Gentlemen, first off I want to say how deeply impressed each and every one of us was on our visit to the Magdalen Islands, in particular by the infrastructure you've built up in terms of not only promoting seals and sealing but also of promoting education, good solid education, as to exactly what this resource is to this island and to you as people who live on a fully renewable natural resource.
What really struck me this morning as we went to Club Vacances and went to the seal interpretation centre was how you've really been able to promote what this industry is, what it means, and how it can be done sustainably, and you're getting that message out. I think this committee needed to hear that, because it will be an integral part of our report. In fact, I took it very seriously that the work you've done needs to be brought to other areas of Canada--even my own home province, where, amazingly enough, a survey that was done showed that with the increasing urbanization of Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador, young people in our own region are starting to get a somewhat cynical view about the impact of seals and sealing and whether sealing is an appropriate activity. I don't think that's a product of the merits of the issue; it's just simply that they too are hearing the constant messages from others. From my point of view, this committee took that very seriously, and I've no doubt we'll incorporate it into our final report.
I want to get into the economics and have a look at exactly what the sealing industry means to the Magdalen Islands. How many sealers are involved in the industry here? What's the average value that you received per pelt, per animal? What really struck me were some comments made about research and development and maximizing the value of the resource. It just seems to me that if somebody actually came up with some ability to assist burn survivors, as with the example of the collagen, and then heart ailments with the omega-3 oils.... The best way to fight this issue, in my opinion, is not to simply fight emotion with facts, because unfortunately the facts will be the first casualty; it's really to fight emotion with emotion, emotion with good substantive counterbalance and counterproduct. The research and development aspect of this industry--developing new products--seems to be the best offence we could possibly muster in terms of getting this together.
Taking it from a grassroots point of view, how many sealers are on the Magdalen Islands? What was the average annual value of the pelts for the animals you got last year? Where could we see this industry going, with the right applications?