Seals and fisheries: A case for predator control?

The impact of seals on fisheries has been a controversial matter. This article examines the degree to which a new Canadian Royal Commission Report has been able to judge between the opposing views of the problem. It also examines the implications of the Commission's results for the more general question of controlling predators for the benefit of prey species, or more accurately, the human harvesters of those species. Finally, it touches very briefly on the possible clash of views between the public at large and those who make their living from the sea.