Prince Edward Island businesses have been receiving tourism boycott e-mails from around the world....and this is causing alarm.

A potential tourist was the recipient of the following letter from the Provincial Treasurer of PEI, after sending her boycott message to various businesses. (Her concerns had been forwarded from a PEI business to government.)

Please keep up the pressure! In addition to supporting the escalating seafood boycott of Canada, consider taking a few minutes to send your own personal tourism boycott message to PEI businesses. Let them know that there are 26 licensed sealers in PEI, and that the sealing communication office is in that province. They can therefore be linked to the annual carnage of young harp seals in Canada. Yet they can help to stop the slaughter by contacting Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office themselves. Prince Edward Island's precious tourism industry may depend upon it!

Taking action for the seals is easy. Go to: http://www.touringnewfoundland.com/bigdb.html  .

Choose PEI in the drop-down box. Type in your subject, and then your short message. Click Submit. A list of links to businesses will appear. Two clicks of your mouse, and each message will be on its way.

For further actions, go to: http://www.touringnewfoundland.com/thingstodo2.html  and http://www.touringnewfoundland.com/contact.html  .

From: "Mitchell Murphy" PMMURPHY@gov.pe.ca
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 11:49 AM
Subject: Boycotting Prince Edward Island

Mr. Gordon Campbell, Provincial Boat and Marine Limited, Kensington, Prince Edward Island fowarded me a copy of your email to him regarding boycotting Prince Edward Island.

I note your concern regarding the commercial harvest of seals and the participation of Prince Edward Island in that harvest. Currently, there are twenty-six licensed sealers in Prince Edward Island and, although these fisheres have not been active in the recent past, they do remain licensed fishers.

The commercial harvest of seals in Canada is a scientifically-based fishery. The fishery is managed by the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The annual commercial quota is established on sound conservation principles.

The latest estimate of the Northwest Atlantic harp seal herd is 5.8 million animals. This is nearly triple the size of the herd in the 1970s. These increased numbers are certainly an indication of the sustainability of the harvest and the herd. In no way are seals endangered.

Seal pups are not targeted or harvested at any time during the commercial seal harvest. The harvesting of seal pups (whitecoats and bluebacks) is illegal, and has been for years. Further, adult seals cannot be harvested when they are in breeding or birthing groups. This is part of the misinformation promoted by environmental groups who oppose the hunt by misrepresenting the facts in an effort to raise funds for their organization(s).

I regret that you have decided to cancel your annual vacation to our Province. I encourage you, based on the information I have provided in this email, to further investigate the "facts" surroung the seal fishery in Atlantic Canada.

For further information, you may want to visit the site: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque

Honourable Mitch Murphy
Provincial Treasurer
Province of Prince Edward Island