Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for the invitation. I'm not a stranger to the group, but there are a few new faces, so it's good to be here. I'll just get the slides going here.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. For those of you who don't know, we're a national industry association headquartered here in Ottawa, representing the interests of Canadian seafood farming operators, feed companies, and suppliers, as well as provincial finfish and shellfish aquaculture associations.

Agriculture committee  Yes, exactly. Many of our members invest globally in aquaculture. When they're sitting around the boardroom tables and everyone is talking about what investment is happening in Chile and other countries, Canada is getting maintenance dollars because there's no growth. I think it's very frustrating for the companies that see the potential here and see it not being realized.

Agriculture committee  That would be very much appreciated.

Agriculture committee  We've actually established a national strategy for legislative, regulatory, and policy reform with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as well as DFO. To date, our discussions have been positive. I think we need to move forward in ensuring that we do have a national vision, but we've had some success to date in getting their attention.

Agriculture committee  I would say that a number of species fit into high end. Maybe it's because there's not as much volume. I think I mentioned sablefish, which is black cod, caviar, sturgeon, even halibut, and Arctic char, whereas our largest volume products, like Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout, and mussels and oysters are maybe less so, although even oysters can be considered high value.

Agriculture committee  Yes, the EU is a very competitive market for seafood. Norway is close by, so it's certainly not without competition. But as I say, Canadian farmed seafood products really have an excellent reputation. We've already established some inroads. I don't think there's going to be a problem for a continued market there.

Agriculture committee  The investment is there. There's no question the investment is there if there is a signal to move forward.

Agriculture committee  Right.

Agriculture committee  Our sense is that we can grow. Our focus is on growing responsibly. Even though this is a growing world market for seafood we want to ensure that we do it sustainably and responsibly. I think our companies are ready to invest with that kind of perspective in mind, without doing it too fast, too much.

Agriculture committee  Absolutely. When you look at the definition of “aquaculture” from the FAO, it's the farming of seafood plants and the shellfish and finfish. It's the activity that makes us farmers. We happen to do it in the water, but the activity is the same thing as any other terrestrial farmer.

Agriculture committee  I think 95% or 97% comes off immediately. I think we're going to see some immediate gains right away.

Agriculture committee  It's huge. Certainly, those companies that are already there will take great advantage of it. It is now a new market that others are looking at very seriously if they can grow their production.

Agriculture committee  You raise a really good example of exactly some of the issues we're dealing with, and that is the duplication even within federal departments. They're arguing and fighting about who should be doing what. I think you raise a really good example. I guess that's really why we've been advocating for our own national legislation that addresses some of the unique aspects of our industry.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much for the invitation. I'll start out with a bit of a description of what our association is. We're the national industry association that represents the interests of Canadian seafood farmers across Canada, feed companies and suppliers, as well as provincial finfish and shellfish aquaculture associations.