Fisheries committee  For salmon farms right now there are about 120 leases on the books, but at any one time about 85 are in operation. That number has been pretty stagnant for the last several years. So any growth we have seen on the west coast has come from efficiencies in the use of the existing sites.

Fisheries committee  No. Regarding the number of licences right now on the books, are we talking about for salmon farms or for all facilities?

Fisheries committee  It's very multifactorial, but I would say there's a public perception that aquaculture is damaging to the environment, and this has caused a lot of concern and has been raised by many groups. It has made it very difficult to attract investment and to move the file forward to establish new sites.

Fisheries committee  No, I wouldn't say it's ill-founded. That wouldn't be the choice that I would use; I would say that it has been very exaggerated and overstated.

Fisheries committee  Yes, DFO would be regulating if it's land-based. But I have to get clarification internally on the jurisdictional authority of the Fisheries Act. Basically, if I set up a farm that's on land and has no connection to a fish-bearing water, a fishery, or any other body of water that contains fish, is that within the scope of the Fisheries Act?

Fisheries committee  That's a fairly big question. I'll try to keep my comments kind of short. On the waste discharge side, right now the current requirements are part of a performance-based monitoring scheme. I don't know how familiar you are with that. I think that on the west coast we've been really quite proactive in developing that system, although that system is also used in other regions around the world.

Fisheries committee  In what context of innovation do you mean?

Fisheries committee  It's a matter of which issues you want to address. Obviously there are several issues, and nothing is perfect. Right now, from a waste discharge perspective, the federal government has been following on work from the provincial government to characterize and reduce impact from waste discharge.

Fisheries committee  Well, it's been a lot of work. I even commend the federal government for achieving what they have over such a short period of time. I don't think there's too much overlap. The industry would say it was going too slowly and could go a lot quicker. I think that will happen in time as people sort out what key issues need to be addressed.

Fisheries committee  In a manner of speaking.... What I'm getting at with that point is that what often happens is a solution is identified by various groups. So what's happening with this issue is that everyone is saying we have to go to closed containment systems. I don't know if that's necessarily the best answer.

Fisheries committee  Okay. Can everyone hear me?

Fisheries committee  I'd like to thank the committee for the invitation to contribute to your study of closed containment salmon aquaculture. I appreciate the opportunity and privilege to address our parliamentarians in Ottawa. I also appreciate the fact that we can do this by video conference, which has been very convenient for me.