Seals Find a Friend in Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffett's Restaurants Join the Canadian Seafood Boycott

Jimmy Buffett—singer, songwriter, activist and successful restaurant owner—has long been known for his involvement in environmental and humane issues. After learning of the horrors of Canada's seal hunt, Buffett teamed up with the more than 330,000 consumers and 1,000 restaurants who are protesting the hunt by joining the Canadian seafood boycott. Buffett recently issued following letter declaring that his Margaritaville Cafes will not purchase or serve Canadian seafood products until the Canadian government ends the commercial seal hunt permanently.

To Whom It May Concern:

Many of you may know me as a singer, but I have also been involved in numerous efforts through a variety of organizations to try and manage our planet in a more humane way. Twenty-five years ago, I was honoured to have been appointed by then Governor Bob Graham of Florida to serve as chairman of the Save the Manatee Club. Though we made great strides in making people aware of the plight of the manatee, these creatures are still in danger from political pressure and overpopulation. It is an ongoing effort, and unfortunately manatees are not the only creatures in the crosshairs. About the time we began our efforts towards manatee preservation, another effort to save other marine mammals was underway. It focused on getting the Government of Canada to end its hunt for baby seals. It seemed that these efforts were on the road to succeeding and that the annual seal hunt in Canada was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, that is not the case. 

Over 300,000 seals were killed this spring. Thankfully, the Humane Society of the United States is doing everything it can to see that this year is the last year of the seal hunt. The seal hunt is certainly an emotionally charged issue, but my experiences over the years have taught me that real progress in this effort needs to move past emotions and towards solutions that can work for people on both sides of this issue. I would hope that this could be the case with the seal pup hunt. In the meantime, the one thing we can do is to make people aware of the problem. In our efforts for manatees in Florida, the move to legislation was greatly accelerated by simply making people aware of the problem and then responding with the question "What can we do to help?" Well, for starters, Margaritaville Cafes will not be purchasing or serving Canadian seafood products until the Canadian government ends the commercial seal hunt permanently. I do not look at this as one nation telling another how to best manage its affairs. I view it as an effort to make humans more humane in the way they manage the planet. We do not own the earth. We are landlords and we simply need to do a better job, for all creatures on this earth.

Thank you.

Jimmy Buffett