Fisheries committee  Although we recognize that it's a high risk area, reversing the flow, as you mentioned, certainly comes with a large cost. Maybe the Asian carp have come from a truckload of carp across the border that hasn't been caught and has flipped over and released fish into a stream. We co

Fisheries committee  Certainly we're watching out and monitoring for Asian carp. Whether we will detect the first Asian carp that appears, it's unlikely. Our scientists have been working on a method that will actually use environmental DNA to test the water to see if there is evidence of Asian carp.

Fisheries committee  Certainly we look at the highest risk areas first. Right now, we're focusing of course on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal because that is the most likely vector. Again, the Great Lakes is a huge area to cover, so we have to focus on the highest risk.

Fisheries committee  They have electric fences now. There are a number of methods they're using. As for whether or not that will be effective in the long run, does somebody have more information?

Fisheries committee  I think adopting a risk approach is critical. Certainly in times of constraint a risk framework, and a formal risk framework, is always necessary. The risk assessment work done by Fisheries and Oceans but also by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency with respect to the socio-econo

Fisheries committee  I'm going to turn to my scientist to answer that, because I'm sure he can do it much better than I.

Fisheries committee  I'm probably going to turn the floor over to Tim. I'm not sure that we will be losing any data. We continue to collect data, and I think our research efforts will continue. That really helps us to define habitat and describe that habitat. Tim, do you want to add a little to th

Fisheries committee  That's a difficult question. I'm not exactly sure what's being proposed in terms of budget restrictions. Certainly we're all rethinking what we need to do. We're all doing more with less. The provincial government is going through a similar process. I think we just have to make s

Fisheries committee  Certainly it has improved considerably—

Fisheries committee  Tim, do you want to speak from a scientific perspective as to what you see our biggest problem might be?

Fisheries committee  I think one point to add is that invasive species come from many different sources, so it isn't a one-point source for which you can easily write a regulation to control. With ballast water we can do that, but with all the other vectors we can't do that. I think we're doing a v

Fisheries committee  Maybe I'll introduce something, and then I'll turn it over to the others. Certainly, anything we can do to strengthen our ballast regulations and make sure that we're not going to get any new invasives through that vector would be helpful. We've had great success. As Tim point

Fisheries committee  I believe all six shipments were Asian carp. I don't know where they were headed. It was Toronto, I would imagine. We're as effective as we can be with the tools we have. Canada Border Services, as somebody mentioned earlier, doesn't actually do the enforcement. They notify us

Fisheries committee  Certainly there is a role in education and awareness. The role they play, combined with the scientific work we're doing to try to develop detection tools ahead of time, will help us respond much more quickly. Do you want to speak specifically to the work we're doing with OFAH a

Fisheries committee  I think there are a couple of things to say. The first is that in some cases species that come in have very direct and very noticeable and very fast impacts. I'll speak to zebra mussels and the impact they have had in populating very quickly and then forming on the intake pipes f