Minister of Ministre des

Fisheries and Oceans Peches et des Oceans

Ottawa, Canada K1A OE6

JUL O5 2018

Mr. Mark Hambrook

Mr. Peter Cronin
Co-Chairs
Working Group on Smallmouth Bass Eradication in Miramichi Lake
< mark@miramichisalmon.ca >
< pjcroninl8@gmail.com >

Dear Mr. Hambrook and Mr. Cronin:

Thank you for your correspondence of April 17, 2018, regarding smallmouth bass in
Miramichi Lake.

Since the July 2017 meeting between the working group, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(DFO) and the province of New Brunswick, a new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) National
Core Program has been established. It is the first nationwide AIS management initiative in
Canada. The 2017 budget provided $43.8 million over five years to DFO to continue and
expand AIS programming. This plan includes measures to prevent the introduction of
invasive species, to respond rapidly to the detection of new species, and to manage the spread
of already established invasive species.

The initiative does not include specific funding to support a Grants and Contributions
program for sponsoring AIS initiatives proposed by non-governmental organizations or
provincial partners. Nonetheless, the Department continues to address AIS through federal,
provincial and territorial cooperation, as well as through the development of regulatory tools
to prevent their introduction and spread.

A number of steps have been taken to ensure progress on the action items discussed during
your July 2017 meeting. At this time, the potential application of rotenone for a chemical
eradication project presents a number of challenges, including the identification of a
proponent, a project proposal and the need for this initiative to be informed by substantial
consultation with Indigenous communities and the public in New Brunswick.

The Department's preferred approach is to continue to use physical control techniques in

collaboration with you, other members of the working group, and the province of New
Brunswick. DFO will not be a proponent for a chemical eradication project in Miramichi
Lake and will remain solely as a regulator for such a project.

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Canada
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If a formal request were received from a proponent in New Brunswick, the proposed project
would require an AIS regulatory review and a formal science review. As per section 28 of the
Aquatic Invasive Species Regulation, the review must take into account alternative measures,
the impact of the deposit on fish, fish habitat or the use of fish and public safety.

A meeting of the working group with DFO and New Brunswick officials will help ensure an
adequate follow-up to the July 2017 discussion. DFO officials from the Gulf Region will
contact you shortly to organize such a meeting. In the meantime, if you need more
information on the AIS National Core Program, please contact the Gulf Region AIS
Coordinator, Daniel Bourque, by email at< daniel.bourque@dfo-mpo.gc.ca > or by
telephone at 506-851-3169.

Again, thank you for providing me with your thoughts on this matter. I trust that my response
has addressed your concerns.

Yours sincerely,

Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., Q.C., M.P.

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

c.c.: Mr. Neville Crabbe

Director of Communications, Atlantic Salmon Federation