Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all our witnesses for being here on this important subject, wild Atlantic salmon.
In 2015, the Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans published a three-part report on aquaculture. I want to read a couple of quotes from that here.
In his testimony to the committee on May 12, 2016, Mr. Bill Taylor of the Atlantic Salmon Federation noted that there is a much steeper decline in numbers of wild salmon living in rivers that are close to salmon-farming sites.
Dr. Jeffrey Hutchings of Dalhousie University noted that because wild salmon populations are at low levels in areas where there are salmon aquaculture sites, they are more vulnerable to aquaculture impacts.
Dr. Cunjak, could you comment on what you think the impacts of aquaculture are on wild salmon and on whether you would support a moratorium or an expansion of open-net aquaculture industry in your area?