Fishermen on Prince Edward Island are asking the federal Fisheries Department to relocate its seal communications office this year, saying media coverage of the annual hunt is giving the Island a bad name around the world.

The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association says it doesn't make sense to have the federal office in Charlottetown because there are very few sealers from P.E.I. 

Most come from the Magdalen Islands and Newfoundland and Labrador, said association executive director Ed Frenette.

Every news byline or sign-off from the Island during the annual seal hunt hurts the provincial economy, he said, noting he's heard some companies refuse to buy Island products because they are opposed to the seal hunt.
 
"We've had responses from people around the world saying they refuse to come to P.E.I. during tourism season because they view us as being the killers of seals, when in fact we're not." 

But the DFO says it sets up shop in Charlottetown because that's where seal hunt observers, protesters and the media gather.

Ottawa needs to be in P.E.I. to respond to their claims, said spokesperson Phil Jenkins.

"Paul McCartney didn't come to P.E.I because a couple of guys from DFO had phone lines in the offices on Queen Street. They come because of its geography," he said. "Journalists and observers have to keep in mind expenses as well."
 
Jenkins said three DFO employees will be setting up the seal communications office in Charlottetown before the seal hunt begins in the next several weeks.