They need the money they make by selling the sealskin to cope with the lack of cod in the last few years. Did you read the article? They do need to hunt the seals as they need money to survive, and they make that money by selling the furs. Surely you won't argue with the Newfoundlanders trying to make a living? Jeez, the fishermen get mad if the fishing laws become more strict, and they do need to get money somehow.
Just so that we all remember: these fishermen were from the Isles de la Madeleine, not Newfoundland.
So if we've killed all the cod (not only the Canadians, the Europeans fished those waters pretty seriously too), should all the Newfie fishermen go without any money until the cod bounce back? THIS IS HOW THEY SURVIVE. They don't have the luxuries of living in or near big cities (even the size of Halifax), where there all plenty of jobs to go around.
And of course, there are dangers of hundreds of boats going into the ice and depending on one or two icebreakers to come to the rescue.
