For those saying that they value a seals life over a human.... I really don't know what to say to you. Thats PETA level of crazy.
For those saying this development is a bad thing.... that is a stupid (albeit much less so than the above statement) and uninformed opinion.
1) Taking 200 - 300 000 seals per year is not a sustainable practice. Their populations are already falling. Seals give birth to one pup at a time (twins very rare), have birth intervals >1 year, take at least 5 years to sexually mature, and a lot pups die in their first year naturally. That is not the type of species you can heavily exploit.
2) Polar bears and Artic foxes are already species in trouble... do you think taking 200 000 possible prey items out of the picture helps that situation? Who knows what other ecological consequences this hunt has. Orca whales prey on seals, but I'm not sure if any Artic groups do (some orca groups target fish, others whales, and others hunt seals).
3) A few thousand jobs (probably less) to me isn't as valuable as an entire species of seal (harp and hooded seals are targeted) and whatever associated animals depending on them.
Other than economic reasons, I don't see any reason to hunt these seals. The goods produced from seals all have cheaper, more accessable alternatives. The negative outcomes of the hunt far out-weigh the positives.
Humans have already negatively influenced almost every ecosystem on earth. Why can't we leave one of the few only mildly impacted environments alone?
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