Conservatives promise to bring back seal harvest to restore balance to our ocean ecosystem and protect harvesters and Indigenous jobs, our environment and way of life.
Fleur de Lys, NL – Today, Clifford Small, Conservative candidate for Central Newfoundland, announced that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Government will restore the seal harvest to protect harvesters’ jobs, and take back control of the seal and sea lion population that is destroying our fish stocks.
The seal harvest has long been a way of life in Newfoundland. It is an important tradition for both Indigenous and local communities across the province, and beyond. But the Carney-Trudeau Liberals, encouraged by eco-zealots, have tried to end the seal harvest and this traditional way of life.
And, as a result, the Carney-Trudeau Government has allowed the seal and sea lion population to spiral out of control. They refused to listen to workers and limited the seal harvest with disastrous results. Canada’s fish stock has now been dramatically reduced, putting thousands of powerful paycheques at risk.
“Workers deserve a government that will stand up for Canada’s fishing industry, and protect our way of life,” said Clifford Small. “While the Carney-Trudeau Government refused to listen and allowed seals to destroy workers’ livelihoods, Conservatives will restore the seal harvest, protecting the fish stock and bringing home powerful paycheques for our harvesters.”
Over the past ten years, the Carney-Trudeau Government have lost control of seal management and tried to end the seal harvest. They did this, even though there is clear evidence that unchecked populations of seals, sea lions, and walruses are a leading cause of fish stock depletion. The Liberals know that grey seals alone eat 20,000 tonnes of Cod annually in some areas of the North Atlantic. That is more than the entire regulated Cod fishery this year. And Canada’s unmanaged seal population eats millions of tonnes of other fish species per year, costing harvesters and processors billions.
In 2022, the Carney-Trudeau Liberals voted against a Common Sense Conservative Bill C-251 that would have taken action on seal overpopulation. And then, a year later, they ignored the warnings of Morley Knight, the former Assistant Deputy Minister at Fisheries and Oceans, who said “the consumption by seals is more than 20 times the total of all our commercial fisheries.” But the Liberals didn’t care.
“Our Conservative government will always stand with our harvesters and Indigenous peoples to protect our jobs, our environment, and our way of life,” said Small. “Our plan will manage the seal population, restore our fish stock and bring home powerful paycheques for our people.”
You can watch Clifford Small’s announcement here.