Two men are skinning seals while a third is getting his tow rope ready and the fourth is holding a flag. Each seal is killed and then the skin with the thick layer of fat attached to it - referred to as a pelt - is removed. The meat has always been of very little value but one flipper was always left on the pelt to be sold as a delicacy in the home ports. More recently ships have been bringing back somewhat more meat.
Courtesy: Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Holloway Studios Ltd.
