Seal Hunt Quotas (Total Allowable Catch, TAC) and Official Numbers of Seals Killed Over the Years
Below are the harp seal hunt quotas (officially called "Total Allowable Catch," or TAC) and reported kills since 1952. (Quotas were instituted in 1971.) The actual kills do not include seals that were 'struck and lost' (i.e., injured by sealers but escaped, possibly dying later of their injuries, or just sunk and not retrieved). The Canadian government guesstimates that the number of struck and lost seals is about 5% of the seals landed.
This table is taken from the IFAW report Seals and Sealing 2009
| Year |
Quota (TAC) for harp seals |
Official number of harp seals killed |
| 2008 |
275,000 |
217,857 |
| 2009 |
280,000 |
74,581 |
| 2010 |
330,000 |
approx. 67,000 |
* Quota management was implemented in 1971.
** 2003-2005 TAC was for 975,000 seals, with a maximum of 350,000 in 2 of the 3 years.
Other seals:
Hooded seals:
| Year |
Quota (TAC) for hooded seals |
Official number of hooded seals killed |
| 2007 |
8,200 |
< 400 |
| 2008 |
8,200 |
< 400 |
| 2009 |
8,200 |
10 |
| 2010 |
8,200 |
|
Grey seals:
| Year |
Quota (TAC) for hooded seals |
Official number of hooded seals killed |
| 2007 |
12,000 |
887 |
| 2008 |
12,000 |
1,472 |
| 2009 |
50,000 |
254 |
| 2010 |
50,000 |
|
|
