Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks very much to our witnesses here this afternoon. This has certainly been an interesting study. We've heard from a wide variety of people, but the concerns all certainly seem to be much the same. I think it is felt that there has been some progress made in different areas when it comes to invasive species. It's felt that there has been quite a bit of progress made on the lamprey eel, for example, and also on the ballast water regulations.
It's also widely felt that the Asian carp will be a huge problem if in fact it ever does become established in the Great Lakes. I think everybody is very concerned about that.
The other invasive species that has come to light from the witnesses has been the northern snakehead fish. There have been some grave concerns expressed about that.
I'd like my first question to be about the ballast water research. Perhaps, Ms. Bailey, you could just talk a little bit more about the new methods you're looking at developing for early detection and enforcement. Could you just enlighten us a bit on where this is going?