Fisheries committee  I've talked about the escapement goals as a way of measuring outputs or results. I think achieving those goals for all the different systems is a valid way of measuring results.

Fisheries committee  DFO works very closely with BC Hydro. We have water use plans that describe and manage flow levels. That is an important element. In addition, we have a monitoring program that measures flows and temperatures as the salmon return. We will actually adjust our management efforts, our fishery, in response.

Fisheries committee  We don't have good information about the impacts on sockeye in that respect, the incidental or the unintended harvest of sockeye, but we do have a Pacific salmon treaty with the United States. We're renegotiating the chapters of that right now, and one of the chapters is on sockeye.

Fisheries committee  We certainly do sampling of the returning stocks, including some DNA analysis. Once the sockeye get back to the river though, we're pretty certain about their origin. I think the question is really about the situation in the ocean, where there are mixes of stocks coming back, and we need to protect the weak ones and fish the strong ones, but we can't tell them apart because they all look alike.

Fisheries committee  Just to clarify, in fact, in British Columbia the federal government has managed aquaculture since a court case defined that as being in our jurisdiction. We do have the regulatory program within Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In fact, we do work with the province though, because it has the part of the job licensing out the locations, the farms, so we need to work very co-operatively with it.

Fisheries committee  I can start on that. First of all, that 20 million is an aggregate number. When you think about the Fraser River, you see that there is a large number of runs, in fact, that will come back to tributaries. Aggregate-wise, you can come up with huge numbers, but it will vary system by system.

Fisheries committee  I think that is definitely an important aspect of the work. It's complex when you try to expand out to the ecosystem in trying to understand all the various inputs that are impacting on the health of a particular stock. That is, I think, always a source of research and investigation, but we do our best to collect various inputs or variables when we develop our management plan to take those into account.

Fisheries committee  Okay. I understand. In the wild salmon policy, salmon stocks are defined as essentially...they're called “conservation units”. Basically, units are genetically distinct. They're managed at that level—a pretty low level, a distinct level—where we can understand at the individual unit level the stock status and its health.

Fisheries committee  I think the question is really about how much of an ecosystem-based approach do we take when we're managing fisheries, correct?

Fisheries committee  My suggestion in answer to that question is that we do need to wait for the minister's response to this committee's report. At that point, I think you're going to get a better picture of what that looks like. At this point, I'm not able to speculate on the types of changes or responses that we can expect.

Fisheries committee  The province did provide a response—a few years ago now—and has responded positively in a couple of ways. One of the recommendations was around the water act that was under review. That has been completed. Another recommendation was about the riparian areas regulation and how DFO and the province work collaboratively.

Fisheries committee  There are a couple of answers to that. The first is that we have not allowed any new farms into the Discovery Islands. The second part is that there's a risk assessment going on, which Mr. Swerdfager may wish to speak to, that will answer some of the scientific questions we have about the plans for 2020, which is what the recommendations speak to.

Fisheries committee  I'm sorry. Is this a question around salmon farming or just about—

Fisheries committee  To respond to your question around the wild salmon policy, we have a salmon allocation policy that's separate from the wild salmon policy. That salmon allocation policy essentially describes, species by species, how the fish will be allocated. The reason for my earlier hesitation about the numbers is that it absolutely varies by year.

Fisheries committee  If it's a very low year, then the majority of the fish will be saved for conservation or for food, social, and ceremonial purposes. The numbers you're looking for, therefore, are absolutely dependent on the returns coming back.