Scientist says she was not silenced by DFO over salmon virus evidence
SUNNY DHILLON, Vancouver— Globe and Mail Update, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has not silenced Kristi Miller or told her what information she can and cannot publish, the molecular scientist has told the Cohen Commission.
Ms. Miller published a paper in the prestigious journal Science earlier this year in which she said a virus could be infecting sockeye salmon before they enter the Fraser River. The Cohen Commission was set up to investigate the 2009 collapse of Fraser sockeye stocks.
DFO often promotes interviews when one of its researchers receives international recognition but all requests to speak with Ms. Miller after the paper was published were denied, a move recent reports suggested was by order of the federal government. Activists said Ms. Miller was silenced and held a rally to show their support for her Wednesday morning.
But addressing the public inquiry a short while later, Ms. Miller denied she had in any way been silenced because of her findings. She said she was simply not permitted to speak because of the ongoing inquiry.
“[Has] anyone at DFO, any of your superiors, ever told you not to speak to the public, to other scientists, and not to share your research? Has that ever happened?” commission counsel Jennifer Chan asked.
“I’m not to speak to the public because of the ongoing inquiry. I am free to speak with colleagues and other scientists and I have been able to attend some scientific meetings.”
She soon added: “As scientists, we do our research, we come up with our conclusions, we write our papers, and there’s nothing to stop us from publishing our research.”
Ms. Miller said she was among a number of DFO employees who were once told not to attend a university think tank. But she said that decision, and the existing media ban, was only because the department wanted to ensure its findings were first discussed in-depth at the Cohen Commission.
Ms. Miller’s report said long-term viability of Fraser River sockeye is threatened by unusually high levels of mortality as the fish swim to their spawning areas.
“Our hypothesis is that the genomic signal associated with elevated mortality is in response to a virus infecting fish before river entry and that persists to the spawning areas,” the paper said.
During her testimony, Ms. Miller said the paper should not be viewed as proof a virus is killing sockeye salmon. She said it’s instead proof that river conditions alone are not the only factor in salmon mortalities. She said the study also showed sockeye could be compromised before they enter the Fraser River.
To this point, the Cohen Commission had been a relatively low-key affair. But Ms. Miller’s arrival on the stand created a media frenzy, in part because it seemed an effort was made to keep her research under wraps. The commission hearing room holds about 130 audience members; only a couple of empty seats remained when testimony began.
Alexandra Morton, a commission participant and anti-fish farm activist, took part in the rally Wednesday. Activists donned T-shirts that said “It’s Miller Time!” and dubbed Ms. Miller “Scientist of the Year.”
“Kristi Miller’s research is the first solid clue we have on why the Fraser sockeye declined for 18 years,” Ms. Morton said.
