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Author Topic: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission  (Read 4744 times)

rhino

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Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« on: August 23, 2011, 10:03:14 PM »

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chris gadsden

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2011, 10:38:05 PM »

Please find enclosed a press update including:

 

"Day 2 Disease/Aquaculture Cohen Inquiry" (Alexandra Morton, 23rd August): http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2011/08/day-2-diseaseaquaculture-cohen-inquiry.html

 

"Victory for Disease Disclosure - Data from 2002 to 2010 Published (and more to come)!" (Superheroes 4 Salmon, 23rd August): http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/victory-disease-disclosure-data-2002-2010-published-and-more-come

 

"Fisheries and Oceans researcher Kristi Miller still not talking" (The Globe & Mail, 23rd August): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/fisheries-and-oceans-researcher-kristi-miller-still-not-talking/article2139668/

 

"Scientist accused of ignoring research on fish farms" (CBC/CTV/The Canadian Press, 23rd August): http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/23/bc-scientist-accused-salmon-inquiry.html and http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110823/bc_sea_lice_study_110823/20110823/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

 

"Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission" (The Vancouver Sun, 23rd August): http://www.vancouversun.com/Salmon+farming+seat+Cohen+Commission/5297345/story.html

 

"Miller Unmuzzled - email evidence released at Cohen Commission!" (Superheroes 4 Salmon, 23rd August): http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/miller-unmuzzled-email-evidence-released-cohen-commission

 

"Fish researcher accused of not doing his homework" (The Canadian Press, 23rd August): http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/950144--fish-researcher-accused-of-not-doing-his-homework

 

"Morton blogs the Cohen Commission" (The Tyee, 23rd August): http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Environment/2011/08/23/Sockeye_salmon/

 

"Study shows sea lice killing wild salmon" (The Straight, 23rd August): http://www.straight.com/article-436241/vancouver/study-shows-sea-lice-killing-wild-salmon

 

"Round up: Canada salmon inquiry and fish farms" (Alaska Dispatch, 23rd August): http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/round-canada-salmon-inquiry-and-fish-farms

 

"Salmon-industrial complex in damage control" (Grass!Struggle, 23rd August): http://grassstruggle.blogspot.com/2011/08/salmon-industrial-complex-in-damage.html

 

"ROUNDUP: Cohen Commission aquaculture hearings [Aug. 23 update]" (Sea to Sky Report, 23rd August): http://seatoskyreport.wordpress.com/tag/infectious-salmon-anemia/

 

"Wild salmon deaths linked to sea lice at fish farms: study" (The Vancouver Sun/Ottawa Citizen, 23rd August): http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/Wild+salmon+deaths+linked+lice+fish+farms+study/5295938/story.html

 

"Cohen Aquaculture Daily: August 22, 2011" (Watershed Watch, 22nd August): http://www.watershed-watch.org/2011/08/cohen-aquaculture-daily-august-22-2011/

 

 

Including from Alexandra Morton reporting from the Cohen Commission:

 

"Next Greg McDade pulled up a BC Provincial farm salmon health database called BCP002864 and tells the Commission there are 1,100 references in it to the classical signs of ISA virus lesions.  A BC provincial vet reported the classic lesions associated with the lethal salmon virus ISA 1,100 times !!!!  WHOA!! ISA virus is an internationally reportable fish influenza virus that is appearing in Norwegian salmon farms worldwide"

 

 

Read a new report "Fish Farmageddon: The Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse" including details of Infectious Salmon Anaemia, IHN, VHS, Sea Lice, Gyrodactylus salaris and other 'sexy' issues.

 

Download in full online via: http://www.ecobc.org/~DOCUMENTS/Salmon/Fish_Farmageddon_.pdf

 

Read online via: http://issuu.com/pool32mag/docs/farmageddon_pdf_lowest_res

 

 

From 22nd August to 8th September, the Cohen Commission in Canada will focus on salmon farming and the disease issue – details via: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/blog/dfo-dock-cohen-commission-august-september

 

'Diseases' started on 22nd with Dr. Kristi "Muzzled" Miller from DFO testifying on Wednesday 24th August and now for an extra half day on Thursday 25th August.

 

'Aquaculture' will be on the agenda on 25th, 26th, 29th, 30th and 31st of August and on 1st, 6th, 7th and 8th September (Alexandra Morton is on the witness stand on 7th & 8th September along with Marine Harvest and Grieg; Mainstream/Cermaq is on the stand on 31st August).

