Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, gentlemen, for appearing before us this afternoon.
I'm sure you are well aware that we started this study because of concerns that were raised in the Great Lakes area and concerns we have about several invasive species, in particular the Asian carp. We are concerned about it coming up through the Mississippi system, through Chicago, and into the Great Lakes system.
We are certainly no strangers to invasive species in the Great Lakes. We have been dealing with them for a long time. But I think the Asian carp became an issue in my riding of Sarnia—Lambton because of the news we were hearing about it on the very drastic impacts that are being felt in the Mississippi basin, with the destruction it's doing there. With our sport fishing and commercial fishing in the Great Lakes, it has certainly brought home the dangers that it poses. That's one of the things we're looking at.
We know there has been a fair amount of collaboration and work on it between the Canadian and U.S. governments. We know that work is ongoing.
Dr. Ricciardi, I would like you to address the statement you made about prevention, early detection, and rapid response being our best defences. What do you see as the main things we need to do? If you would like to address the Asian carp issue to begin with, that would be fine.