FFAW Launches Seal Research Initiative

The FFAW has launched a seal research initiative meant to further understand distribution and impacts.

The funds to conduct the survey comes from federal funding for several seal and sea lion research projects across Canada.

FFAW-Unifor’s project aims to document local changes in seal abundance, distribution and seasonality over a 20-40-year time period through the collection of current and historical seal observations by fish harvesters.

"Fish harvesters’ on-the-water observations can and will contribute to an improved understanding of seal species’ distribution, behaviour, and impacts to Newfoundland and Labrador marine environments. FFAW-Unifor is happy to launch our project that aims to document harvesters’ current on-the-water observations but will also, importantly, document harvesters’ knowledge of changing seal distributions and abundance over their fishing careers," explains Dr. Erin Carruthers, FFAW-Unifor Senior Fisheries Scientist who is leading the project.