 

According to the Cohen Commission web-site: "With increased interest in the commission’s hearings as they near their conclusion, the commission will be allocating a block of seats in the public gallery to participants with standing for the topic for each day’s hearing. Any additional seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis".

 

Live updates online via Facebook: "Salmon Inquiry: Cohen Commission Watch": http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113025692098919&ref=ts#!/event.php?eid=113025692098919

 

For more background on the Cohen Commission visit: http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/cohen

 

For details on a rally on 30th August in Vancouver near the Cohen Commission visit: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/cohen-commission

CAD logo

Click here for the "Cohen Aquaculture Daily" - daily updates on the Cohen Disease and Aquaculture evidentiary hearings Aug 22 to Sept 8, 2011.

 

Watch a new film by Jeremy Williams: "Rise of the Salmon People": http://vimeo.com/27686633

 

Listen to a radio ad from Salmon Are Sacred: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/blog/want-wild-salmon - including:

 

"What will muzzled DFO scientist Dr. Kristi Miller say when 'Ottawa's cone of silence' over her is lifted?"

 

 

Best fishes,

 

Don

chris gadsden

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2011, 08:16:36 PM »


At a hearing Wednesday a fisheries biologist seen as a potential hero by anti-fish farming advocates said she may have found “the smoking gun” that is killing salmon in the Fraser River.

At the same time, during highly anticipated testimony, geneticist Dr. Kristi Miller downplayed reports that she was muzzled by the federal government because of her controversial research that suggests a new virus may be killing salmon.

Miller and her colleagues have concluded that many sockeye are entering the Fraser in a weakened state, possibly because of viral infections, which may be caused by salmon leukemia, or a contagious virus.

The scientists haven’t concluded whether a suspected “novel virus” (a virus never found before in fish which is suggested by the discovery of a “genomic signature”) is infectious, or what may cause it.

There is hope among some environmentalists that fish farms will be fingered as the culprit.

Miller’s study caused a big buzz after it was published in January in Science, one of the world’s top research journals.

Following months of speculation that Miller is being kept from the media because top federal bureaucrats don’t like the direction of her research, she testified for the first time Wednesday at the Cohen Commission in downtown Vancouver, a hearing into the collapse in the Fraser River sockeye population.

Under questioning by Commission counsel and a federal lawyer, Miller said she was told not to speak to the public during her study and was told not to go to one Simon Fraser University “think-tank” in 2009 – yet she went out of her way to stress that the “integrity” of Department of Fisheries and Oceans science “is strong” and she was never told not to publish her research.

She said management at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans asked scientists not to attend the SFU discussion in 2009 because “they decided they would limit exposure of scientists to any meeting that would attract public and media,” because evidence must be heard at the Cohen Commission hearing “before it becomes part of the public debate.”

Miller suggested that she wasn’t exactly sure what the rationale was behind the directive “from Ottawa” – however, a colleague who was also cross-examined said he took the order at face value.

But Vancouver Liberal MP Joyce Murray, who attended the hearing on Wednesday said the federal goverment’s position is “a specious argument.”

“Why are they trying to muzzle scientists?” Murray said, in an interview outside the federal court room.

In the afternoon session a provincial lawyer challenged whether the “genomic sequence” identified by Miller even exists, and whether it can really predict “mortality” in salmon.

Miller stood by her conclusions, saying fish with the “genomic sequence” are generally more susceptible to death in rivers, and are clearly “ill effected” before reaching fresh water rivers.

Murray said it seemed the line of questions by B.C. government lawyer Tara Callan were “clearly trying to reduce confidence in Dr. Miller’s conclusions,” perhaps because Miller’s research threatens the fish farming industry in B.C.

Under questioning from a Commission lawyer in the morning session Miller backed away from some of her earlier conclusions in 2009 about finding tumours in thousands of fish brains that she studied, which she believed at the time pointed towards leukemia in salmon. She conceded that she should have called the “pink mass growths” lesions.

Testimony finished with a question on whether Miller was pressured to retract a conclusion that fish farms could be linked to the “smoking gun” virus.

Miller conceded that some in government were concerned with the fish farm “speculation”. The line of questioning will continue Thursday morning.

