Fisheries committee  I see some efforts. In fairness, I see fewer efforts now than I saw 10 or 20 years ago. There needs to be a renewed effort, because we see, 30 years into the decline of the seal harvest, that our problems in managing a number of our fish stocks are continuing, and that the efforts we saw by various levels of government, including provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, and by the federal government, have declined significantly, so there needs to be a re-engagement.

Fisheries committee  I mentioned earlier on that one thing that occurred over the years was the elimination of the large vessels from the harvest, and that's not necessarily a good thing, because they're more capable. They're safer platforms to operate and they are more efficient. Another thing that happened around the mid-1990s was the elimination of the fishing vessel insurance program, which provided a reasonable cost level of insurance to fishing vessels.

Fisheries committee  I'm no longer an employee of the department, but my knowledge of that process is that a significant number of the conservation officers would be designated as essential, and therefore.... That's my past experience. Whether that's currently the case or not, I'm not 100% certain, but I'd suspect that somewhere in the range of 50% of the uniformed officers are designated as essential because they're so widely dispersed across Canada.

Fisheries committee  Unfortunately, we don't. We have been accumulating information, but it was only about seven years ago that we were able to determine in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that grey seals were a heavy predator on the cod stocks there. Where the huge herd of harp seals are, we know they consume maybe 1.4 tonnes per year each, but we don't know what they consume, and there are seven million of them.

Fisheries committee  I think if we knew how much crab, turbot, cod or other valuable commercial species that seals were eating, we could develop an approach. It may be like pushing a piano upstairs or it may be that we will take an effective management strategy that includes the elimination, where possible, of an adequate number of the top predators.

Fisheries committee  Exactly, but we can't fail to act in either case.

Fisheries committee  I think it could. I think some effective strategy to help reduce the predators in key locations could help. I think other countries have done that more effectively than we have, and I think we need to stand up and do the right thing.

Fisheries committee  I don't think they're a barrier. I think they're an enabler to demonstrate that we do have the necessary tools in place for effective management.

Fisheries committee  I would, yes.

Fisheries committee  Can you repeat the tail end of your question? Is it a barrier or...?

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I believe there are some new provisions and policies that have been brought into place since my departure from DFO, so I'm not sure that I can totally be confident in giving you the correct answer to that question in saying yes, but I don't believe that the regulations are necessarily the impediment in and of themselves.

Fisheries committee  The simple answer to your question, I think, is no.

Fisheries committee  I understand that answer. DFO has the mandate for conservation of fish, shellfish and marine mammals. However, “healthy” is a subjective term. If we're talking about the crab stocks, I think we want them at the highest possible level so we can maximize the return. The other mantra of DFO today is “ecosystem-based fisheries management”.

Fisheries committee  I believe it's an opportunity that we're missing, but I don't believe in and of itself it will help us to solve the problem. It will help to reduce the numbers if we market seal products in Canada effectively, but the challenges of marketing seal products in Canada are nearly as great as they are in the rest of the world.