Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, it is a pleasure to be here to address Fisheries and Oceans Canada's mandate regarding our contribution to protecting the Great Lakes against the Asian carp. My name is David Burden and I am Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
With me today are Becky Cudmore and Nick Mandrak. They are the knowledge behind the topic we are going to be discussing today. They will provide an overview of the work they've been doing related to Asian carp in the Great Lakes with our colleagues on this side of the border and south of the border.
Before I ask Becky to provide you with an overview of the binational risk assessment work, I would also like to take a few minutes to provide a bit of context and outline some of the other work we are doing which I think will be of interest to this committee and your study. After that, we will be willing to take any of your questions and to answer them as best we can.
Aquatic invasive species such as Asian carp pose a significant threat to Canada's fisheries, putting at risk regional economies and jobs that rely on commercial fisheries, tourism, and recreation. While there are currently no Asian carp in Canadian waters, Asian carp DNA has been found north of the electrical fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Another risk is that live Asian carp have been found entering Canada via the U.S.-Canada border crossing to serve the live food trade industry.
In 2010 DFO, in cooperation with U.S. agencies, undertook a binational risk assessment on the two highest priority Asian carp species, those being bighead and silver carp. DFO allocated approximately $415,000 to fund this assessment in order to help guide Canadian and American prevention, monitoring, and control activities throughout the Great Lakes and to identify vulnerable areas.
Back on May 28, 2012, Minister Ashfield, on behalf of the Government of Canada, announced funds totalling $17.5 million over five years to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp. These funds are allocated to four key activities: prevention, early warning, rapid response, and management and control.
DFO is also currently developing a regulatory proposal that would address the issue of import of live aquatic invasive species such as Asian carp. In June of this year, DFO was invited to join the Asian carp regional coordinating committee, which is responsible for coordinating activities under the U.S. Asian carp control strategy framework across all levels of U.S. government at the state and federal levels. The committee's aim is to prevent environmental and economic damage to the Great Lakes from these species.
Finally, closer to home, we've been working with our colleagues south of the border as well as from Ontario and the aquatic Invasive Species Centre up in Sault Ste. Marie to develop a Canadian Asian carp forum similar to those that have occurred south of the border. This forum will provide basin-wide activities concerning the prevention of Asian carp introduction and establishment in the Great Lakes. It will be held on November 8 at the Palais Royale in Toronto, and will be attended by agencies from both sides of the border, non-government agencies, and the public.
With that context and update information, I will now turn things over to Becky to walk you through the details of the binational risk assessment.