The main focus of the Asian carp program will be prevention. That is our most effective and efficient use of funds in dealing with any aquatic invasive species, and especially this one, as we don't have them in Canada at this time. We need to focus on preventing their arrival so that we can avoid the subsequent steps of establishment, spread, and impact.
We will be working with the U.S.A. because that is where the invaded water bodies are located. It was very critical for us to be part of their coordinating group so we can have a voice at their table on the activities they are doing to prevent arrival through that particular pathway.
It was really important for us to make sure we understood all the existing pathways throughout the Great Lakes so that we weren't so focused on one that we could have missed others.
By identifying all the pathways, we are able to think about which ones we have control over. We do have control over trade and what should be coming across the border. Understanding better the characteristics of live trade will be another focus of the program. It is illegal to bring them into Ontario and possess them live, but we know people do illegal things and so we will be working with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Province of Ontario to work on that particular pathway.