CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island (AP) — Canadian officials say there may not be a seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year.

The officials point to higher-than-normal death rates of seal pups and poor ice conditions.

Newborn seals cannot swim in the first few weeks of life and require ice for survival.

Normally, the Canadian Fisheries Department has set catch limits by this time of the year. The controversial hunt traditionally gets under way by late March in the southern Gulf. The area gives rise to the most controversy because it is accessible to observers and seal hunt protesters.

Last year's total allowable catch was 335,000 seals. Most of them were taken off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in an area called the Front.