The grey seal hunt on Hay Island, off eastern Cape Breton, will not go ahead this year.

The season on Hay Island opened Feb. 8, but bad weather prevented sealers from setting out.

Now they say couldn't get help from the Nova Scotia government with getting seal products ready for a buyer.

Hay Island is part of the Scaterie Island wilderness area off Cape Breton.

Greg Roach, associate deputy minister of the Fisheries Department, said the government is prepared to help sealers in Cape Breton develop new markets.

But this won't happen in time for the hunt on Hay Island this spring, he said, where the federal Fisheries Department has set a quota of 2,200 animals.

"The objective is to expand into Asia, to look at markets for all the grey seal products like fur, maybe some leather, other pelt products and meat products," Roach said.

The best opportunities are likely in Asia, he said, where there's little opposition to the seal hunt.

"Well, it's my understanding, and from my observation, that when you get into China, the issue of proper resource management would trump the emotional concerns of some anti-sealing groups," Roach said.

"And the Canadian harvest is managed very carefully, cautiously and conservatively."

Groups that oppose the seal hunt are happy that the hunt on Hay Island isn't going ahead.

The Humane Society International said markets are shrinking as more countries boycott seal products.