Source: Statement by Dr David Lavigne at a hearing on "Multi Species Management", Fisheries Committee, European Parliament, October, 1995, Brussels. Transcript from tape.

Harp seal predation on cod enhancing cod recovery?

At a hearing on "Multi Species Management" in the European Parliament in Brussels, October, 1995, Dr David Lavigne presented a rather sensational theory about seal-cod interaction in Newfoundland waters. In his reply to a question from the Irish MEP, Gallagher, Dr Lavigne claimed that the harp seal might in fact further the recovery of cod stocks by eating cod cannibals. Here is Lavigne's answer to the question from Gallagher, on the effect of harp seal predation on the Atlantic cod (transcript from tape): "Your question says these harp seals appear to be eating cod, small amount of cod, perhaps of the age 1 to 2 years old, approximately 16 to 20 centimetres in length. This is precisely the sort of awkward situation we scientists find ourselves in, because in the marine environment, as we all know, big animals eat small animals that eat smaller animals - all the way down the line - by and large. We know that a major predator of young cod is in fact cod. So this predation of seals on intermediate size cod, could in fact be one of these situations where seals are eating the predators of the juvenile fish that are coming along behind. So you said, could I speculate on the effect on cod stocks. I think doctor Harwood has already answered that question. We really don't know. There are no data and indeed the analysis required to even address it has yet not begun. So we don't know. We haven't even the models, as far as I know, to address whether harp seal consumption on 1 to 2 year olds would have a negative impact on the recovery or would enhance the survival of even younger cod. We simply don't have that kind of information at the present time." Norwegian scientist Odd Nakken, from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, dismissed Lavigne's theory by replying that small cod of the size eaten by seals, are not known to be cannibals. At the hearing, Lavigne presented himself as professor at the University of Guelph, but he is also known to be the executive director of the international Marine Mammal Association, an affiliate of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). IFAW is known as the main actor behind the anti-sealing campaigns.

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