Fisheries committee  I'll begin by saying that awareness and education are extremely important. That's what has to be done first before focusing our efforts on growing a market, or saying that we have access to a product. Our Mange ton Saint-Laurent! collective does considerable awareness-raising among consumers.

Fisheries committee  Yes it could. With seal, you have to get over the negative biases and properly train new seal hunters. The meat would then have to be processed to preserve it. That means having processing facilities for the meat, which is safe when processed properly. A distribution network would also be needed, and that's often a problem for our products.

Fisheries committee  It's true that it can be rather difficult to gain access to most of our products, even those that are heavily fished, like crab, lobster or shrimp. Seals are of course among these products, but are rarely hunted. Crab and lobster are fished heavily, but unfortunately, much of it is exported.

Fisheries committee  Good afternoon, everyone. I feel truly honoured to be here this afternoon. I am the chef and owner of the Chez Saint-Pierre restaurant in Le Bic, Quebec, and the owner of the Cantine côtière. I am here today mainly because I'm the spokesperson for the Mange ton Saint-Laurent! collective.