... the anthropological record is that consumption of seals was limited. Mostly some parts of the seal were used to make air floats etc. There was much more nutritious foods that required far less effort to harvest.
Oddly enough, I was in a very recent meeting wherein this very subject was being discussed. Several Island Bands, and a couple on the adjacent mainland, were noting studies that had been conducted focusing on their people's historic use of seals & sea lions. In two of the Island Band cases, middens and other related evidence strongly pointed to the fact that at certain times of the year, an average family would utilize up to 3 or 4 seals per month. That created more than a little interest among those present, and several unrelated Bands are now gearing up investigations of their own into this very matter. I would suspect that within a reasonable time period, we may well have a few answers to this question in hand...
There is close to zero interest in the FN community to have seals back into their diet.
In that same meeting, there was quite the discussion of the health benefits etc of consuming marine mammals. And from what I saw, there was and is considerable interest in at least trying this out. Several Bands noted they were reaching out to Inuit peoples to determine the appropriate methods from dispatch to table-fare.
Saying seals have just appeared in the rivers these past few years doesn't match the facts.
Perhaps not, but certainly the explosion in numbers has been documented.
For simply harbor seals alone, their population went from around 10,000 in the early '70's, to in excess of 105,000 by 2008, and has not shown any indication of slowing down since.
Re: POPULATION ASSESSMENT: PACIFIC HARBOUR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA RICHARDSI) DFO 2011
Post the NOAH references.
Seals consume approximately 40% of juvenile chinook and 47 % of the coho production in the Georgia Strait every year.
https://marinesurvivalproject.com/research_activity/list/predation/Seals consume 6 times the catch by commercial and recreational fishermen.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0203#.W0ZQIMInbcsThere is no single cause of the decline in Chinook stock, a comprehensive plan to protect our salmon stocks must include the discussion of the control of the seal population.Harbor Seal diet in northern Puget Sound: implications for the recovery of depressed fish stock.
M. Lance, Monique & Chang, WY & Jeffries, Steven & Pearson, Scott & Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro. (2012). Harbor seal diet in northern Puget Sound: Implications for the recovery of depressed fish stocks. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 464. 257-271. 10.3354/meps09880.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14984-8While only the latter two suggest that direct management of seals should be considered in protecting / enhancing salmon populations, others do brush up against the subject:
"As more protected species respond positively to recovery efforts, managers should attempt to evaluate tradeoffs between these recovery efforts and the unintended ecosystem consequences of predation and competition on other protected species."http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0203#.W0ZQIMInbcsI actually don't think a heavy handed widespread cull as you termed it is required. Rather the case can and is being made for a focused control of certain individuals and groups of seals / sea lions that are having the greatest impact on salmon populations.Not so much a "
shotgun effect" as more of a "
surgical strike" kind of approach.
Saying that, I honestly believe that controlling some of the seal population is the only short term action that will have immediate results, and it is an action that is going to have to be taken to save the southern orcas from extinction over the long term. Such a program would be FAR more effective than closing off access to marine areas where these whales do not even frequent.
Obviously components relating to habitat mitigation / enhancement and population augmentation would necessarily have to go hand in hand with any such program.
Cheers,
Nog