Boycott all Products from Canada until the Seal hunt end forever

Boycott all Products from Canada includs Seal Pelts, canadian Seafood, Seal Oil(Omega3),Maple Syrup, canadian Tourism Boycott.

Efforts to Close Seal Pelt Markets The European Union passed a complete ban of seal product imports.
Beater harp seal pup

The EU passed the ban on seal imports on May 5th, 2009. EU member states are expected to implement the ban over the following few weeks. This legislation depressed seal pelt prices even before it passed as sealers and pelt buyers anticipated the decline in sales.

The European Union initially banned imports of pelts from whitecoat seal pups (pups under about 2 weeks of age, before the molting stage) in 1983. This contributed to the near-destruction of the sealing industry. However, the Canadian government and sealing industry soon exploited a loophole in this law.

The Canadian government soon banned the killing of whitecoats, requiring sealers to wait a few extra days and then kill the raggedy jacket (molting) or beater (fully molted) seal pups. After several years, the market for seal fur was restored.

Closing the markets to seal products is the best way to end the commercial seal hunt. With little hope of making money on seal pelts, sealers will not find much motivation for going out into the treacherous icy waters to find and kill seals. Unfortunately, seal pelts are sold around the world, including in Asia, where seal activism is weak. Consequently, the efforts to close the pelt markets in Europe will not completely eliminate commercial sealing. Nevertheless, the EU import ban will result in a much reduced seal slaughter.

A harp seal pup lies with its mother on an ice floe at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada in this March 2, 2006 file photo. Canada allowed over 325,000 young seals to be killed in 2006. (c) REUTERS/Paul Darrow

The United States banned imports of seal products as well as products from other marine mammals in 1972, with the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Mexico, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands enacted bans on seal product imports recently. (In the case of Mexico, this extended to all marine mammals and products from them.)

The Most Potent Strategy to End the Annual Seal Hunt in Canada

The Canadian seafood boycott was launched by Harpseals.org in late 2004, and joined by the Humane Society of the U.S. in 2005. Other organizations that are promoting the boycott include Animal Alliance of Canada .

 

 

North Atlantic Canadian salmon Why are We Boycotting Canadian Seafood?

The Canadian sealers are fishermen. Sealing is an off-season activity for them, a way to earn a few bucks before the start of the fishing season. Since seal fur and other seal products are illegal in the U.S (thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act), Americans can't boycott the seal pelts. But these fishermen sell their seafood to Americans. The Canadian seafood boycott allows us to pressure sealers to stop killing seals - or risk losing their main source of income.

Many seafood companies lobby for the seal slaughter. One of them (the Barry Group) owns the second largest seal skin processing company (Atlantic Marine Products) and therefore has a direct reason to support the seal hunt. Others still believe that they'll catch more fish if they kill off the seals. And those companies that don't actively lobby for the seal hunt either quietly support the massacres or are too timid to challenge government policies. This boycott will encourage all Canadian fishing companies to demand an end to the seal hunt.

Officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada have even said, in meetings with animal protection organizations, that the annual seal massacre will not end until the Canadian fishing industry wants it to end. We can put pressure on this industry by boycotting their products.

The Canadian seafood boycott in the U.S. is so powerful because Americans purchase about 70% of the seafood exports from Canada. That adds up to about CAN$3 billion. This is far more than the value of the seal hunt (about CAN$16 million from seal pelts). Just making a dent in the sales of Canadian seafood here in the U.S. will pressure the Canadian seafood industry to demand an end to the seal hunt.

Snow crab, a major Canadian seafood export What Seafood is Being Boycotted?

All Canadian seafood is being boycotted, but seafood from Atlantic Canada, where the seal hunt takes place, is a special focus. Below, we list common species caught by Canadian fishermen.

Please also consider avoiding all seafood as the best way to help the ocean ecosystems recover from decades of industrial-scale fishing that is jeopardizing the future of seals and all other marine mammals that depend on fish for their survival.

 

Common seafood from Atlantic Canada: Atlantic halibut Cod Cold-water shrimp (i.e., cocktail shrimp) Flounder (Plaice) Haddock Hake (Silver, White) Herring Lobster Mackerel Mussels Ocean perch Pollock Prawns Sardines Scallops Snow crab Sole Swordfish Tuna (Yellowfin, Bigeye, Bluefin) Turbot (Greenland halibut)

 

 

Common seafood from Pacific Canada: Alaskan pollock Canary rockfish Dungeness crab Geoduck clams Hard-shell clams Horse clams Lemon sole Lingcod Pacific cod Pacific hake Pacific halibut Pacific herring Pacific ocean perch Pacific oysters Pacific red snapper Pink cold-water shrimp Sablefish Salmon (Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, Sockeye) Silvergrey rockfish Rock sole

 

Flounder fillets from Canada, sold at Publix Supermarkets

Seafood sold in grocery stores should have Country of Origin Labels (according to COOL legislation in the U.S.), but there are exceptions to the law. Seafood that is pre-cooked and sold at the fresh fish counter (e.g., snow crabs and shrimp) does not have to be labeled. Neither does seafood that is part of a meal (e.g., linguini with shrimp or clam sauce).

