Hello. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the committee.
I began working on Sable Island in 1974, and since the mid-1980s I've spent eight to eleven months on the island each year.
My work has included dune restoration studies, studies of seals and horses, biodiversity surveys, and environmental monitoring.
Among the environmental monitoring projects that I conduct is a long-term beached oiled seabird survey conducted for the offshore energy industry as part of its environmental effects monitoring program. This ongoing survey, done once every four to six weeks since 1993—