The captain and first officer of the anti-sealing ship seized by the Canadian government Saturday were granted bail Sunday following a court appearance in Sydney, Cape Breton.

Captain Alexander Cornelissen -- who is a Dutch citizen -- and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt of the Sea Sheppard Conservation Society vessel, Farley Mowat, are alleged to have broken rules that prohibit anyone from coming within 900 metres of the hunt unless they have an observer's permit.

The two men were granted $5,000 bail each and are to return to court on May 1. It was unsure if they were released or if they were to stay in jail Sunday night.

Cornelissen has also been charged under the Fisheries Act with obstruction or hindrance of a Fishery Officer or inspector.

If convicted, the two men could be jailed for up to one year, fined up to $100,000 -- or both.

Eleven members of the 17-person crew have been released after being taken off their vessel Saturday and transported to Sydney.

The remaining six members remain in custody, although they have not been charged, because they have refused to sign immigration papers. They have also started a hunger strike to protest what they call their unlawful detainment.

Crew member Daniel Bishop said the officials who boarded the vessel during the arrest had their guns drawn in a strong show of force.

"They put a couple of people on the floor and put guns in their faces," Bishop told CTV Atlantic.

The 17 crew members are foreign nationals, coming from countries such as the United States, Australia, the Netherlands and France.

The Sea Sheppard Society claims that the storming of their vessel by RCMP officers brandishing submachine guns was in violation of international law.

David Nickarz, the ship's engineer, said Canada had no right to board the ship because the Dutch-registered vessel was in international waters, where Canadian rules don't apply.

"But I guess the people with the guns had a different opinion,'' he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We've been marooned here in Sydney by the Canadian government.''

The 54-metre Farley Mowat was towed into Sydney today by the Canadian Coast Guard as a few on-lookers watched and snapped pictures.

War of words

On Saturday, Sea Sheppard head Paul Watson said the storming of the vessel was an "act of war" by the Canadian government and said anti-seal hunt activists had been handed a win in the court of public opinion.

But Canada's fisheries minister denied he handed anti-sealing forces a win with the storming.

"No, we haven't handed them a gift at all," Loyola Hearn told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.

The Canadian government has shown fellow governments such as Japan, Norway and Iceland -- that have also faced direct actions by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society -- that "we're not putting up with it any more," he said.

"And if he (Paul Watson) can go to other places and get away with it, well, welcome to Canada, Mr. Watson."

Watson said of the seizure of the Farley Mowat and arrests: "I think Mr. Hearn has just handed us a gift.

"He's handed us the ability to put this right over the top and get Europe to pass this bill (banning the import of seal products). We're seeing the end of days for the seal hunt."

Watson, who was in New York Saturday, was making his way to Cape Breton by car Sunday night.

His group even took a swipe at Hearn on its website.

"In his zeal to kiss the bottoms of the seal-killing crowd, he has thrown reason out the window ... Loyola Hearn is certainly the latest Nufie (sic) joke and the joke is about to backfire in his face.'"

Watson has argued that his vessel, registered in the Netherlands, was in international waters and that Europe will be angered by Canada's actions.

Hearn said the vessel was in "Canadian territorial waters" but didn't say if it was within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) of the coastline. The minister has also said the Fisheries Act gave him the leeway to act outside the 12-nautical mile limit.

The arrests were necessary to prevent future danger to sealers, fisheries officers and observers, he said.

The incident for which they are charged occurred on March 30 and happened about 60 kilometres north of Cape Breton.

This year's hunt began on March 28 in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The main hunt, in an area north of Newfoundland known as the Front, began Saturday.

The seal quota this season is 275,000 harp seals, but prices are low and fuel prices are high. As a result, some observers say hunters might not reach their quota.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh and The Canadian Press