Chapters 7.8
7.8-Seal meat
Tim Hoogendoorn , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Hoogendoorn,T. (2022) Mammals. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Description of the seal
Indigenous communities ate many different types of seals (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2012). They included the Bearded Seal, the Harp Seal, the Grey Seal, the Harbour Seal, and many more (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2012). Seals eat a variety of food such as shrimp, prawns, redfish, herring, sculpin, and plaice (Learn about harp seals, n.d.). Harp seals live to be between 25 and 40 years old (Learn about harp seals, n.d.). Females have their pup between late February and mid March and the pups are around 11kg when they are born (Learn about harp seals, n.d.).
Where seal meat was consumed
Seal was consumed wherever there were seals, which was on the coasts of northern British Columbia, Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, northern Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2012).
Indigenous communities that consumed seal meat.
There are many different indigenous communities that consume seal meat. Some of them include Inuit, Inuvialuit, Yupik and Inupiat (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2012). The Inuit are multiple indigenous communities that live in the arctic regions of North America (Freeman, 2010). Between the years 2006 and 2016 the Inuit population grew 29.1% (Freeman, 2010). A study done in 2005 showed that 68% of Inuit people still relied on “country food” which included seal, whale, duck, caribou, and berries (Freeman, 2010). The Yupik are an indigenous community that lives mostly in Alaska (Britannica, 2016). They are known for hunting seals and walrus’s (Brittanica, 2016). They would not only eat seal, they would also trade seal meat and other seal products with their Russian neighbours (Britannica, 2016).
Nutrional value of seal meat
Seal meat is a very healthy and nutritionally important food. The protein content of seal meat is 27%, which is higher than most other meats, particularly beef and pork (Brunnborg et al., 2005). It also has a very low fat content of only 1%. This fat content is much lower than an other popular meat beef, whose fat content is usually around 11-12% (Nutrional Facts, n.d.). Seal meat is also extremely high in iron, and also has a substantial amount of Zinc in the meat (Nutrional Facts, n.d.).
How seal meat is cooked
There were many ways that indigenous communities prepared seal meat. They would boil, roast, fry, smoke, and dry the meat. Some indigenous communities would keep the blood and organs and make them into soup. The most popular way of preparing seal was boiling it. (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2012).
Current seal meat consumption
Seal is still consumed today. There are restaurants in both Ontario and Quebec that serve fresh seal dishes (Where to buy…, n.d.). It is possible to order seal meat for human consumption (Where to buy…, n.d.). Many indigenous communities currently still consume seal meat but they do not rely on it as they used to.
References
1. Britannica, E. of. (2016, July 21). Yupik. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yupik.
2. Brunborg, L. A., Julshamn, K., Nortvedt, R., & Frøyland, L. (2005, May 13). Nutritional composition of blubber and meat of hooded seal (cystophora cristata) and harp seal (Phagophilus Groenlandicus) from Greenland. Food Chemistry. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814605002360.
3. Canadian Seal Products. (2021, July 19). Where to buy Seal Meat: Canadian "super food" canadian seal product. Canadian Seal Product. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://canadiansealproducts.com/products/seal-meat/where-to-buy-seal-meat.
4. Freeman, M. A. (2010, June 8). Inuit. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit.
5. Government of Canada. (2019, August 13). Government of Canada. Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Communications Branch. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/harpseal-phoquegroenland-eng.html.
6. ifaw. (2021, April 7). 2021 Canadian commercial seal hunt begins. IFAW. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.ifaw.org/international/press-releases/2021-canada-commercial-seal-hunt-begins.
7. Kuhnlein, H. V., & Humphries, M. M. (2012). Traditional animal foods of indigenous peoples of northern North America. Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America - Animals - Mammals - Seals, Sea Lions, and Walrus. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/seals-sealions-walrus/page.aspx?id=6392#harp-e.