Fisheries committee  I'm guessing it would have been a better question for the president of the company to answer, but we deal with an Icelandic bank, and I don't think it's any easier for anyone, big or small these days, to get access to cash.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  It interrupted our flow for a period of time at the beginning. We've weathered that storm and we have our lines of credit in place for 2009. However, the question is whether they are as favourable as we'd like.

Fisheries committee  It's a very volatile situation. It's very difficult to say exactly how this is going to play out. I look back at the lobster pricing that occurred in Nova Scotia in December. Most of our customers would look at that pricing at $3.25 and say that lobster with a shore price of $3.25 is good value, a good buy, and the majority of the people can afford to purchase that lobster.

Fisheries committee  Yes, I think that's fair.

Fisheries committee  I certainly would have no more control over the provincial governments than I have over this committee. I cannot influence a provincial government decision. I would commend the government for forming a P.E.I. lobster round table dealing with P.E.I. issues. I would commend the fishermen and the other processors for coming to the table and working diligently to try to find some of the answers that this committee is also trying to find, with a slant towards P.E.I. stakeholders.

Fisheries committee  I said it's slightly higher, but you have to think about the fact that I'm not the only processor. Collectively, whoever has the inventory, whether it's me or someone else, has to go through the same markets.

Fisheries committee  I'd say that the inventory situation, from our perspective, is that we're slightly above where we would be in any other year. The biggest concern with that is about where we are going to sell our products in 2009. If any one of us processors—and we're all in it together—has inventory, it is going to greatly impact what the price is going to be in the marketplace come May 1.

Fisheries committee  Even at this crucial time we're losing that organization. It's a tremendous organization. The timing couldn't be more wrong. I guess someone would have to show me when it could be more wrong.

Fisheries committee  We're a private company, and I don't really want to divulge that type of information. I don't think it's healthy for the market to divulge that type of information. We've had one incident already this year in which we divulged that information, and the next week at Ocean Choice we could not handle the telephone calls from people saying, “So you're having a fire sale in the lobster business?”

Fisheries committee  There's been tremendous effort to move all inventories. Fall inventory and spring inventory are two different types of inventory. Fall inventory is usually a market-size lobster that's processed mainly for the U.S. tails and meat market, whereas your spring season would be more of the whole cooked or whole raw and popsicle packs.

Fisheries committee  If you look at our business model, what you will see over the last probably three to five years is a reduction in how much product we buy at each buying station. Over time, our amount of buy has dwindled probably by more than half of the buy. Therefore, our cost has risen to double what we would normally have to pay.

Fisheries committee  I don't think it's being biased in any way, shape, or form, in the way of larger companies. I think one of the things you see in this business is that there are many, many smaller operations, and those operations can operate basically on a cash deal. But they have to turn over their inventory, which affects my business as a larger company.

Fisheries committee  It's going to have a major effect. Not only do they participate in the research and development of new products, but they've also been the driver behind the Atlantic lobster round table. They've chaired it. They've brought all the information together for it, and they've been a tremendous part of making the lobster operation in Atlantic Canada more transparent and open.

Fisheries committee  First of all, Mr. Chairman, let me apologize on behalf of Mr. Sullivan, who was supposed to make this presentation today. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative. Good evening, members of the committee. My name is Linus Bungay, and I am the operations manager for Ocean Choice International on Prince Edward Island.