On a day when many animal rights groups around the world are planning protests against Canada's seal hunt, the sealers themselves will be holding a rally of their own.

The hunters and their supporters will gather Saturday afternoon on George Street in downtown St. John's.

A spokesman for the Fur Institute of Canada, Dion Dakins, said the industry is important, not only financially but culturally.

Dakins said the hunt has been going on each spring for 500 years and is an integral part of the culture of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Animal rights groups have been protesting the hunt since the 1970s, claiming it's inhumane.

The Department of  Fisheries and Oceans has set this season's quota at 275,000 seals.

That's a slight increase over last year.