On Tuesday at the hearing four scientists testified there is no clear evidence of a link between farmed fish spreading disease to wild stocks



Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Geneticist+connects+possible+novel+virus+weakened+salmon+entering+Fraser+River/5302651/story.html#ixzz1W0UcwzNc

holmes

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2011, 12:52:12 AM »

so the lice farms may or may not be a problem, so lets gamble on the idea that they arent, wtf kind of logic is that, they are playing russian roulette with ppls lives and livelyhoods, for what?, 1000 jobs and huge profits for foreign companies producing a foreign species for foreign ppl in our local waters?, how does it even make sense?, IT DOESNT, PERIOD......holmes*
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shuswapsteve

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2011, 07:13:11 AM »

so the lice farms may or may not be a problem, so lets gamble on the idea that they arent, wtf kind of logic is that, they are playing russian roulette with ppls lives and livelyhoods, for what?, 1000 jobs and huge profits for foreign companies producing a foreign species for foreign ppl in our local waters?, how does it even make sense?, IT DOESNT, PERIOD......holmes*

Classic rehetoric by fish farm critics.....They have been waiting for Miller to testify during the inquiry claiming that her research supports their claims, but when the testimony from Dr. Miller doesn't seem to fit their theories they say then refuse to listen to what she is trying to say - basicallly filtering what they wish to believe.  What kind of logic is that?  Why gamble on any impact to the environment if you really want to go that far (and to be fair)?  How many jobs do you think will be affected under that thought process?  Think about it.
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skaha

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2011, 10:56:38 AM »

--the validity of the studies should be by peer review and as the information is not the property of a private for profit organization it should be made available in particular to other scientist to view, dispell or build on the information and findings.
--legal review is pointless... one can always say the information requires more research or is not conclusive nor it is the only or smoking gun problem.

--if there is risk of infection or transmission from fish farms we should also be doing research on how to mitigate these effects... this is like legally saying "sorry" which is now in vogue and is not now as it was in the past considered an admission of guilt. That is fish farms could do and sponsor research in infections diseases without having to admit it may be a problem.. they would just be good corporate citizens.

--I will say it again and over and over... legal blame does us no good.. we should be spending money on appropriate practicable research and applying remedies as they become available... mistakes will be made.. some costly.. but we need to be working together rather than wasting time on blame.
--How about spending the same amount of research mega dollars on why we got so many fish back last year! This may provide some answers to unexpected low years.
--How about prediction modeling that actually works thus allowing for better catch management.
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chris gadsden

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2011, 01:47:23 PM »

Max and I went to the morning session yesterday as Max being only 4 it was a bit to sit through for him for too long. All chairs were full and a number of our people from Salmon are Sacred where there.

It is a bit like a concentration camp there and a very contolling atmosphere as they will not you take pictures unless you are in the media room all though they gave us 5 minutes for pictures at the morning break in the court room. Of course no cameras in the court room while in session which I understand but maybe we should be more like the USA in that aspect.

I got some good pictures of Max. Alex and the crew went to a pub for lunch so of course Max was too young to get in so we instead went to Science World that Max found more enjoyable.

Do not forget the salmon rally on August 30, more info a salmonaresacred.org. Please try to attend if possible although I know it is a work day for most but we will be there.

Before then I have 3 days to fish. ;D ;D

work2fish

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2011, 09:54:43 PM »

Classic rehetoric by fish farm critics.....They have been waiting for Miller to testify during the inquiry claiming that her research supports their claims, but when the testimony from Dr. Miller doesn't seem to fit their theories they say then refuse to listen to what she is trying to say - basicallly filtering what they wish to believe.  What kind of logic is that?  Why gamble on any impact to the environment if you really want to go that far (and to be fair)?  How many jobs do you think will be affected under that thought process?  Think about it.

The research does support thier claims, it's just that the scientists are not willing to say with 100% certainty that it's the cause until more work is done.  It's really your post that's ignoring what Miller had to say. So you tell me, what type logic is that?

