Fisheries committee  I will say that I think it was a significant step forward. Bringing countries together and contracting parties to adhere to principles of conservation and proper management sets a tone. It sets a different atmosphere. It makes them responsible fishing nations. If we don't get some—

Fisheries committee  They haven't. That's why it's so important that we keep working on it.

Fisheries committee  My reference to irritants wasn't necessarily to building relationships. One of the goals was to work with irritants between different countries. Resolving irritants has strengthened relations, no doubt. Both of them mesh there. I'll throw out an example of an irritant. The Machias Seal Island lobster fishery would be an irritant between us and the U.S., and we're working on that issue—or whether there will be a renewal, hopefully, of the Pacific salmon treaty.

Fisheries committee  I certainly will address that, but my reference to irritants was in bilateral irritants that are occurring with countries. I have to work with these to get a resolution to those irritants—

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here and for the committee's ongoing interest in overfishing. As you mentioned, I am accompanied by two officials here from the departments as representatives. David Bevan is assistant deputy minister of fisheries and aquaculture management with DFO, and Wendell Sanford is a director with DFAIT in the ocean law division.