Mr. Chair, I don't have opening comments, per se, but I will just take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Dan Stechey. I started Canadian Aquaculture Systems in 1984, when the Canadian aquaculture industry was worth $7 million, as opposed to the $1 billion that Ruth just talked about.
For the past 27 years, I've been engaged exclusively in aquaculture, providing help with design, management, and productivity for our clientele throughout North and South America and the Caribbean. I've lost count of the number of projects we've worked on during that time. We do a fair bit of work, as well, for provincial and federal governments, particularly on the strategic policy area.
From 1992 to 1996, I put Canadian Aquaculture Systems in trust at the request of the Canadian Aquaculture Producers Council, the predecessor of CAIA, and the government of the day. It was a joint request. I served as the first director of aquaculture at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, where I was the principal architect of the federal aquaculture development strategy. During that four-year period, we established a lot of policy and made some regulatory changes to help move the aquaculture industry forward.
From 1999 through about 2004, I also served as an internal consultant to the Office of the Commissioner for Aquaculture Development.
I'm honoured to be here to help this committee in its work. I think it's important work. You've got a lot of information to review. You need to make some key decisions for the benefit of this entire country, not just one sector or another.
I'm happy to answer questions to the best of my ability. Please feel free to ask anything that I may be able to help with.