It's pretty common sense to add the existing facts together. (though common sense seems to be lacking)

-Farms have been shown to carry a similar disease in Chinook farmed salmon before the research was abandoned by DFO- draw your own conclusion as to why it was abandonded- to me it looks like a pro farming protectionism.
-It was shown that the disease can readily transmit to other salmon such as sockeye

-new study by Miller shows that 95% of the sockeye that die before spawning show signs of a viral vector.
-Harrision sockeye, which avoid the farms, have no mortaility issue and do not show this same viral vector
-the new virus, is surprisingly similar to the one that was previously identified before the work was abandoned by the DFO
-also possibly same virus identified as salmon anemia by farmers, which can also be carried and not fatal to some other species of farmed fish such as Onchorhyncus mykiss
-most salmon except a few runs (eg: harrison) have to pass by farms which may or may not have a high viral/lice/other impact on the surrounding area depending on what stage the farmed fish are in, when the latest does of anti-parasitical was applied etc

So to me it looks like we have enough evidence to draw a strong possilbity as to the causal factor in the salmon decline- some form of pathogen or pathogen cocktail that the salmon are being exposed to on thier migration.  That the farms are probably the source of pathogen, which is to be expected when you introduce large numbers of animals to a relativly small enviroment, and that it would be a good precation to move the farms to an area when the impact could be minimized, be that out of the ocean, or simply away from migration routes.

As a tax payer I'd be happy if the government took the money it spends on promoting and supporting this industry, and if nessesary invested in the companies to moving these farms out of the migration routes of the salmon before it's too late.  If the issue continues in the absense of the farms, then we know more work has to be done.  Without presure though it seems obvious the government will do nothing, as it looks to me like they knew the cause of the decline in the 90's, but were unwilling to deal with the repurcussions it would have to the salmon farmers.

And as for jobs, if those businesses are viable to stand on thier own without support of the government, then having to close them down and restart them away from the migration routes, will if anything create even more jobs (temporay construction ones at least).   I'm sure the government will end up footing the bill for moving them regardless, and at least it would be a better use of taxpayer money that some of the stimulus funding projects that took place.

Otherwise, what should they do instead?  Wait and see?

Worst case if it isn't the farms, it won't hurt anything to move them.  If it is the farms, waiting for that final definitive proof, given the governments lack of work on the file for the past 2 decades is not something I want to see.
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holmes

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Re: Salmon farming on the hot seat at Cohen Commission
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2011, 11:29:29 PM »

The research does support thier claims, it's just that the scientists are not willing to say with 100% certainty that it's the cause until more work is done.  It's really your post that's ignoring what Miller had to say. So you tell me, what type logic is that?

It's pretty common sense to add the existing facts together. (though common sense seems to be lacking)

-Farms have been shown to carry a similar disease in Chinook farmed salmon before the research was abandoned by DFO- draw your own conclusion as to why it was abandonded- to me it looks like a pro farming protectionism.
-It was shown that the disease can readily transmit to other salmon such as sockeye

-new study by Miller shows that 95% of the sockeye that die before spawning show signs of a viral vector.
-Harrision sockeye, which avoid the farms, have no mortaility issue and do not show this same viral vector
-the new virus, is surprisingly similar to the one that was previously identified before the work was abandoned by the DFO
-also possibly same virus identified as salmon anemia by farmers, which can also be carried and not fatal to some other species of farmed fish such as Onchorhyncus mykiss
-most salmon except a few runs (eg: harrison) have to pass by farms which may or may not have a high viral/lice/other impact on the surrounding area depending on what stage the farmed fish are in, when the latest does of anti-parasitical was applied etc

So to me it looks like we have enough evidence to draw a strong possilbity as to the causal factor in the salmon decline- some form of pathogen or pathogen cocktail that the salmon are being exposed to on thier migration.  That the farms are probably the source of pathogen, which is to be expected when you introduce large numbers of animals to a relativly small enviroment, and that it would be a good precation to move the farms to an area when the impact could be minimized, be that out of the ocean, or simply away from migration routes.

As a tax payer I'd be happy if the government took the money it spends on promoting and supporting this industry, and if nessesary invested in the companies to moving these farms out of the migration routes of the salmon before it's too late.  If the issue continues in the absense of the farms, then we know more work has to be done.  Without presure though it seems obvious the government will do nothing, as it looks to me like they knew the cause of the decline in the 90's, but were unwilling to deal with the repurcussions it would have to the salmon farmers.

And as for jobs, if those businesses are viable to stand on thier own without support of the government, then having to close them down and restart them away from the migration routes, will if anything create even more jobs (temporay construction ones at least).   I'm sure the government will end up footing the bill for moving them regardless, and at least it would be a better use of taxpayer money that some of the stimulus funding projects that took place.

Otherwise, what should they do instead?  Wait and see?

Worst case if it isn't the farms, it won't hurt anything to move them.  If it is the farms, waiting for that final definitive proof, given the governments lack of work on the file for the past 2 decades is not something I want to see.

perfect..... ;D..holmes*
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