Fisheries committee  I think access to Global Affairs Canada is a critical step in all this. We need trade minds to look at the present constructs that exist. The Inuit and indigenous exemptions that exist have failed miserably. We should also have Environment Canada involved. We have Sable Island cl

Fisheries committee  I firmly believe that extremist groups that don't prescribe to the sustainable use of the planet's natural resources should not be included. They're a noise at the table. I believe that legitimate environmental groups have concern for this and want to see people being able to uti

Fisheries committee  Mr. Perkins, you are perhaps one of the most knowledgeable people on this issue now in Canada. You're in the top 2%, for sure. You've taken the time to read the studies. What Canada needs to do is synthesize this into a package that we can use to promote the severity of the pro

Fisheries committee  We haven't taken 10,000 out of the environment in that period of time of 11 years.

Fisheries committee  Throughout Asia, even recently, we've tried to advance trade and open up new customers. We are presently in the world's most opportune time for selling omega-3s. The collapse of the fisheries in South America and the Chilean and Peruvian fisheries have created a global shortage.

Fisheries committee  I think that the minister's announcement came on the heels of the Atlantic seal science task team report, which I have given three quotes from. We know our scientific data is woefully inadequate to determine what role, negative or positive, harp seals are having in the local envi

Fisheries committee  I think it's about reconciling the difference, because being out by a kilo a day is an astronomical amount of biomass removed from the environment. The Norwegian number is based on the caloric requirements for harp seal in the wild, which do swim some 15,000 kilometres each per y

Fisheries committee  I serve on the Atlantic seal advisory committee, ASAC, which is chaired by the DFO. What I will say is that, for the better part of two decades, industry has been sending strong signals to the DFO about the precautionary approach and the overall management regime. What is our ma

Fisheries committee  I visited the marine science centre in 2008 with Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, who is the veterinarian who helped us reshape the marine mammal regulations for the three-step process. At the time, I asked the caretaker how much each of these adult seals was eating. He was very proud t

Fisheries committee  DFO science itself says it's linked to availability of prey and the size of the herd. All of those facts and figures come from DFO science. The alarming one is that late-term abortions are up 200%. A female harp seal, based on her body condition, can decide at any point through

Fisheries committee  From our perspective, it's about the market access link to our products. If we had unfettered access to an adequate number of markets, we believe that we could re-establish the trade. Underpinning that, I think, the necessity here is to understand the magnitude of the situation i

Fisheries committee  I won't make a claim that it's deliberately being done, but I think, as the other testimony indicated, that there are gaps in the science. I think we need to invest more in science to understand the real interactions. We don't know if we're talking about an elephant in the room o

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much for this opportunity. Carino has been processing seal meat, oil, hides and other by-products since 1958. We need a stable supply of harp, hooded and grey seals. The health of our business is intimately linked to healthy seal populations, particularly harp sea

Fisheries committee  I would agree 100%.

Fisheries committee  Thank you again for the opportunity.