Sealed in

Crushing ice imprisons sealing ships

Heavy ice and strong winds on Newfoundland's northeast coast and in southern Labrador have wreaked havoc and stranded as many as 100 sealing vessels.

Canadian Coast Guard workers are using icebreakers in an attempt to free boats stuck between Cape Bauld at the tip of the Northern Peninsula and Cape Bonavista. There are also boats stranded in the Strait of Belle Isle.

The weather is so harsh that one of the Coast Guard's own vessels, the Sir Wilfred Grenfell, is in need of help from other icebreakers after venturing farther than normal into the pack ice.

he sealers were homebound after last week's hunt, an event that draws animal lovers from around the world to protest against the annual slaughter. No violent confrontation between sealers and activists materialized this year, as poor ice conditions and a lower harp-seal quota cooled tempers.

Local fishermen say that ice conditions are the worst they've seen in two decades.

About 60 longliners had trouble leaving port and making it to the hunt because they were sandwiched by thick, moving ice.

Animal groups have lobbied for the hunt to be banned, saying that it is not only cruel but of little economic benefit.

But the federal government has said the seal hunt is humane, sustainable and a much-needed source of income for fishermen in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.