Seafood sold in restaurants does not have to be labeled, but sometimes the menu indicates the country of origin (e.g., Prince Edward Island Mussels, from Prince Edward Island, Canada).

Prince Edward Island mussels

If any seafood you intend to purchase is not labeled with the country of origin, please ask the clerk, waiter, or manager or write to or call the manufacturer. Please also use our Action Cards to let the establishment know that their own patrons want them to join the Canadian seafood boycott.

 

 

Which Canadian Seafood Companies Export to the U.S.?
Brunswick canned fish are from Canada

Below is a list of many Canadian seafood exporters. This is not, however, a comprehensive list. Please avoid the seafood that these companies sell and let them know why you are boycotting them.

One of the largest fish Canadian processors is Independent Fish Harvesters, Inc., owned by a group of fishermen. This company, located in Brigus, Newfoundland, sells frozen cooked snow crabs mostly to the Carolinas, Florida, and the West Coast of the U.S. They sell to such distributors as Beaver Street (Jacksonville, FL), which markets snow crabs under the label "Sea Best," and World Catch (Seattle, WA), which sells snow crabs in 2 lb. boxes. They also sell to grocers such as Publix, which sell them under their own store brands. Sometimes they sell to Singleton, a subsidiary of ConAgra based in Florida.

Fishery Products International is a very large exporter of Canadian seafood.

Another large seafood processor is Fishery Products International, now owned by High Liner Foods. They sell cooked, frozen cold-water shrimp, sometimes breaded. They are sold frozen in 1, 2, or 5 lb. bags and labeled FPI. In addition to exporting to the U.S., they sell these shrimp in the U.K. at such stores as Marks and Spence.

Another company called Notre Dame Seafoods, Inc., located in Twillingate (tel. 709-884-1260) sells cold-water shrimp to a distributor with offices in Los Angeles and Seattle, Washington. Check for Notre Dame Seafoods or NDS on shrimp packages.

 

Canadian Seafood Exporters Acadian, Acadie, Ackermans, Adrice Cormier, Annapolis Basin, Apolo, Atlantic Mariculture, Atlantic Pearl, Atlantic Silver, Bacala Rico, Bay Shore, Beach Cliff, Blades, Belle Baie, Blue Royal, Botsford, Breakwater, Brunswick, Buena Ventura, Canadian Gold, Canadian Star, Cape Cod, Canadian Cove, Cape Cod, Captain Albert, Carapec, Century Seafoods, Chef Michaels's Flavours, Chef's Supreme, ChillSea, Classic (from Beothic), Clearwater, Crabterine, Cristobal, Crown Pac, Deep Sea, Deli Magic, Deli-Mare, Downeast, Doyle, E & N LeBlanc, E.J. Greene, Emerald, Fish Basket, Fisher Boy, Fisherman's Finest, Fisherman's Market, Fishery Products International (FPI), Floresta, Fogo Island, GEM, Gina Italian Village, Granadaisa, Green Gables mussels, Harbour View, Highliner Foods, IFP, Indian Bay Wild, Indian Point Mussels, Island Blue, Island Gold, Island Pride, Islandia, Jail Island salmon, J & J Fisheries, Kersen, La Cultivee, Linco & LaHave, Lobsterine, Locke, Luxury (from Beothic), M & M Fisheries, MacGregor, Malagash Oyster, Malagawatch Oysters, Malpeque Oysters, McGraw, Merex, Mersey Point, Morning Star Fisheries, Naturally Canadian, Northern Prawns, Northland, Notre Dame Seafoods, Nova Scotia Smoked Salmon, Nova Scotian, Novie Fresh, Ocean Choice, Ocean Elite, Oceanis, Ocean Leader, Ocean Pier, Ocean Queen, Ocean Select, Oram's Choice, Orion, Perle du Golfe, Pick O'Sea, Polar, Port Clyde, President's Choice, Quinlan, Quin-Sea, Royal Star, Sans Souci, Scotia Garden, Sea Best (from Beaver Street Co.), Seabreeze, Sea Bright, Seafreez, Sea Fresh, Seapro, Sea-licious, Sea Shell Cuisine, Shawmut, Shelly's Cuisine, Sky, Sogel, Solomon Grundy, St. Anthony, St. Mary's River, St. Paul's, St. Thomas, Star of the Sea, Sterling, Tatamagouche Bay Oyster, Terra Vista, Trawler, Trico, UMF, Wolfhead Smokers, World Catch, Vanna, Violet brand

 

Which Companies Sell Canadian Seafood in the U.S.?
Red Lobster buys a lot of Canadian seafood

Most supermarkets and many restaurants and fish markets sell Canadian seafood.

