The hunting of seals in their breeding colonies was a pretty straightforward operation. Teams of men were landed on the ice, or rocky shore, and they set about clubbing mother seals and their cubs to death. Clubbing was cheaper than shooting, safer for the men, and caused less damage to the skins.

The seals were then skinned, the blubber stripped off, and the carcasses left to rot. The scale of the slaughter is only too evident.

The skins and blubber were transferred to ship and transported to the home port for processing.

National Archives of Canada Sealing on the ice c. 1919	National Archives of Canada Clubbing bearded seals
National Archives of Canada Sealer with carcasses 1892	National Archives of Canada Preparing seal oil for market 1891