However, the aquaculture piece interested me.
As I said last day, I represent an area on the south coast of Newfoundland where we're getting into a pretty significant piece of aquaculture activity. I expect it's going to be quite substantial if it goes the way we all hope it goes, or all want it to go.
There's actually a tremendous requirement for infrastructure around the industry due to the activity of feeding the fish in the water and so on. Many of our wharves now do not have the capability for all the activity. What we're finding is that wharves originally established for commercial fishermen are now starting to be occupied with aquaculture activity--loading feed to take out to the sites, and on and on it goes--and in some cases provincial ferries may use the same wharves. So we're getting into a fair bit of user conflict.
I know that ACOA has been down to the region in the past few years and talked to the stakeholders. I'm just wondering how we're ever going to cross that bridge, although the deputy minister alluded to, I think, where it might fit. In addition to the existing wharves we have for, say, the traditional fishery, if we're going to be able to accommodate this increased aquaculture activity, we're either going to have to expand the existing infrastructure or build new, strictly for aquaculture activity.
I don't know what your thoughts are on that. I'm concerned about it because I don't know how we're going to cross that bridge. I think this area I'm speaking about will become in the next five years, as a result of what's happening, probably one of the most prosperous areas of the province. I wouldn't want to see the infrastructure requirements not being met and then the industry pushed back.
What are your thoughts on that?