Seal harvest in Iceland

In earlier times, harvesting seals was very important to landowners and could be a crucial survival factor through hard times. In general, people had a positive view towards seals and considered them a valuable resource. Meat and blubber (fat) were eaten and oil extracted from blubber was also used as lighting fuel. Pelts were processed and used for clothing and shoes.

For many years, seal fur was a valuable export commodity but the international commercial seal market plummeted around 1980 due to protests against seal harvesting in Canada, Russia and Norway and an import ban imposed by the European Union. During the next decade, the general public’s view in Iceland towards seals changed dramatically. Extensive hunting activity commenced, with the view to reduce seal numbers and hence damage to fishing gear, fish predation and nematode infections in cod and other harvested fish. These controversial measures, along with a number of seal-drownings in fishing nets, are thought to have contributed to the decline of seal numbers in Icelandic waters in recent decades. Changes in environmental conditions could also be important. Seal hunting is still permitted under certain circumstances, but the harvest has decreased. 

Nevertheless, seal populations still seem to be declining.