Evidence of meeting #33 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was funding.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Farrant, I'd just like you to expand a bit on the education aspect. It's obvious that if you can convince people--you know, ParticipAction and everything else.... For $1.4 million, what can you put together? You're talking about the nation.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
That's correct.
We have already developed in Ontario a program that we deliver on the ground now, but our biologists, our invasive species staff, have for many years had in hand a program we could tailor to other provinces. The offer we made, going back to 2003, was that we would help develop one that was specifically tuned to each province or territory across the country that dealt with the invasives that caused them the difficulty. Of the $1.4 million, each province would get proportionally enough funding to hire one person to deliver that program on the ground through our provincial and territorial wildlife federations, who are from coast to coast to coast.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
You're dealing with billions of dollars of loss across the country, so in my view, that educational program you're talking about would be very important to put together.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Well, it is, and that's why this very same committee twice recommended in their reports that funding for that particular program go forward, recognizing the fact that public education and awareness make up one of the leading steps you can take to prevent the introduction and/or spread, or to do monitoring and/or assessment, of invasive species in this country, regardless of what that species may be.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Absolutely. If you can convince people that dumping the bucket or whatever.... I mean, a lot of people just do not realize what harm they do.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
That's right.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Exactly.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Nor do a lot of people think about the fact that they pull their boat out of the water, put it on a trailer, take it home, and next weekend stick it in another lake. They don't think about that.
That's what public education is all about. That's what the ramp signs are for. That's what the huge signs that we mount at marinas are for. That's what the highway signs are for. Clean your boat, don't transfer, don't do this, don't do that: it has an impact.
We work with cottage associations. We go to “Canada Blooms” shows. We go to fishing shows and hunting shows. We go to cottage shows and boating shows and everything all across the province. Our staff are always there. They're always educating. Their booths are always jammed with people who want to learn more about this. We're working on things like aquarium plants: don't be dumping aquariums into our lakes and rivers.
Manager, Government Affairs and Policy, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Exactly. This is how these species get introduced.
Liberal
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Well, that's good.
Thank you very much. I would certainly be recommending that the funding be put in place for that educational project, because if you can convince people that they should not do it.... People are just not aware at times what harm they can cause by just dumping a little bucket.
You told the committee that 400 people in your group got together and put a hatchery together, and in essence created a salmon industry that has been more or less destroyed by the sea lamprey, is it?
Hatchery Manager, Board of Directors, Bluewater Anglers
The sea lamprey, and the biggest effect was the zebra mussel and its impact on the forage fish.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Yes, that's right.
This question has been asked in a way, but what can you do in order to re-establish? What can you do to get the zebra mussel out? Is there a possibility of that happening, or is it always going to continue in Lake Huron? Like when you have the 10-pound salmon in the 25-pound body, that's what you do not want.
Hatchery Manager, Board of Directors, Bluewater Anglers
Our salmon have recovered. We're seeing fish now that are in the 18-pound range, and I don't expect that we'll see them much bigger than that until the forage base comes back.
As far as the zebra mussel is concerned, there are localized treatments to kill zebra mussels, but it's very localized. You're not going to kill off the bottom of Lake Huron. It's just not feasible. The zebra mussel will hit a level where there isn't going to be any room for them to go any further, but it's the next one. The quagga mussel, now, he goes deeper.
Liberal
Hatchery Manager, Board of Directors, Bluewater Anglers
No, they prevent themselves.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
From where I come from we have the blue mussel, and we do have problems with invasive species in that area too. I believe that some of our bigger problems have been boats, one way or another. It could be DFO, pleasure, or whatever. Is that the bigger problem you have in the Great Lakes? Is that where your invasive species come in, or do they flow in? Which is the biggest problem you have?
You talked about cleaning boats, spraying boats, and this type of thing. Is that one of your major problems?
Hatchery Manager, Board of Directors, Bluewater Anglers
The major problem, as I see it, is that the invasive species come in on the ocean boats. They come in ballast water. They come in attached to hulls.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
You did mention that the hull was not clean. Is that correct?