Okay.
Over the past 40 years, there has been much discussion about seal populations, which are increasing. As Fisheries and Oceans Canada moves toward ecosystem-based fisheries management, the role of seal predation is becoming increasingly important and must be considered. Ecosystem-based fisheries management cannot be left as it is and climate change must be taken into account.
The simple reality is that the federal government must take action to reduce seal populations. DFO's “manage everything upward” approach is failing. Managing near-apex predator populations upward has led to increases in natural mortality throughout the food web, impeding the rebuilding of commercial stocks, damaging culturally and economically important species like salmon and driving at-risk fish populations toward extirpation.
The single most effective tool to control seal populations is a successful commercial harvest. The infrastructure, in both the concrete sense and the human sense, is there right now, but our window to complete this task is rapidly closing. As experienced sealers age out of the workforce, we run the risk of not being able to rise to the challenge of scaling up our harvest to the levels needed to ensure proper management.
What's needed to effect positive change is dedicated leadership at the political and officials level of the federal government. Ministers saying publicly what seals eat helps, but parliamentarians proudly wearing sealskin and instructing the diplomatic core to reduce barriers to entry for seal products into priority markets help a lot more.
For other sectors, investing a portion of their profits into opening a new market is a prudent investment that can lead to long-term growth, but given the restricted scale of the current seal sector, and the significant barriers to entry that we face, developing those markets will require government support. That government investment must be supported by the trade apparatus of the federal government, or it will be like buying a top-of-the-line fly fishing rod but not tying a fly on the end.
Finally, we must continue to bring discussions of sealing and seals outside of quiet corners. Creating an environment where the most significant concerns of fisheries groups, coastal communities, indigenous peoples and the sealing sector can be openly discussed will remove the taboo that has developed over recent decades. Last year's Seal Summit was an important step, but we need a comprehensive follow-up from that summit and to commit to another summit being held this year to continue to move forward together.
Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to your questions.