Inquiry Ramps Up: Cohen Inquiry Ramps up after cross examination from Alex Morton's lawyer
by Alexis l Salmon Are Sacred
This week saw the Cohen Inquiry take on questions about unknown
diseases, untested salmon farms and (perhaps blindly) blaming global
warming instead of looking at what causes "early river entry" and
therefore Pre-Spawn Mortality which could be killing up to 90% of
certain stocks.
For the thousands of Canadians that have stood up for wild salmon in the
pacific, March 8 was a victorious day that helped to shed light on some
of the secret findings top scientists have made about sockeye health in
the last decade.
Greg McDade of Ratcliff and Co. was questioning expert witness Dr Scott
Hinch and things started really heating up. It had not been made clear
until now that up to 90% of some late run stocks were dying because the
river was too warm- but the river was too warm because they were
entering it in mid summer instead of their usual time of September, when
temps had considerably cooled.
McDade made that clarification in court
on the 8th.
Sockeye early river entry happens because the fish have a virus, or in
cetain terms a "purported virus" according to Hinch- they had a genomic
signal which told scientists they had suppressed immune systems.
Dr Hinch had to agree the purported virus could be a " top reason" for
early river entry which ultimately leads to our sockeye's demise. DFO scientists (Dr. Miller) published these findings in the journal of Science.
The DFO's lawyer seemed unaware as he questioned Hinch on climate change and over population affecting the fish.
According to Elena Edwards via Cohen Inquiry Notes:
"One thing that is being brought into play this time around is the
disease data from the fish farms and the province. Small potatoes? I
think not. One does not have to dig very deep to find an unending supply
of information about the devastating impacts open net salmon farms have
had on wild salmon stocks on a global scale. At virtually every public
forum held from August through September of 2010 people spoke of their
concerns about fish farms and the effect they have on wild salmon.
Through much perseverance by Dr. Alexandra Morton and Stan Proboszcz,
the release of disease records from 120 fish farms from 2000-2010 has
been issued by the commission and will be thoroughly examined in the
months to come.
The topic of fish farms is the can of worms that has yet to be
opened in the Cohen Commission, with the lid being quickly resealed when
mention of them arises in the courtroom at this juncture. But make no
bones about it, when that lid comes off there will be no putting it back
on and some very fishy business will be put on the table! Dinner
anyone?
The Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in
the Fraser River continues until 17th March (for spring break until 4th
April). Thursday 17th March sees Dr. Laura Richards, Regional Director, Science at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans take the witness stand.
Hearings are open to the public and will be held at the Federal
Court at 701 West Georgia Street, 8th floor, in Vancouver. As topic and
witness schedules are subject to change, media and the public are
advised to consult the calendar on the commission's website.
