We're done?
An interesting issue was brought forward by the Grey Seal Conservation Society. The group itself has a very limited membership, we'll put it that way. It's a very small membership. However, we'll respect that they do have a point of view. The issue of parasites and the transfer of communicable diseases to humans by consuming seal products were raised. There's no medical evidence of this. There's no scientific evidence of this, but committee members did offer some anecdotal evidence at that point.
Seals have been harvested by aboriginals in Canada in the Arctic since time immemorial. A very large database would be available. There is no incidence, no reports, and no evidence whatsoever of Canadian or Russian aboriginal, Inuit, or Innu being susceptible to any parasitic infection or any other kind of infectious disease. And that's one of the things I'll leave off on.
The seal hunt is not a new fishery. It's not a European fishery, although it was started by Europeans in the 17th century. But it's also an aboriginal fishery, and in terms of the economics of this, our first nations are very dependent on it as a source of income and as a source of food. It's also ceremonial. It's a cultural practice. In terms of a modern-day harvest, almost all skins today, all pelts, are transported to Norway for processing.
So these are important points in analyzing fact versus fiction, reality versus some other points of view.