Fisheries committee  I'm not sure if they're directly related. As I understand a contract position, somebody is hired for a specified period of time for a particular project. That would very much be a time-limited arrangement that the department would have with any contracted individuals.

Fisheries committee  Thank you. I'm not all that familiar with tilapia production issues, so I won't be able to comment extensively on that particular question. But we can certainly get back to you with further information. One comment I will make, though, is that stocking densities vary quite a bit among species—and I'm not sure, Alistair, if you know the figures for tilapia.

Fisheries committee  In terms of the number of fishery scientists in the—

Fisheries committee  I would say that it's been fairly stable for the last number of years in terms of fishery scientists. But certainly for aquaculture, the department received some funding in 2000-01 that allowed us to increase our complement. As well, we received some funding in 2008, which again allowed us to increase our science complement for aquaculture.

Fisheries committee  I don't have the specific number, but maybe another way to describe the scenario is to compare the difference between net-pen and land-based systems. In net pen, the industry is operating in water. They've got cages in there, and they rely on the natural flow of the currents and tides to move water through the systems.

Fisheries committee  Again, I don't have those figures right at the tips of my fingers, but we can provide them to you.

Fisheries committee  I don't have the exact figure for the number of people we have in the department. At Fisheries and Oceans, we have a number of regions: Pacific, central, Arctic, Quebec, gulf, Maritimes, and Newfoundland. We have a number of research facilities in those regions across the country.

Fisheries committee  It would be a smaller complement than what we have on the fisheries science side; but again, I think that reflects the history of the department. The department has been around for many years, and we've had a mandate in fisheries science ever since the beginning of the department, whereas, as Mr.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Stringer is right that this is a very difficult question to answer explicitly. One way to answer it might be from more of a general perspective. Mr. Stringer has already alluded to the three phases, to the research, development, and commercialization continuum, if you will.

Fisheries committee  As I think we've already alluded to, there's already a significant level of government funding in this development, pilot-scale project. I think government funding is very important at this stage of development, where the indications are that it's marginally financially feasible and that public investment of funds will certainly help facilitate the development of this technology.

Fisheries committee  In terms of the difference in densities, yes, that's correct.

Fisheries committee  I could add just a further point on this. It's partly related to the biological parameters that the fish need to grow. In closed containment systems, you have much more control over the parameters in which you raise your fish. To be able to stock fish at 50 kilograms per cubic metre, you need to have much more control over your system in terms of being able to remove the solids and the dissolved wastes.

Fisheries committee  I agree with Mr. Stringer's comments on the different phases. The only further thing I would say in terms of the demonstration scale is that it's not only testing the technology around closed containment, but it's also looking at some of the biological factors related to growing the fish in these systems, such as the growth rates, the food conversion ratios, how the fish respond to higher densities, and what some of the challenges might be in growing the fish in these closed containment systems with respect to health management of the fish.