Fisheries committee  No, our committee did not. I'm sorry, Greg, I was waiting for you to jump in.

Fisheries committee  I would agree with that statement. I would add that we should be looking at areas like the Miramichi and areas in Newfoundland and Gaspé where there are very healthy or relatively healthy populations of wild Atlantic salmon where aquaculture does not exist in open-net pens now and make sure that it never goes there.

Fisheries committee  I will go first, if that's okay. We have analyzed the regulations that are on the books. There is the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, which, like the Forest Stewardship Council or the Marine Stewardship Council, has a certification process that establishes best practices. Norway, by far and away, has the highest standards, and it still has problems with disease, sea lice, and escapes.

Fisheries committee  I would concur basically with what Greg Roach said. Seals are likely a big problem for salmon in localized areas, as opposed to out in the gulf or the Labrador Sea. There are 10, 11, or 12 million seals out there now; there are only 500,000 or 600,000 Atlantic salmon left. To Dr.

Fisheries committee  No, no. In order for the Province of Quebec to change the number of tags it issues, that requires a legislative change, which is the responsibility of the DFO.

Fisheries committee  That's in the works for 2017. The problem or disappointment is that it could have been implemented this year with the support of Quebec, but it will take two years to get done because of that legislative requirement.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. It would be an important one. DFO has the responsibility for regulating, for managing, Atlantic salmon in the four Atlantic provinces. Quebec has that responsibility for its rivers. Quebec is an excellent model for river management. A lot of local associations manage the recreational fishery and do a terrific job as far as wardens, habitat renewal, and so on are concerned.

Fisheries committee  That's a very good question. I believe there is a lot you can do. From past experience, in 1993-1994 the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the North Atlantic Salmon Fund NGO partner from Iceland actually paid the Greenlanders not to fish. We purchased their NASCO-negotiated quota of 158 tonnes and 213 tonnes for those two years.

Fisheries committee  The short answer is yes. Obviously it couldn't take place in a short period of time. The Atlantic Salmon Federation position is that there should be a moratorium immediately on any expansion of the industry, with a grandfather period, until closed containment on land or closed containment technologies in the ocean or along the coast....

Fisheries committee  Absolutely.

Fisheries committee  I was disappointed. The Atlantic Salmon Federation was disappointed. We have some data. It's not just an emotional response. I mentioned in my presentation about the smolt tracking work and adult sonic tag tracking work that the Atlantic Salmon Federation is doing in the Miramichi, Restigouche, and Cascapedia.

Fisheries committee  I'll speak to CAST first, but if I don't completely answer your question, maybe you could rephrase it for me. CAST, Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow, is a collaboration of industry partners: J.D. Irving Limited, Cooke Aquaculture, International Paper, NGOs such as the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Miramichi Salmon Association, the University of New Brunswick, DFO, the Canadian Rivers Institute, and others.

Fisheries committee  You can. I'm coming into the home stretch here.

Fisheries committee  CAST has industry partners and conservation organizations and universities working to recover the species using state-of-the art innovative technologies, and it could be a blueprint for other areas. There are two last points to emphasize. As has already been said, we need to get the wild Atlantic salmon policy in place and working.

Fisheries committee  Thank you. Certainly we're encouraged by the news. The announcement yesterday may have been short on detail, but it's $197.1 million over the next several years, and Atlantic salmon were specifically mentioned in the announcement, as was the need for more marine research and freshwater assessment.