HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's environment minister would be given more power to approve a commercial grey seal hunt in a protected area of the province under proposed amendments tabled today in the legislature.

Sterling Belliveau, who is also the fisheries minister, would have the authority to allow the hunt on Hay Island without having to consider the hunt's effects on the area's biodiversity.

The authority must be sought by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, who are responsible for regulating the hunt in the Scaterie Island Wilderness Area in Cape Breton.

Although Belliveau says a review found no environmental benefits to the hunt, he says it also didn't show evidence of environmental harm.

Bridget Curran, of the Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition, says Belliveau is pandering to fishing industry interests by changing the law to make it easier to allow the hunt.

Curran also alleges that Belliveau is in a conflict of interest in attempting to balance environmental interests while also holding the fisheries portfolio.