Canada's annual seal hunt has started off the coast of eastern Canada despite a dwindling market for seal products because of a European Union ban on imports.
The harp seal hunt north of Newfoundland and Labrador began Thursday with the quota increased by 50,000 animals to a total of 330,000.
Frank Pinhorn of the Canadian Sealers Association says sealers will take a fraction of the annual quota because only one of the four regular purchasers is buying harp pelts this year.
The Associated Press - Also see: harpseals.org