Pinniped High levels of organic chemicals accumulate in these animals since they are near the top of food chains and have large reserves of blubber. Lactating mothers can pass the toxins on to their young. These pollutants can cause gastrointestinal cancers, decreased reproductivity and greater vulnerability to infectious diseases. Other man-made threats include habitat destruction by oil and gas exploitation, encroachment by boats, and underwater noise. Pinniped Pinnipeds, commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walrus), Otariidae (the eared
Marine Mammal Regulations Marine Mammal Regulations Marine Mammal Regulations (MMR) is a set of rules that govern the taking (fishing, hunting) and treatment of marine mammals in Canada. The regulations are part of the Fisheries Act. The Marine Mammal Regulations s are divided into nine "parts": The "Seal Protection Regulations" were established under the Fisheries Act by the Government of Canada in the mid-1960s. The regulations were combined with other Canadian marine mammals regulations in 1993, into the "Marine Mammal Regulations". A proposed amendment in 2012 would have required boats to stay at least 50 meters away from belugas in Churchill and Seal