What are the Total Allowable Catches (TAC)?
Commercial quotas: The management measures for 2006-2010 set out the TAC for that period and are revised to allow for changes on an annual basis. The harp seal TAC for 2008 was 275,000. The TACs for previous years were: • 335,000 in 2006 • 270,000 in 2007 The hooded seal TAC for 2008 was 8,200. The TACs for previous years were: • 10,000 in 2006 • 8,200 in 2007 The grey seal TAC for 2008 was 12,000 (2,000 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and 10,000 on the Scotian Shelf). The TAC for 2007 was also 12,000. Since 2007, a small commercial grey seal hunt has taken place on Hay Island in Nova Scotia. Personal quotas: Since 1995, residents adjacent to sealing areas throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec have been allowed to hunt up to six seals for their own use. Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal coastal residents who reside north of 53°N latitude can continue to hunt seals for subsistence purposes without a licence. Seals have been hunted for food, fuel, shelter, fur and other product
