Fisheries committee  I think we could gather some information. For me, it gets busy this time of year, but I think I could pass it along to FFAW, and I'm sure Eldred there, with the Canadian Sealers Association, could gather whatever information you might want or need. We could see where we go from there.

Fisheries committee  Let's put some boots on the ground and get running with it if we want to do it in a timely manner. Let's open up the markets. We harvested 400,000 seals in a matter of two or three weeks at one time. That was not a problem, but we've lost some of that infrastructure along the way.

Fisheries committee  Obviously, there's a shift in the biomass of mackerel. Our waters stay warmer for longer throughout the winter. You can see that in our ice floes, which disappear much faster than in previous years with the weather conditions and whatnot. The mackerel seem to be staying in our waters more throughout the year and for longer periods of time.

Fisheries committee  When it comes to the biggest impediment to growth, it appears that people are always blaming, as Ginny alluded to earlier, the harvesters and overfishing, but that's certainly not the case. We have the right environment. We have everything we need naturally. What people are not seeing is that the overpopulation of pinnipeds is eating away at our livelihood and eating away at our fish stocks.

Fisheries committee  That's a tall question. I'll try to do my best with it. Over the last number of years, I have harvested older seals over the younger ones for the purpose of full utilization. We harvest the meat, some organs, the pelt and the fat. We've even brought in some daddlers with nails and that so they could use that or do some experimental work with that.

Fisheries committee  Perhaps a better relationship between the harvesters and the government.... We don't hear of any real conversations with other governments on this issue. Our friends to the south of us have a huge population of 300 million or so and a great market, yet they've had a ban on it for decades.

Fisheries committee  I think there's been some promoting going on in the last year or so. At the seal summit I attended this fall, there were talks of some marketing that has been done. There's no doubt we could expand more. There are lots of people within this country who like seal or can acquire a taste for it and its product.

Fisheries committee  Thank you for the question. The relationship between the decimation of all of our stocks.... It's not because we're overharvesting. We're harvesting at a lower level than we've ever harvested most species. The only relationship we can see is through the pinniped population. That has exploded, and our fish stocks went down.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely, full utilization would be the answer from anybody at our table. Any fish harvester wants to see whatever you're harvesting used to the best ability for mankind as a whole. A lot of nutrients and beneficial products can come from seal harvesting. I believe, as Eldred already said, that access to markets so we can utilize the product....

Fisheries committee  When we look at the rest of the world and then Norway and those countries, obviously they harvest a lot more fish than we do because they keep their seal population down naturally. However, no, I don't believe it. I believe that's a myth. I think that's an excuse that's used by animal rights activists, and it's certainly far from the truth.

Fisheries committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and fellow presenters. Thank you for the invitation to speak today and to be a witness on the pinniped, its impacts on fish stocks, and how it affects fish harvesters and the communities in which we live.