The CSA and Frank Pinhorn welcomed the arrival of Nikolas Sellheim to Newfoundland and Labrador for his first hand observations of how the seal harvest is conducted in Canada as part of his research project back in Finland. He is a Research Fellow, which is part of the Legal Cultures in Transnational World (LeCTra) doctoral programme at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland.
Nikolas Sellheim, Faculty of Law at Lapland University in Finland
His legal and anthropological doctoral research deals with the impacts of the EU’s anti-sealing policy of commercial sealers in the Atlantic Canada ,and the EU’s legitimacy as an Arctic actor. Nikolas currently works as a Book Review Editor for Polar Record at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. He holds a Master’s degree in Polar Law from the University of Akureyri, Iceland. Prior to joining, he worked for the University of the Arctic’s International Secretariat and the Arctic Council’s working group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). Nikolas was also involved in the EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment (AFPA) project and with the EU Competencies affecting the Arctic project for the European Parliament.
Audio interview with Nikolas Sellheim followed by a historical story about the search for a past sealer’s identity
John Furlong of CBC interviews a PhD candidate, Nikolas Sellheim, from the Faculty of Law at Lapland University in Finland. While studying the EU seal products ban, he participated directly in Newfoundland’s seal hunt from ice floe to processing plant in order to learn more about the industry. He shares his thoughts on the precision and professionalism of the hunters, and the importance of seals as a resource for the families, businesses and consumers involved.