"There have been fatalities," fisheries department spokesman Michel Plamondon said, but a precise casualty figure was not available.

Rescue teams recovered three bodies and another person was still missing in the waters north of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canadian media reported.

The fishing boat carrying seal hunters from the Magdalen islands capsized before dawn Saturday off Canada's east coast, Plamondon said. CBC television reported six men were on the boat, and two have been rescued.

The boat flipped over while it was being towed back to port by the Canadian coast guard after encountering steering problems, according to local television reports.

Local radio, citing the coast guard, said the accident occurred at 1:00 am Saturday morning.

The boat, L'Acadia, was on its way to the seal herds when it lost a rudder, prompting an SOS appeal to the coast guard.

The last such tragedy to hit the Magdalen islands was in 1990 when a boat overturned during the fishing season, killing eight people.

Canada's annual harvest of harp seals kicked off on Friday, with several boats setting off from this tiny town for the seal herds.

Plamondon said the close-knit sealers were devastated by news of the accident.

"Yesterday, there were 16 boats (that set off on the sea hunt), but today, because of the accident, most of them have decided to return to the Magdalen islands," he told AFP.

Only three or four boats remained at sea to pursue the hunt, with weather conditions expected to remain treacherous for the next two days, he added.

Several boats have been caught in ice up to 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) thick on the gulf this year, and the seal hunt started slowly Friday as a result.

One vessel was forced to return to port Friday after being slammed by huge chunks of ice.

Hunters routinely face shifting ice, high winds, freezing temperatures and unpredictable seas.

Canada set the limit for this year's harvest at 275,000 harp seals, 5,000 more than the previous year.

Some 800 seals were killed Friday, Plamondon said.

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