Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Existing Protection or Other Status Designations

P. v. mellonae was listed as Special Concern by COSEWIC in April, 1996 (Smith 1997), and P. v. concolor was listed as Indeterminate in April 1999 (Baird 2001). This former COSEWIC Indeterminate status is now called Data Deficient. NatureServe ranks P. v. mellonae as rank-N “imperiled” in Canada and rank-S “critically imperiled” in Québec (N2S1), and P. v. concolor as “not ranked” (NatureServe 2006).

The management of marine mammals in Canada is regulated by the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has set no allowable hunting season for harbour seals on the Atlantic Coast, and would have to issue a permit to allow legal killing of these animals (Anonymous 2003). Some haul-out sites are protected from development as part of either provincial or federal protected areas.

In the Arctic, the hunting of harbour seals is not managed at this time by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (Calder 2005). Hunting of harbour seals is not permitted north of 55th parallel in Québec, but Québec does not have jurisdiction over James Bay, Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay. These waters fall under the jurisdiction of Nunavut, which has not placed any restrictions on hunting.

Freshwater seals north of the 55th parallel are reserved for the exclusive use of the Crees, the Inuit and the Naskapis under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement.

Based on a 1996 assessment, Phoca vitulina mellonae is currently listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as being "data deficient" (Seal Specialist Group 1996). The government of Québec has listed the population as "susceptible to designation as threatened or vulnerable" (Québec 2003) and has, in the past, considered giving legal protection to a portion of P. v. mellonae's habitat (Dubreuil 1983; Québec 1992).

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