I would say that the biggest problem we have is that the number of campaigns and the money spent on those campaigns have been very effective in denigrating the potential that aquaculture has as an employer in our area. Some fishermen are actively against aquaculture, and I can understand why. They see it as a challenge to their own product and marketplace. However, there are many fishermen who have managed to overcome their initial distaste for the industry, and are now working with the industry transporting fish, among other things. Many of the crew are working in a processing plant in Port Hardy, which is just about the largest employer in Port Hardy, and I might add, is a steady year-round employer.
As far as the environmental situation goes in Broughton, it is a beautiful area, and I believe the effect of aquaculture has been greatly exaggerated by the proponents of the anti-aquaculture campaigns. We don't have the funds or the expertise to counter that in any way. There are organizations like the Living Oceans Society that are funded very well. They're probably the largest employer in some of our communities because they have so many people working for them. How they can generate that kind of funding, I have no idea. I understand that the majority of the funding comes from outside our province, and mostly from the United States.
That's a very difficult thing for ordinary people like ourselves to stand up to. There are many people who would love to see aquaculture given the kind of credit that it should be given as an employer and a contributor to our whole economy—not just the local economy, but the economy of British Columbia.