Personal Use Seal Harvesting
In Quebec, only people who have a permanent address in the Magdalen Islands, the North Shore, the Gaspé Peninsula or the Lower St. Lawrence are eligible to obtain a seal hunting licence for personal use.
Humane hunting training (three-step kill training) is required to obtain this licence. This training, offered by certified DFO instructors, can be taken at Exploramer (French only) or at the Intra-Québec Sealers Association.
Upon completion of the training, an application for a personal use seal licence must be submitted through the National Online Licensing System.
For more information on the eligibility criteria, please refer to the Seal licensing policy for eastern Canada.
For assistance, call 1-877-535-7307.
Regulations
The main regulations that license holders must follow are:
- It is not permitted to hunt harbour seals. It is only permitted to hunt harp seals and grey seals. Visit this page to be able to identify them.
- Seal hunting is done using a hakapik, club or firearm. (Section 28 of the Marine Mammal Regulations)
- It is practiced only during the day, from one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset.
- Hunters must check with their local office for the specific prohibited zones in their area and respect the municipal by-laws concerning the hunting distances to be respected (with firearms) near residential areas.
- It is forbidden to neglect or abandon an injured seal.
- No person shall, except under the authority of a seal fishery observation licence issued by the Minister, approach within one nautical mile of a person who is fishing for seals.
- No person shall disturb a marine mammal except when hunting marine mammals as authorized by these Regulations.
- Disturb includes to approach the marine mammal to, or to attempt to, feed it; swim with it or interact with it; move it or entice or cause it to move from the immediate vicinity in which it is found; separate it from members of its group or go between it and a calf; trap it or its group between a vessel and the shore or between a vessel and one or more other vessels; or tag or mark it.
For complete regulations, see the Marine Mammal Regulations.
Offences and Poaching
Fisheries and Oceans Canada whose mandate is to protect and conserve marine resources, strictly enforces the Fisheries Act and is ever vigilant in its efforts to prevent poaching of marine resources.
The Fisheries Act provides for fines of up to $100,000 for violations and the seizure of equipment used in the commission of the offence. Fish harvesters must comply with the regulations in force.
Contact Us
For more information, contact a Fisheries Officer at your local DFO office.