Fisheries biologist ends testimony but still cannot speak freely in public
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, August 25, 2011
VANCOUVER -- Fisheries geneticist Kristi Miller's much-anticipated testimony at the Cohen Commission ended Thursday, but she still cannot speak freely in public about her research which discovered a new virus may be a factor in the declining Fraser River sockeye.
Miller was ushered to the elevator of the federal court building in downtown Vancouver by two burly guards after her day and a half of testimony ended at lunch Thursday. Asked by reporters if she could answer questions as she stepped into the elevator in front of the guards, Miller did not respond.
Asked if she was glad her testimony was over, she simply smiled and nodded.
Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman Tom Robbins said Miller would not be available for interviews while the hearings are underway. But even when the hearings are complete at the end of September, Robbins was not certain whether the ban would be lifted.
"I think she's being silenced," said Alexandra Morton, an environmentalist and participant in the hearings who believes that salmon farms are playing a significant role in the demise of the sockeye.
Miller and her colleague's work was first published in the prestigious journal Science last January, but she has not been allowed to talk about the research publicly under orders from the federal government's Privy Council Office, which works closely with the Prime Minister's Office.
Miller had earlier testified the Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not prevent her from talking to other scientists or publishing her work on possible factors that could be harming sockeye, but she was told she could not talk publicly about her work until she first presented her testimony at the inquiry
On Thursday, under cross-examination by Conservation Coalition lawyer Tim Leadem, Miller stressed she was frustrated she was not allowed to speak publicly about her research. "This is why I put up resistance," Miller, DFO head of molecular genetics, told the inquiry.
Miller also elaborated on her bold statement yesterday the newly discovered virus could be the "smoking gun" that explains the declining sockeye returns to the Fraser River. "I actually had no intent of saying that [smoking gun] in this hearing. I was a little backed into the corner on that one," said Miller, who made the statement late in the day after extensive questioning.
She said she agrees with other scientists there are other factors at work in the environment that could explain declining sockeye, including availability of food, sea lice and water temperatures. "What I meant was this could be a major factor, not the major factor," said Miller.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the inquiry after sockeye returns to the Fraser River collapsed in 2009, falling to about 1.5 million from an anticipated 10 million.
Everything from climate change, disease, sea lice from salmon farms, toxic algae blooms and a lack of food in the ocean have been cited as factors.
However, scientists have not been able to pinpoint explicitly why the sockeye stocks have been declining in the past 20 years.
