Fisheries committee  Mr. Small, and committee, I've been in the industry for over 30 years. I worked at the university here for the first nine, and then I went into the industry. I've been involved with four sealing companies throughout my career. I watch what happens within the industry pretty closely, and I haven't seen things change in the past 20 years in terms of market access.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. In my opinion, and I speak on it frequently, if we are to take any number of seals, regardless of the species or location in Atlantic Canada or western Canada, then in order to handle the volume, we have to look at food aid—high, nutritionally rich protein powders and meals made from the seal.

Fisheries committee  Well, it would be difficult to say where we could go right now, because there is not a whole lot of market out there. There's not a whole lot of accessibility out there. That's something we have to work on, but it needs to be done; it needs to be addressed. Just like when we talk about the predation part, the market and the access need to be dealt with ASAP.

Fisheries committee  Good afternoon. Mr. Chairman, members of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and other presenters, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today on the truth about capelin and its importance to the ocean ecosystem. While there is always a push by environmental groups, ocean conservationists and animal rights activists to reduce and cease commercial fishing activity, especially for capelin, there is never any reference to predation by seals.

Fisheries committee  Okay. DFO and the international scientific community agree that capelin are a primary prey specie and food for all seals, because capelin are abundantly available over a large geographic area and can be found both inshore and offshore during different seasons. Capelin are also a small fish that can be consumed whole, are rich in oil and have eggs, all of which are a preference of pinnipeds.

Fisheries committee  The team was co-chaired by DFO management. We got good co-operation, and those who presented provided co-operation. I don't think there was anything being held back there. A lot of us understood the situation locally. Overall, we've commented and we've made recommendations. The one that seems to be sticking right now is a forum or summit.

Fisheries committee  I think it comes under the broad term of “natural mortality”. We see a large percentage of unknowns when it comes to natural mortality. What happens to a smolt when it leaves the river? We're seeing fewer and fewer salmon returning. Are they caught elsewhere? Do they become prey of another fish species?

Fisheries committee  Yes, we did have a number of presentations by DFO scientists on a variety of species of fish and what was found. If I could, Mr. Perkins, I'd just like to explain something to the people here. Last year during COVID, we were following what was happening in terms of stomach sampling in Newfoundland.

Fisheries committee  You know, there's no excuse that after 30 years we don't know how many seals are out there. Each different species should have been counted by now. They should have been counted multiple times by now. In order to know the impact, you need to know how many there are. You need to know the daily diet.

Fisheries committee  There's quite a bit of variability, depending on the reporting. This 3% value, which was issued in January of this year from DFO science, is the lowest that DFO has used in the past 20 years. They also use a lower mean body weight for adult harp seals. It's been reduced from a previous 140 kilograms per animal down to 110 kilograms, so 3% of 110 kilograms is where you get the 3.3 kilograms.

Fisheries committee  That's a very good question. Collaboration is certainly needed. We need to look at what other countries are doing. You indicated the prolific fisheries that are in Scandinavia, particularly Norway and Iceland. Very seldom do you hear of resource crises. These countries do not have the seal population problem that we do here in Canada.

Fisheries committee  I think the number is far less than several million. It's in the tens of thousands in the last couple of years, in terms of the harp seals.

Fisheries committee  To increase the harvest and make it economical for fishers to fish in dangerous conditions, which is usually in the spring of the year when there's a lot of ice around, our governments have to open up market access. People I talk to in the industry say it's not a problem of people wanting to buy the various products.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. Seal offers many different products that can be utilized. The animal should be fully utilized when it's taken. I think Canada has missed out on an opportunity to produce edible food, not only for our northern communities, but also for countries that do not have an adequate food supply.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. I think all federal government departments working with provincial governments, local communities and indigenous groups need to co-operate and find a way to go forward. You are absolutely right with the reference to how humane the seal hunt is. It has been studied by international veterinarians many times.