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International conference on sealing to be held in province

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister John Efford announced today that a major international conference on sealing will be held in St. John's in November.

The conference, organized by the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), will bring together participants from 12 to 15 countries, November 25-27.

Mr. Efford said when he learned last fall that NAMMCO was considering Canadian sites, including Toronto and Montreal, for the conference, he contacted the commission and asked them to consider holding it in this province.

"I am delighted that the commission has accepted my invitation to hold the conference here. As the province on the doorstep of one of the largest seal herds in the world, and considering our historic economic and cultural links to the seal fishery, I can not think of any location more appropriate for this conference," he said.

Kate Sanderson, secretary to NAMMCO who is in St. John's to finalize some preparations for the conference, joined the minister at a news conference to make the announcement.

"This will provide a forum through which to share information and experiences from sealing activities around the world, to enhance contacts between sealing communities, industry and policy makers in different regions, and to strengthen cooperation across political, geographical and cultural borders on the conservation and management of seals and trade in seal products," Ms. Anderson said.

The conference also aims to explore the scientific basis and policy objectives of multi-species approaches to the management of seals in different countries. A special exhibition on trade and conservation is also being arranged in conjunction with the conference.

Mr. Efford noted that the conference will not only serve as an excellent information and technology exchange, but will give world-wide promotion to the overall efforts of many countries to revitalize the sealing industry.

Speaking of the sealing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Efford noted that it is estimated that the fishery this year will have an estimated export value of $25 million, with 5,000 sealers engaged in the fishery, and another 500 people in processing-related jobs. He said that fur markets are strong, and commercial markets in the Far East have been successfully expanded to accommodate a portion of seal oil capsule production. Success has also been achieved in producing such products as seal salami, pepperoni and sausage, as well as prime meat cuts for markets in China, Korea and Japan.

"Prices to sealers this year have been the best in many years. This shows enormous promise for our seal fishery in 1998 and beyond," the minister said.

Sessions planned for the international conference focus on several main themes: where and how seals are utilized, and the historical, social, economic and cultural factors that characterize different forms of sealing today; principles and ethical basis for the conservation and use of wildlife, and how seals fit in; market potential and development, as well as impediments to sustainable use and trade in seal products; the status of knowledge on interactions between seals and other marine species, and how this knowledge can be applied to conservation and management; and the requirements and mechanisms for international cooperation on the conservation and management of seals.

The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission is an intergovernmental body established in 1992 by an agreement between Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, with the objective of contributing, through regional consultation and cooperation, to the conservation, rational management and study of marine mammals in the North Atlantic.

Partners with NAMMCO for the international conference are the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, representing the 125,000 Inuit of Chukotka (Russia), Alaska, Canada, and Greenland; the Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental ministerial cooperation between the Nordic countries; the Nordic Atlantic Cooperation, established as a project and funding program aimed at improving the framework and conditions for industry, trade and development in the West Nordic region; and High North Alliance, representing major fishing, sealing and whaling organizations in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, as well as the Canadian Sealers Association.

Contact: Josephine Cheeseman, Director of Communications (709) 729- 3733.