by Mark Sproxton
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jan 27/97) - The Nunavut sealing strategy will get a thorough review later this year.

Stakeholders in the project want to determine whether or not they're on the right track.

"We're going to do an evaluation to see which projects should be continued, which show potential or what can be privatized," said Larry Simpson, supervisor of Renewable Resource Development in Iqaluit.

"The whole thing is the sealing industry has to be sustainable."

The program includes the harvesting and selling of sealskins for the fashion industry, the manufacturing of small garments from sealskins and the development of seal meat processing.

While the program may be headed for changes after the evaluation, it also received a shot in the arm at a fur auction in North Bay, Ont., in mid-December. At the auction, 6,000 Nunavut sealskins were sold for an average of $29 each.

The totals are the highest in more than a decade, proving there is renewed interest in sealskins, Simpson said.

In the 1970s the seal market almost collapsed thanks to an anti-sealing lobby and protests that received worldwide attention.

The success of the marketing of 12 high-fashion garments last year are also a point of optimism.

Proceeds from the selling of these coats will be used for a new set of designs to be shown in Hong Kong and Montreal, Simpson said.

The part of the strategy that may be best suited for privatization is the small garment area.

In this segment of the project, about 12 women in four communities are paid on a piece-rate basis to sew and/or cut sealskin for items such as mitts and hats.

This year's products will be sold in southern markets for the first time to gauge interest there, Simpson said.

"Some people have expressed interest, but the privatization decision hasn't been reached," he said. "We're pretty confident it can be privatized or partially privatized."

As for seal meat processing for products such as seal pot pie or sausages, Simpson said the market is limited but may be sustainable on a seasonal basis.

Government firms and Inuit-owned agencies are the stakeholders in the project.