The protection of wild salmon is a total priority for British Columbians and, as we know, any manageable risk needs to be managed, so that's one of the reasons for the transition away from open-net pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters. I would say that the transition has actually begun already with the December 2020 decision not to renew licences in the Discovery Islands area and to have those net-pens removed by summer of 2022.
Yes, we have a critical path for how we will move forward with this program. We're in consultation with the licence-holders, the indigenous communities and others on this so that we move forward in a holistic and skilful way. The decision on the current licences that you mentioned will be occurring over the coming months, so there are no decisions to be made immediately, and those consultations are important to that.
I am committed to a vision that this transition must include economic opportunities for communities to have the jobs and activities they need, so that's really why we need a responsible plan. I think that attracting the capital to create a world-class sustainable technology aquaculture industry is the opportunity here. What are the technologies that don't provide any or absolutely minimal interface or risk? Let's be the destination of choice for some of the sustainable aquaculture that's starting to emerge in other parts of the world today.