I am a proud Atlantic Canadian who made the deliberate choice to live at the edge of the Bay of Fundy before one of the most magnificent "saltscapes" in the world. It is my hope that my children and grandchildren will continue to enjoy this pristine marine paradise that I call home for many years to come.

I share this dream with several thousand people who farm fish, live and work on the water in our coastal communities. Many of these people have salt water in their blood and come from a long line of fishing families. Others "came from away" and were attracted to the region because aquaculture offered them a way of life as veterinarians, biologists, fish behaviouralists, scientists or business people.

In your January/February editorial ("Farming the Seas, But What of the Wild Stocks?"), you were right to point out that nearly half the seafood eaten around the world today comes from a farm. Fish farming is here to stay. As Atlantic Canadians we need to decide whether or not to be part of the solution as our supply of wild seafood declines. We can either embrace fish farming and demand that it be done in a highly regulated and responsible manner right here in Atlantic Canada, or we can let the Norwegians and Chileans fill our seafood counters and restaurants with fish from other parts of the world.

We do not grow genetically modified fish. We use traditional farming selective breeding techniques and a traceability program to allow us to choose parents for future generations based on traits such as growth and resistance to disease.

Atlantic Canada's aquaculture industry is unique in the global industry in that it is owned and managed by local people-people who are "from here" and have a vested interest in doing things right. They do not depend on government largesse or the turning of a regulator's blind eye to farm fish successfully. Granted, their farms are in the ocean, which is a public resource, so they expect public scrutiny and they expect to be held to a high operational standard.

We need discussions like this to make sure that our "saltscapes" of the future will include a well-managed fishery, a responsible aquaculture industry, vibrant coastal communities and a healthy marine resource.