The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed three Australians are on board a conservation ship which has been captured by Canadian coastguard officials.
The ship was undertaking surveillance of the country's annual seal hunt when authorities boarded the ship yesterday in the Cabot Strait.
Australian doctor Merryn Redenbach and her partner Sky Christensen were among 17 people on board the Farley Mowat, owned by the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, when it was captured by the Canadian Coast Guard.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has not yet named the other Australians involved.
The Canadian government says it is acting in the best interest of the sealers.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society received strong backlash recently after comparing the deaths of four seal hunters to the fate of the hunted pups.
In a statement the society said "the deaths of four sealers is a tragedy," but added "the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seal pups is an even greater tragedy."