Editing Pinniped (section)

===Hunting===
{{Main|Seal hunting}}
[[File:Killing fur seals, St Paul Island.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Men killing northern fur seals on [[Saint Paul Island (Alaska)|Saint Paul Island]], Alaska, in the mid-1890s.]]
Humans have hunted seals since the [[Stone Age]]. Originally, seals were merely hit with clubs during haul-out. Eventually, more lethal weapons were used, like spears and harpoons. They were also trapped in nets. The use of firearms in seal hunting during the [[modern era]] drastically increased the number of killings. Pinnipeds are typically hunted for their meat and blubber. The skins of fur seals and phocids are made into [[Fur clothing|coats]], and the tusks of walruses have been used as [[ivory]].<ref name=hunting>Reeves, R. "Hunting of marine mammals" in {{harvnb|Perrin|Würsig|Thewissen|2009|pp=585–588}}</ref> There is a distinction made between the subsistence hunting of seals by [[Circumpolar peoples|indigenous peoples of the Arctic]] and commercial hunting: subsistence hunters depend on seal products for survival.{{sfn|Riedman|1990|p=115}} National and international authorities have given special treatment to aboriginal hunters since their methods of killing are seen as more sustainable and smaller in scope. However indigenous people have recently used more modern technology and are profiting more from seal products in the marketplace. Some anthropologists argue that the term "subsistence" should also apply to these activities, as long as they are local in scale. More than 100,000&nbsp;phocids (especially ringed seals) as well as around 10,000&nbsp;walruses are harvested annually by native hunters.<ref name=hunting/>

[[File:Phoca (pusa) hispida (Ringed seal) fur skin.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ringed seal]] skinned coat]]
Commercial sealing rivaled [[whaling]] as an important industry throughout history. Harvested species included harp seals, hooded seals, Caspian seals, elephant seals, walruses and all species of fur seal.{{sfn|Riedman|1990|p=112}} After the 1960s, the harvesting of seals decreased substantially as an industry<ref name=hunting/> after the Canadian government implemented measures to protect female seals and restrict the hunting season.<ref name="Beckman 2012">{{cite book |author=Beckman D. W. |title=Marine Environmental Biology and Conservation |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=vW3pbgIcnXAC |page=315}} |year=2012 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers |isbn=978-0-7637-7350-2 |page=315}}</ref> Several species that were commercially exploited have rebounded in numbers; for example, Antarctic fur seals may have reached their pre-harvesting numbers. The northern elephant seal nearly went extinct in the late 19th century, with only a small population remaining on [[Guadalupe Island]]. It has since recolonized much of its historic range, but has a [[population bottleneck]].{{sfn|Riedman|1990|p=112}} Conversely, the [[Mediterranean monk seal]] was extirpated from much of the Mediterranean and its current range is still limited.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Johnson, W. M. |author2=Karamanlidis, A. A. |author3=Dendrinos, P. |author4=de Larrinoa, P. F. |author5=Gazo, M. |author6=González, L. M. |author7=Güçlüsoy, H. |author8=Pires, R. |author9=Schnellmann, M. |title=Monk Seal Fact Files|publisher=monachus-guardian.org|access-date=September 9, 2013|url=http://www.monachus-guardian.org/factfiles/medit01.htm}}</ref>

Several species of pinniped continue to be exploited. The [[Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals]] protects species within the Antarctic and surrounding waters, but allows restricted hunting of crabeater seals, leopard seals and Weddell seals. Weddell seal hunting is forbidden between September and February if the animal is older than a year, to ensure healthy population growth.{{sfn|Riedman|1990|pp=112–113}} The Government of Canada permits the hunting of harp seals. This has been met with controversy and debate. Proponents of seal hunts insist that the animals are killed humanely and the white-coated pups are not taken, while opponents argue that it is irresponsible to kill harp seals as they are already threatened by declining habitat.<ref>{{cite web |author=Noronha, C. |date=April 4, 2010 |title=Canada's harp seal hunt kicks off |publisher=NBC News |access-date=August 15, 2013 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36287113/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/canadas-harp-seal-hunt-kicks/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054517/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36287113/ns/world_news-world_environment/t/canadas-harp-seal-hunt-kicks/|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Gillies, R. |date=March 23, 2009 |title=Canada seal hunt begins amid controversy |work=Huffington Post |access-date=August 15, 2013 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/23/canada-seal-hunt-begins-a_n_178135.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921064345/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/23/canada-seal-hunt-begins-a_n_178135.html |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }}</ref>

The [[Caribbean monk seal]] has been killed and exploited by European settlers and their descendants since 1494, starting with [[Christopher Columbus]] himself. The seals were easy targets for organized sealers, fishermen, [[turtling (hunting)|turtle hunters]] and [[buccaneer]]s because they evolved with little pressure from terrestrial predators and were thus "[[Island tameness|genetically tame]]". In the [[Bahamas]], as many as 100 seals were slaughtered in one night. The species was considered to be already extinct by the mid-nineteenth century until a small colony was found near the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] in 1866. Seal killings continued, and the last reliable report of the animal alive was in 1952 at [[Serranilla Bank]]. The IUCN declared it extinct in 1996.<ref>Duffield, D. A. "Extinction, specific" in {{harvnb|Perrin|Würsig|Thewissen|2009|pp=402–404}}</ref> The [[Japanese sea lion]] was common around the Japanese islands, but [[overexploitation]] and competition from fisheries drastically decreased the population in the 1930s. The last recorded individual was a juvenile in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biodic.go.jp/cgi-db/gen/RDB_G2000_DO.RDB_DETAIL?wamei=%a5%cb%a5%db%a5%f3%a5%a2%a5%b7%a5%ab |title=''Zalophus californianus japonicus'' (CR) |series=Red Data Book |department=Japan Integrated Biodiversity Information System |publisher=Ministry of the Environment (Japan) |access-date=20 August 2013 |language=ja |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110605064619/http://www.biodic.go.jp/rdb_fts/2000/74-081.html |archive-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead }} "The Japanese sea lion (''Zalophus californianus japonicus'') was common in the past around the coast of the Japanese Archipelago, but declined rapidly after the 1930s from overhunting and increased competition with commercial fisheries. The last record in Japan was a juvenile, captured in 1974 off the coast of [[Rebun Island]], northern Hokkaido."</ref>