Fisheries committee  That's an excellent question and a very important part of the discussion. Again, I'll reassert that I'm glad your committee is taking this issue so seriously. I would have a few things to say. That's something that I think needs to be considered; it needs to be taken into accou

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  To stick with the examples we've used today, the waste stream isn't being managed. We're seeing excess nutrients from uneaten feed and salmon feces. There's chemical input from pesticides in particular, but also from antibiotics. So the waste stream is not being managed. I see th

Fisheries committee  As you know, many organizations were cited or interested in the development of salmon aquaculture as a way to remove pressure from wild fish, but I believe as you heard from the Atlantic Salmon Federation, it is an abiding concern of ours, and I thank you for raising it. The reas

Fisheries committee  I think it's important to recognize that lobster landings in southwest New Brunswick have gone up. We're not trying to hide that. Research is beginning to show that factors around a loss of predation—primarily groundfish like cod that are no longer present—might be an indication

Fisheries committee  I think so. Closed containment would effectively introduce biosecurity, so we wouldn't see the kinds of pest infestations that are leading to pesticide use in our marine environment.

Fisheries committee  I won't repeat what the Atlantic Salmon Federation has already said to you, but they're a major international organization on the east coast of North America. They have a pilot study under way, as you heard, into closed containment. The other major environmental group in Nova S

Fisheries committee  This is to the second part of your question. There has been a lot of work that's gone in over the past 30 years in Atlantic Canada into trying to mitigate the impacts of salmon farms. We've seen mitigation measures to try to capture nutrients. So far they've been, in effect, unsu

Fisheries committee  I would just add very briefly that we do have an innovative, intelligent industry here, and I feel it's your role, as our government, to set limits and regulations so that this industry is expected to operate in ways that respect the marine environment. I feel there's certainly

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I'd like to thank the chair and members of the committee for inviting me here to testify before you. My name is Matthew Abbott, and I'm the Fundy Baykeeper based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Fundy Baykeeper is a member of the over 200-member strong Waterkeeper Alliance, hea