Canada's 2008 annual commercial seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Newfoundland, Quebec and Nova Scotia began on March 28.
[13] On March 30, the hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence opened for the people from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
They have been identified as Bruno Bourque, the boat's owner and captain, Gilles Leblanc (in his 50s), and Marc-Andre Deraspe (in his early 20s).
[24] On March 29, the coast guard and Department of Defence rescued seven people before their vessel, the Annie Marie, was crushed in the ice pack northeast off Cape Breton.
[25][26] On April 14, the vessel Lucy May burnt to the waterline on Newfoundlands's northeast coast, after the crew had been rescued by a Cormorant helicopter.
[27][28] The vessel White Bay Challenger started to take in water on April 17 because it had been struck by ice while it was being escorted by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Ann Harvey.
[31] After noon on March 28, federal fisheries officials issued observer permits for the hunt's opening day to activists and journalists.
"[15] When the permits were issued,[30] the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) managed to fly out to film some scenes.
[34] The pups are abandoned by their mothers at two weeks of age, and remain in the whelping patches until the ice starts to melt in March or early April.
[36] Carino's Norwegian parent company, Rieber Skinn,[37] announced in April 2008 that its factory in Bergen, Norway, with 17 employees, was closing down within a year.
[38] On March 24, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessel, the R/V Farley Mowat, left Bermuda to head for the Gulf of St.
Paul Watson replied to the minister that the conventions of the International Maritime Organization apply to commercial ships, but the Farley Mowat is a Dutch-registered yacht.
[33] On March 30, according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Farley Mowat was rammed twice by the icebreaker Des Groseilliers of the Canadian Coast Guard.
The collision occurred after the Farley Mowat failed to comply with a request from Des Groseilliers not to approach the seal hunt area.
"[41][42] Loyola Hearn, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, issued a statement on March 31, saying the allegations were "completely untrue", and that the Farley Mowat manoeuvred itself in front of the Des Groseilliers to cause a collision as an attempt to provoke a confrontation and attract media attention.
"[45] Because of these statements, the leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May, decided on April 3 to resign from the advisory board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
[46] On April 4, angry fishermen used axes to cut the mooring lines of the Farley Mowat in Saint-Pierre, where it was tied up.
[47][48] On April 5, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn announced that charges were being laid against the Farley Mowat's Dutch[49] captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and Swedish First Officer Peter Hammarstedt.
[50] On April 12, armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers[51] boarded and seized the Farley Mowat.
[52] According to the Fisheries Department, the Farley Mowat was to be kept in DFO custody until a court ordered the release of the vessel.
[40] According to Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the boarding happened in international waters, and the Farley Mowat had never strayed into Canada's 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial limit.
The delegation includes Canadian Fisheries Conservation representative Loyola Sullivan, Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik, Newfoundland Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale, Fur Institute of Canada executive director Rob Cahill, and sealers Mark Small and Denis Longuepee.