Funding woes may sink salmon research program
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun August 25, 2011
A research program led by geneticist Kristi Miller which recently discovered a new virus that could be a factor in declining Fraser River sockeye has no funding to continue its work, the Cohen Commission heard Thursday.
That’s because proposals put forward by Miller’s lab and other Department of Fisheries and Oceans programs have not been approved yet by the federal Treasury Board, but also because outside funding sources used in the past have been deemed off limits, Miller, DFO head of molecular genetics, told the inquiry investigating the collapse of sockeye returns in 2009.
It was revealed earlier the lab’s funding model was out of compliance with DFO policy because it was paying 11 technical staff with external funds from agencies such as the Pacific Salmon Commission and Genome British Columbia.
But Thursday was the first time Miller has spoken publicly about the funding uncertainty of her lab because she has been under a directive from Ottawa not to talk publicly since she and her colleagues published an article in the prestigious journal Science. The published research showed evidence that many sockeye are entering the Fraser in a compromised state, possibly because of viral infections.
“Right now I actually have no department money or outside money to work on sockeye salmon on the Fraser River,” Miller told the inquiry.
Her lab at Nanaimo has been running a $5.3-million research program.
Miller said the funding uncertainty was troubling and stressful.
She said it was likely an exception may be made for the Pacific Salmon Commission to allow it to provide funding, but other outside sources remain a question mark. Created by Canada and the U.S., the Pacific Salmon Commission works jointly to manage salmon stocks.
“We are told by upper management there will be solutions, that our staff will somehow be covered, but I haven’t heard any concrete plans on how that’s going to take place,” Miller said in response to questions from Don Rosenbloom, a lawyer representing the commercial fish industry.
In response to similar questions by Rosenbloom, DFO research scientist Kyle Garver said his experience is that finding funding for expensive research is a perpetual problem.
DFO officials could not be reached for comment Thursday to respond to the funding status of Miller’s lab.
Miller herself also could not answer questions outside the inquiry.
She 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.
DFO spokesman Tim 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.
Morton said she was also disturbed to hear about the lack of funding for Miller’s work.
During testimony Thursday, Miller elaborated on her bold statement the day before that the newly discovered virus could be the “smoking gun” that explains the declining sockeye returns to the Fraser River.
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.
Other factors that have been cited include climate change and toxic algae blooms.
However, scientists have not been able to pinpoint exactly why sockeye stocks have been declining in the past 20 years.
