The science of science
Courier-Islander January 7, 2011 12:00 AM
For once, letter writer Alexandra Morton is factually correct (Insider Trading, Jan. 5th Courier-Islander). She is correct that a recent study which analyzed fish health on BC salmon farms was in fact authored by several people who are experts in that field of study. Yes, they are veterinarians and fish pathologists. How weird is that eh? Imagine, qualified professionals analyzing fish health data and none of them accepting financial support for their work from any party that may be deemed biased.
That professional, unbiased approach may be unheard of in Ms. Morton's world, but probably isn't that rare. Professionals who have the proper academic training and field experience often publish science that is related to their expertise.
The study (the most comprehensive to date) concluded that, contrary to Ms. Morton's accusations over the years, BC salmon farms were not responsible for the low return of pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago in 2002 (which also means that salmon farmers can't take credit for the record high returns in 2000 either!).
In her letter Ms. Morton attacks the character of lead researcher Dr. Gary Marty. Unfortunately, her ad hominem attacks are not unusual. When someone is unable to critique the science, they typically attack the character of the scientist.
Shameful behavior really.
Cory Percevault
The Alexandra Morton Letter Cory Percevault is responding to:
Insider trading Letter by Alexandra Morton,
Courier-Islander, Published: Wednesday, January 05, 2011
The sea lice issue is never going to go away until the wild and feedlot salmon are separated, but in the recent war of science over this issue I would like to point out one detail that seems missed.
When any report on the recent sensational paper that concluded that sea lice are not a problem, everyone attributes the study to the University of California Davis. However, the lead author of the paper, Dr. Gary Marty who is indeed a research "associate" at UC Davis, actually works for the BC province at the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford BC as a fish pathologist.
Dr. Marty is not an outside observer at a U.S. University, he is in the middle of this issue working for an agency that runs disease testing on farm salmon, for the Province of British Columbia which is highly favourable to the salmon feedlot industry.
Alexandra Morton