Red Lobster Restaurants (owned by the Darden Group, which also owns Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze, is one of the largest purchasers of Canadian Seafood in the world, making it a prime target of the seafood boycott. This company has been asked repeatedly to join the boycott but has steadfastly refused.

You can help pressure Red Lobster to join the boycott by

1. Distributing leaflets to patrons entering and exiting the restaurant. (Choose those restaurants that are located in shopping plazas to avoid being asked to leave.)

2. Organizing or participating in a demonstration at a Red Lobster restaurant. (Let us know about your demonstration so we can post it on the web site.)

3.Contacting Red Lobster to ask them to join the boycott.

4. Boycotting Red Lobster restaurants and encouraging your friends and relatives to join you in this boycott.

Most supermarkets sell Canadian seafood, but some have been more willing than others to participate (to some extent) in the Canadian seafood boycott. Some supermarkets have agreed to stop buying snow crab from Canada; others have agreed to avoid seafood from Atlantic Canada.

Publix has redefined the Canadian seafood boycott, as it continues to sell Canadian seafood.

Publix Supermarkets agreed to 'join' the boycott initially without eliminating any Canadian seafood. This chain of over 800 supermarkets in the southeast United States is the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the U.S. At this time, Publix says that it does not buy seafood from companies with any involvement in the seal hunt. However, Publix has never provided anything to substantiate this claim.

Harpseals.org believes that it is impossible to verify that the Canadian seafood that Publix buys has not been caught by fishermen involved in sealing. In addition, the boycott is designed to put pressure on the Canadian fishing industry as a whole. Boycotting just snow crabs is helpful, though not as helpful as boycotting all Canadian seafood. The way Publix is claiming to participate in the boycott offers no help at all. We urge seal activists to write to Publix, give our Action Cards to the store managers, and distribute these cards and leaflets to Publix patrons.

Gorton's has sourced their Grilled Salmon from Canada. Check the package for current country or origin.

Other supermarkets that have been very resistant to joining the boycott in any meaningful way are Albertsons and Kroger. Please keep putting pressure on these supermarkets, too, as well as any in your area that continue to sell Canadian seafood. Visit our letters section for automated emails to these and other Canadian seafood vendors.

 

 

 

Snow crab claws from Canada

 

Restaurants and Stores that Have Pledged to Boycott Canadian Seafood

Thousands of restaurants and stores have signed the pledge to boycott some or all Canadian seafood. To see the current list, click here.

 

 

Recruiting Stores and Restaurants to Join the Canadian Seafood Boycott

If you woud like to help recruit seafood vendors to the boycott of Canadian seafood, download our Boycott Recruitment Kit. This kit contains a guide, a pledge form, and several other documents that you can take as you present the case for the seals and the Canadian seafood boycott to restaurants, seafood distributors, and stores.

A simple way to help in this effort is to hand out the Harpseals.org Action Cards to managers, waiters, chefs, and others who make purchasing decisions at supermarkets, fish markets, and restaurants.

Canadian Tourism Boycott
Sealer clubbing seals By boycotting tourism to Canada, especially to Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands of Quebec, seal hunt opponents can pressure sealers and their supporters to change their stance on the seal hunt.

Some organizations are fighting to end the seal hunt by encouraging a boycott of all tourism to Canada. Harpseals.org supports these efforts but wishes to focus on tourism to the sealing provinces and regions. These are the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, from which most sealers hail, and the Magdalen Islands of Quebec. Prince Edward Island is home to a few sealers, too. In Nova Scotia, a smaller seal hunt takes place, the grey seal hunt, perpetrated by Nova Scotia fishermen/sealers.

We encourage those who oppose the seal hunt to let the Canadian government, Canadian tourist agencies, and operators of tourist establishments in Canada know that you are boycotting Canadian tourism until the seal hunt is banned permanently.

Visit our letters page for automated emails and contact information for several tourism boycott targets. Many additional automated emails are available from an anti-sealing Newfoundland tourism web site.

What About Harp Seal Tours?

