Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, committee members.
Yes, I'm Rebecca Reid. I'm the regional director general for DFO Pacific region. My colleagues and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
First of all, we'd like to thank you for your interest in this extremely important issue.
Our aim today is to provide you with as much information as possible to support your deliberations.
We are particularly pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the department's actions to conserve and rebuild Pacific salmon populations.
Over the next 10 minutes, I will introduce you to the witnesses and describe their areas of expertise. I will invite Dr. Kristi Miller-Saunders to provide a more in-depth description of her field of research, and then I will close with some final remarks.
Andrew Thomson, whom many of you have met before, has been recently appointed as the regional director of science. Prior to that, he was regional director of fisheries management for over six years and has held other management positions, including director of aquaculture management.
Dr. Jay Parsons is the director of the aquaculture, biotechnology and aquatic animal health science branch. Dr. Parsons has worked for over 30 years in the field of aquaculture, including both research and aquaculture management.
Dr. John Holmes, division manager, stock assessment and research division, is currently responsible for stock assessment surveys, activities and advice on all marine finfish, invertebrates and Pacific salmon.
Dr. Kyle Garver is a research scientist in the aquatic diagnostics, genomics and technology division. Dr. Garver's research focuses on identifying and characterizing finfish viruses to understand transmission and pathogenic potential.
Dr. Simon Jones is a research scientist with the aquatic diagnostics, genomics and technology division. Dr. Jones' research focuses on diseases in wild and farmed salmonids.
Dr. Kristi Miller-Saunders is section head in salmon genetics. Dr. Millers-Saunders' research focuses on molecular biology, genetics and genomics, ecology and fish health.
At this point, I will turn to Dr. Miller-Saunders to provide some remarks before I offer concluding comments.
Thank you.