A new study from the Marine Institute says harp seals are playing a key role in the slowed recovery of cod stocks and other fish populations in Newfoundland and Labrador.

An estimated 4.4 million seals live in the region, according to the study. North American harp seals are the second-largest seal species in the world by population, and feast on fish like Atlantic cod, capelin and other groundfish.

The study, led by masters student Hannah West, found that the amount of fish that seals eat is consistently outpacing the amount of fish caught by harvesters. From 2018 to 2020, the animal's consumption rate of cod, Greenland halibut and American plaice were 24 times higher than catch rates in those fisheries.

Tyler Eddy, a research scientist at Memorial University's School of Fisheries and

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