Because there are few things more captivating than baby harp seals living in their natural environment, there are several companies that take people to the Canadian ice floes to observe these animals. These seal watch tours take people over the majestic ice fields of Canada by helicopter. They land on sturdy ice floes and are able to walk right up to the seal pups.

At this time, Harpseals.org encourages tourists to participate in the Canadian tourism boycott and boycott all seal tours. When the seal hunt is banned, we will encourage tourism to the (former) sealing provinces to replace the sealing revenue.

However, those who are considering participating in a seal tour should also know that some seal tour companies are merely fronts for the sealers and sealing communities themselves. They capitalize on the beauty and charm of the harp seal pups in February and early March and then kill these seals in late March and early April.

During the 2003 Sea Shepherd ice campaign, the crew undertook an investigation of various seal tour operations. When Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd approached a Travel Wild Expeditions harp seal tour group on March 9th, 2003, he found the tour guide wearing a wolf skin hat and was harshly questioned about why the Sea Shepherd crew had approached their group. Captain Watson then questioned two American tourists in the group. They were not aware of the escalation in the seal killing and told Capt. Watson that in the briefing they had received from their tour guides prior to coming to the ice, they were told that the seal populations needed to be reduced, and that the seals were responsible for the decline of the codfish populations and the destruction of the cod fishery. This is propaganda that the Canadian government used to spread but has stopped spreading due to contrary information from their own scientists.

Seal tours that are based in the Magdalen Islands of Quebec directly support a small community of sealers. Some even hire helicopter pilots who also work for sealers in spotting seals to kill. Natural Habitat Adventures was the original tour operation traveling to the seals. Travel Wild Expeditions was founded by Magdalen Islands residents who saw that seal tours were profitable and decided to set up a competing tour group. Although Natural Habitat Adventures is not a Magdalen Islands-based company, both companies base their tours out of the Magdalen Islands and therefore support sealers.

 

 

Seal Oil: The Other Seal Product
Seal oil capsules

Harp seals have a thick layer of blubber underneath their skin, which protects them from the freezing temperatures of the North Atlantic. The oil obtained from this blubber layer is sold in capsules as a nutrition supplement. The oil is reputed to taste bad, resulting in the fact that it is not sold for direct use in food (as flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, and chia seed oil are).

Atlantic Marine Products is a major purveyor of harp seal oil (along with pelts). This company is owned by the large seafood distributor, the Barry Group. One company that purchases Atlantic Marine Products' harp seal oil is Terra Nova Fishery Products, founded by Dr. Cosmas Ho, a Newfoundland researcher and entrepreneur. He can be emailed from here.

Another brand of seal oil capsules is Omega 3 Plus . Note: that neither company sells to the U.S. because all marine mammal products, including harp seal oil and pelts, are illegal in the U.S. thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Atlantic Marine Products produces a brochure that states, "Marine oil, derived from the North Atlantic Harp Seal, has been identified as a rich source of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids." Throughout the pamphlet, the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are touted, but nowhere does this company or the Omega 3 Plus company present proven advantages of harp seal oil over flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, or chia seed oil...and the latter oils taste good and come from plants!

What's more, all marine mammals now have high levels of mercury and other pollutants (from man-made pollution) in their bodies, mostly concentrated in the fatty tissue. This has resulted in high levels of mercury in the tissues of the Inuit people of Newfoundland, who consume seals, whales, and other marine mammals in their traditional diet. Nevertheless, the companies that sell harp seal oil do not mention the issue of contaminants in their products.

 

Save Seals by Boycotting Canadian Maple Syrup

 

Every year, the Canadian government allows sealers to beat, skin, and kill hundreds of thousands of baby seals for their fur. Many of these pups have their heads bashed in or are shot before they even get a chance to eat their first solid meal or learn how to swim. So what is an easy step that we can all take to help stop the Canadian seal slaughter?

You can help end Canada's annual war on seals by boycotting a product that is vital to the country's economy: maple syrup. Canada produces approximately 85 percent of the world's maple syrup, with the U.S. as its largest consumer, and by buying this Canadian product, you are supporting Canadian cruelty. By pledging to boycott Canadian maple syrup, you'll be speaking up for baby seals in Canada, for whom life isn't so sweet, and telling Canada that you won't support its product until you can support its practices.

Restaurants and grocery stores can also take part in this boycott.

While you're boycotting Canadian maple syrup to help save seals, you can still enjoy maple syrup from other countries. Try American maple syrup brands like Butternut Mountain, Reese, and NOW Foods%u2014share them with your friends and family too!

 Please support www.harpseals.org

Please sign the petition and share it with your Friends.

Thank you!