It's a very interesting period in the existence of this planet. We have a higher demand for proteins. We have a higher demand for omega-3 oils. We have a higher demand for eco-friendly textiles and other products. Yet we don't see an opportunity to position seal products for what they are. It's a conservation success for Canada. We have recovered our populations inside four decades to higher than virginal levels or at about maximum virginal levels at 7.4 million animals. But because of the positions of various groups that do not subscribe to the sustainable use of any wildlife species running falsified campaigns with misinformation in primary markets and in emerging markets, it has added a complication to the sealing sector because we're such a small commodity.
If you wanted to position the 4,000 tonnes yield from a 400,000 animal harvest into the omega-3 market comparatively, other marine-based omega-3s are about one million metric tonnes, so we represent 0.4% of the total global supply. It's very easy to single us out, and with a well-oiled false propaganda machine it's very difficult to reposition the hunt. That's why we see steps like having third party validation, veterinarian inspection, removal of the erroneous observations, the biased observations that are used to discredit the industry and destroy market capabilities. We need to remove that and we need to replace it with what consumers can buy into, which is a third party validation system.
That's why Bill C-555 in itself doesn't go far enough. However, it can be modified through future bills to achieve what we need to achieve.