OTTAWA - The federal government has increased the quota for this year's East Coast seal hunt despite ice conditions that some fishermen say are the worst in years.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has set this year's total allowable catch for harp, hooded and grey seals at 388,200 -- up 50,000 from last year's total quota.
The higher quota is solely due to an increase of 50,000 harp seals.
The harp seal quota includes an allocation of 20,000 seals to support three projects proposed by the sealing industry that the department says aim to make the fullest possible use of the animals.
"Our government recognizes the importance of the sealing industry to the people and the economies of Canadian coastal communities," Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said in a statement Monday.
"Ongoing efforts are made to ensure our management decisions include the perspective of our scientists, as well as the input of Canadians in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the North who work and depend on the industry for their livelihood."
Shea said the population of harp seals is about 6.9 million, more than triple what it was in the 1970s.
As in the past, about 70 per cent of the quota is allocated to fishermen working in the waters northeast of Newfoundland and Labrador, while the Gulf of St. Lawrence receives the rest.
Some fishermen have said the ice conditions are so poor this year that they may not venture out to hunt.
