Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have more of a comment before my question. With the open-net pens, I'm assuming that in looking at the energy costs, you're also considering the fallowing and moving of those pens, because that's obviously a factor in those operations.
My question is this. If we just look at the west coast and are considering the feasibility of closed-containment systems there, profit is certainly one factor, but also, I would assume, another is whether the industry can expand, whether the industry is going to relocate, or come to, or continue to invest in that location. But there have been no new licences granted on the west coast for fish farms, that I'm aware of, for the last eight plus years—though I'm not sure of the exact number. So it seems that we're at a standoff.
I wonder if the department could comment on the fact that there seems to be no incentive for new licences. However, at the same time, the kind of closed containment technology that could offer a way forward may be years away.
So is there some kind of a strategy to move us forward?