks as a source of food.
• Many factors contribute to declines or lack of recovery in fish stocks, including changes in sea temperature, oxygen levels, ice cover, changes in species distribution and abundance within ecosystems, which combined, can potentially have an impact on the health of fish stocks.
• DFO is working with partners and is providing funding to Indigenous groups, industry, and academia for three seal science projects in eastern Canada and one sea lion project in western Canada. The projects are examining seal and sea lion diets, abundance, and distribution to help us better understand the role these species play in our aquatic ecosystems.

• Currently, DFO manages commercial harvests for grey, hooded, and harp seals in the Atlantic region. There are currently no commercial fisheries for seals or sea lions in the Pacific region.
• There is concern from the fishing industry on both the east and west coasts regarding the potential impacts of seal and sea lion predation on commercially valuable fish stocks. There are currently active DFO research projects in the Maritimes, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Pacific Regions to look at diet of key seal and/or sea lion species.
• The Department uses the best available scientific information to make appropriate seal related management decisions with the goal of sustaining healthy and productive aquatic ecosystems.
• The Atlantic Seal Science Task Team (ASSTT) was formed in 2019 to acquire input from the fishing industry and stakeholders on DFO’s Atlantic seal science activities and priorities. In 2022, the ASSTT released its report that recommended DFO address knowledge gaps in seal diet and their role in the ecosystem, involve industry in research, and better communicate with stakeholders.
• The Department hosted a Seal Summit in the fall of 2023 to engage scientists, the commercial fishing industry, Indigenous groups, provincial and territorial representatives, and stakeholders on market development solutions.
• In the context of the summit, DFO announced later in 2023, $643,900 in funding to industry and academia for three seal science projects in eastern Canada and to an Indigenous group for one sea lion project in western Canada. These four projects are the result of the open Request for Proposals the Department issued during the November 2022 Seal Summit .
• A Seal Summit Summary Report was produced that highlights the importance of stability, quality, supply, price, and development for export markets, as well as the need to focus on Canadian markets. It notes that messaging should focus on sustainability, full utilization of the animal, humane harvesting, Canadian products, and the benefits of seal Omega-3 that is not found in other oil supplements.
• The Department is working with harvesters to facilitate participation in the seal harvest provided that conservation and humane harvest principles are upheld.
• More recently, industry raised questions about Harp seal consumption at the December 2024 and January 2025 Atlantic Seal Advisory Committee meetings in the context of the new precautionary approach framework for Harp seal that is now based on the carrying capacity of the environment.

If pressed on species-specific impacts
• My department has demonstrated the negative impacts of grey seal predation on the recovery of some commercial fish stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• However, other research has largely found that seal predation is a less important factor in the recovery of fish stocks than environmental change in Newfoundland.
• In British Columbia, my Department is working with partners and conducting scientific research to evaluate the impact of seal and sea lion predation on fish stocks, including Pacific salmon.