ST. JOHN'S, N.L. (CP) - Despite fierce clashes between sealers and protesters and humanitarian appeals from high-profile celebrities, this year's East Coast seal hunt is expected to be the most lucrative ever, federal Fisheries officials say.

The landed value of the spring hunt is expected to range between $25 million and $30 million, said Phil Jenkins, a spokesman with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That would nearly double last year's landed value of $16.5 million.

"It's probably mostly reflected in the increased price of pelts," Jenkins said Wednesday in an interview from Ottawa.

Pelts fetched record prices this year, with buyers paying up to $105 a pelt, compared to $40 to $70 last year, he said.

The department is still compiling a final tally, but federal estimates show that 327,000 seals were killed - slightly above the commercial quota of 325,000.

Those figures could change before a final report is issued in several months, Jenkins said, adding that next year's total allowable catch would be reduced if a final tally shows the hunt exceeded this year's quota.

A mild winter, which reduced spring ice cover on the Gulf of St. Lawrence by as much as 50 per cent, was a boon to sealers because it allowed them to get closer to the pups, said Roger Simon, area manager for the Fisheries Department in Iles de la Madeleine, Que.

Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society of the United States downplayed federal estimates showing a record-breaking year for the industry.

"This is something that they've said every year over the past few years, that it's the most lucrative on record, that skin prices are hitting record highs," said Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for the organization.

"The problem I have is that there's never any proof provided of that. There's never any published price lists from the processing companies."

Contrary to claims that demand for seal pelts is booming, markets in Europe are shutting down, Aldworth added.

This year's seal hunt was one of the most turbulent in decades. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney made a highly publicized visit to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, calling for an end to the slaughter of young seals, and Brigitte Bardot re-emerged as a voice against the hunt.

Out on the ice, the presence of protesters was beyond toleration for some sealers who resorted to flinging seal guts at observers and, in several cases, attempting to ram the small, inflatable vessels used by protesters and news reporters.

Five animal-rights activists were accused of violating their observer permits by getting too close to a sealing vessel in the gulf, but they were never charged with any offences.

Federal officials have said they will review the rules governing the annual hunt, indicating there could be new restrictions placed on hunt observers.

Much of the demand for seal pelts is coming from Russia and China, Simon said.

More than 6,000 Atlantic Canadians were actively involved in the hunt.