Animal rights groups are being held back from watching the official start of the annual East Coast seal hunt.

'This hunt could open up and shut down by the end of the day.'— Rebecca Aldworth, seal hunt protester

Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society of the United States wanted to get into helicopters early Friday morning with about a half-dozen of her colleagues to videotape the hunt, which opened Friday for Magdalen Island hunters only in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. But the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is holding back on issuing observer permits.

Aldworth is worried the hunt could be over before her group gets a chance to see it.

"This hunt could open up and shut down by the end of the day which would mean we would actually miss our opportunity to document the hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence," she said.

Aldworth said the quota for this particular portion of the hunt, about 15,000 seals, could be harvested by Friday evening.

DFO spokesman Phil Jenkins said the federal department is waiting to see how the hunt is proceeding before allowing observers into the gulf.

"We're going to delay the giving out of permits until we can understand what exact level of sealing is going on," said Jenkins.

Jenkins said DFO doesn't want the observers to dramatically outnumber the hunters. The decision to hold back permits will be reviewed again late Friday morning.

Aldworth said she has heard that about 60 requests for observer permits have been filed by media and protesters.

The harp seal hunt in the southern gulf will open up for hunters from P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on Sunday.