I would like to begin by talking about training. We have developed a guide and a video to train the hunters. In fact, it is the hunter's handbook. It was distributed during the training course, once the hunt had started, to attract young people to the hunt. The best way to sell the hunt is probably by talking about the training hunters receive. When we met with European parliamentarians and senators from the European Council, what probably struck and impressed them the most was when we told them that our hunters are trained and are closely monitored, and that the hunt is conducted in a professional manner.
The first recommendation of your committee should probably be to make training mandatory to ensure that the hunt is carried out as it should be. If a couple of hunters somewhere remain isolated and do not hunt properly, that will affect the entire hunt and all hunters. So we have to make sure that this does not happen again.
The second point has to do with research and development. It's another way for us to convince the public of the benefits of the hunt. Today, there is a fair amount of research and development with regard to the seal industry. We are in the process of conducting research to separate the omega-3 fatty acids found in seal oil in order to sell each of them as an active ingredient.
There is a lot of research and development happening in Newfoundland, but it is not concentrated anywhere. The research is spread out all over the place. There should be an umbrella organization to identify exactly who is doing what and produce research reports. A lot of academic reports have been written the benefits of seal oil. Other reports have been produced on the advantages of biodiesel, and so on. However, the information is still very diluted. It would be much easier to export omega-3s to the American market than fur. We have to keep this in mind. The day when Americans want omega-3s from seal oil, they will be more inclined to amend their legislation than they have been for fur imports.