No matter how long you're on this committee, you learn something new every day!
Well, Ashton, and others, thank you very much, gentlemen, for coming down and speaking with us today.
Ashton, we've heard about conservation efforts in other areas, such as the Magdalen Islands, and what they're doing in terms of reducing the number of traps per boat. On P.E.I. we heard about some of their efforts, when they talked about the buyback of the lobsters. We heard the average age of the fishermen is in the forties or fifties, and in some cases higher.
We've heard—at least through the media here as well—an awful lot of interest in what's called the government buyout of the licences, not just to conserve the stock, but also to allow the fishermen to retire with dignity.
I was wondering if you could give our committee a short synopsis of what LFA 34's view is on a buyback. How should it work? Who should participate? Who should pay for it? What would be the average cost to either the provincial or federal governments, in cooperation with LFA 34, of reducing number of licences in this area?