Value of province's seal hunt drops by $19 million (Feb. 25, 2008)
The Western Star

The Western Star
ST. JOHN'S

Fisheries Minister Tom Rideaout says the province's seal hunt saw a $19-million decline in the landed value of last year's catch compared with the year before.

Rideout says a return to normal prices and ice conditions are to blame for the landed value dropping from a record high of $30 million in 2006 to $11 million in 2007.

Rideout stresses that anti-sealing campaigns from animal rights groups had nothing to do with the drop.

Instead, he says prices for seal products like pelts returned to normal levels after skyrocketing in 2006.

Also, conditions on the province's northeast coast - where a number of vessels were trapped in thick ice for days - also affected the work of sealers.