Newest statistics about the growth of The Humane Society of the United States' ProtectSeals campaign, along with recent trade data from the Government of Canada show Newfoundland's fishery has had staggering losses since the boycott went into effect in March 2005.

Trade data shows the 2007 value of exports to the U.S. from  the Newfoundland fishing and seafood preparation industries decreased by 44 percent compared to 2004, the last year prior to the boycott. For Canada as a whole, the value of exports to the U.S. from the fishing and seafood preparation industries decreased by 22 percent.

More than 550,000 individuals and 3,500 businesses have pledged to avoid some or all Canadian seafood until the commercial seal hunt is ended for good. The ProtectSeals seafood boycott is having a clear impact, and is providing a strong incentive for Canada's fishing industry to sever its ties with the cruel and needless seal slaughter.

Companies participating in the ProtectSeals seafood boycott are avoiding all snow crabs from Canada. Some are avoiding all seafood from sealing provinces, and some are avoiding all seafood from Canada. Newfoundland, Canada's main sealing province, is impacted by all of these actions.

Seal hunt advocates regularly attempt to blame fishing industry's woes on exchange rates and fuel costs. "All exports from Canada to the U.S. face the same exchange rate and fuel issues," Pat Ragan director of the ProtectSeals campaign points out. "In exactly the same economic conditions and time period that seafood exports have collapsed, exports from non-seafood industries in Newfoundland are up by a wide margin. The boycott – not the exchange rate – is specifically targeting seafood." 

ProtectSeals participants are making clear to Canada's fishing industry that there are certain practices that are simply inconsistent with responsible, humane marine stewardship and the commercial seal hunt is one of them.

Snow crabs have been a particular focus for many boycott participants because they account for half the landed value of the fishing industry in Newfoundland and are an important export item in other sealing provinces as well. Sealers are fishermen who earn on average less than 5 percent of their total income from killing seals and the rest from commercial fisheries such as snow crabs and shrimp. The boycott aims to give them an economic incentive to end the seal hunt.

Canadian international data show that since the ProtectSeals boycott went into effect in 2005, the value of Canadian exports of snow crabs has decreased by more than $465 million. This is a 32 percent decline in the value of snow crab exports compared to pre-boycott levels. In contrast, the landed value of the 2007 seal hunt was roughly $12 million.

"No matter how often hunt advocates try to dismiss the boycott, fishermen can clearly see it is having an impact," says Jim Chambers owner of Prime Seafood, supplier to hundreds of high-end restaurants. "They understand they have the power to end it. Calls for the buyout plan are increasing. Here's hoping they move quickly. I'd like nothing better than to buy seafood from a hunt-free Newfoundland."   

Some of the national corporations that have joined the campaign include Whole Foods Markets, WinCo Foods, Ted Turner's Ted's Montana Grill, Legal Sea Foods, Trader Joe's, Oceanaire Seafood Room, Bon Appétit Management Company, Earth Fare and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafes. 

This year's slaughter will begin in just a few weeks, with the 2008 harp seal quota set at 275,000.

Facts:

• Canadian government representatives stated in 2004 that the only environment in which the seal hunt could be ended is if Canada's fishing industry demands it.
• To provide an incentive for Canada's fishing industry to end the seal hunt, U.S. grocers, restaurants and seafood distributors are shifting their seafood purchasing away from Canada, in whole or in part, until the seal hunt ends for good. The HSUS has signed pledges from all boycott participants.
• Nearly two-thirds of Canadian seafood exports go to the United States, producing $2.5 billion annually for the Canadian economy.
• With nearly one million seals killed in the past three years, Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals.
• Veterinarians who have studied the seal hunt in recent years have concluded it results in "considerable and unacceptable suffering," noting sealers routinely violate regulations, and authorities are unable to effectively monitor the killing.
• Global warming is fast destroying the seals' ice habitat. In 2007, hundreds of thousands of seal pups died when the sea ice melted before they were old enough to survive in open water. The HSUS is calling on the Government of Canada to implement a sealing license buyout plan to compensate fishermen as the commercial seal hunt is closed.

For more information about the campaign to save the Canadian seals and to sign the boycott pledge, please visit humanesociety.org/protectseals.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.