Fisheries committee  Yes, certainly. Thanks, Mr. Johns. Through my work with the local Clayoquot salmon round table, which is, of course, populated by first nations, the province, DFO, the ENGOs, fishermen—both commercial and sport—I understand very well the workings of the local hatcheries. We receive regular reports and updates on their progress and how successful or unsuccessful they've been on gathering brood stock and what their funding situations are like.

Fisheries committee  I'm sorry, but I didn't really hear that myself in other witnesses' testimony. I'm a firm believer that the collaboration has been fulsome and that it continues to grow. I think that continued and enhanced collaboration among the federal government, the province, first nations, scientists, academia, and ENGOs is critical, if we're going to see positive steps in the recovery of salmon.

Fisheries committee  I wish you would ask me that question two or three weeks from now. I might have a better answer. Right now we're still up in the air because some funding decisions have been delayed due to COVID and a variety of reasons. but we expect to hear some dramatic progress decisions soon.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. Again, it harkens back to our reliance on dependable and thorough science—as Dr. Riddell would reinforce, I'm sure. However, in the situations where we have a near or complete extirpation of salmon, there has to be some form of augmentation to restart or rekindle that run.

Fisheries committee  That's an excellent question, and in fact, we do have community hatcheries in place here in Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound that were set up to specifically augment runs that were in serious and troubling decline. Those hatcheries have been operating at a fraction of their capacity—again circling back to a lack of appropriate funding or sufficient funding.

Fisheries committee  That's a really important question, and it's one that I hoped somebody would ask. Mr. Hauknes touched on this, on what we do with loss of economic activity through fishermen and through COVID-19. Creating jobs and creating meaningful employment opportunities and contract opportunities for first nations and coastal communities through this type of restoration work, particularly in coastal communities that have suffered so greatly from losses of fisheries opportunities and forestry, are critical to rebuilding our coastal economies.

Fisheries committee  Yes, absolutely. It's a very large aspect of our fundamental philosophy in our Coastal Restoration Society to support local first nations in any of the projects that we work with. Really, with sometimes tens of thousands of years of traditional knowledge in these local environments, there is no better source of information and science to turn to in terms of how best to manage our local resources over time.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mrs. Gill. As I mentioned earlier in one of my responses, certainly starting with habitat restoration would be the top priority from my perspective. I'll give an analogy very quickly. None of us would expect to plant a productive garden if the soil were contaminated or full of rocks.

Fisheries committee  Thanks, Ms. May. I think that regional management is critical because of the diversity of habitats and unique situations that each habitat and watershed faces. I think regional management is key. It's critical. As Dr. Riddell alluded to before, there is a diversity of different problems that can affect both the marine environment and individual watersheds as well.

Fisheries committee  I believe the government is doing a lot. I believe first nations, NGOs, the provinces, and various departments in the federal government are doing a lot. I believe that a lot of money has been spent. However, I'm a firm believer in the science, delivering the proof, and the proof in the pudding is that the Pacific salmon numbers throughout their range continue to decline.

Fisheries committee  Without some emergency action, there's only so much further the numbers can decline before we're talking about mass extinction. We're getting very close. I've witnessed in my own nearby watersheds in Clayoquot Sound that some of them are not seeing any salmon returning at all.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Morrissey, are you asking my opinion on which are more detrimental, green crab or harbour seals?

Fisheries committee  That would be a question best left to science. That's punching above my weight class. I certainly think they are both having a detrimental impact, but it would be impossible for me to quantify which could potentially have a greater impact. I think we don't know enough about green crab yet to make that determination, unfortunately.

Fisheries committee  I believe if sound science supports pinniped control, then we cannot turn a blind eye to peer-reviewed and proven science. I might perhaps refer these questions to Mr. Riddell. His expertise far outweighs mine from a scientific perspective. I do appreciate the questions, Mr. Morrissey.

Fisheries committee  Thanks, Mr. Calkins. That's a broad question, so I'm going to do my best to answer it as quickly as possible. First and foremost, European green crab are recognized as one of the world's most deadly invasive species. They're ecosystem engineers. They have proven their ability to absolutely reconstruct nearshore ecosystems, as evidenced by what has occurred in the Atlantic regions of this country, where green crabs established themselves decades sooner than they did out here in the Pacific region.