Wild salmon extinction warning based on shoddy science
A Globe and Mail column recently reported that a study on sea lice and its effects on wild salmon populations in the Broughton Archipelago, published by University of Alberta graduate student Martin Krkosek and others in the journal Science is based on shoddy science, according to fisheries scientists. The study warned that fish farms would cause the extinction of pink salmon on B.C.'s central coast, due to their proliferation of sea lice.
The authors of the study have agreed to participate in a special meeting convened by the Pacific Salmon Forum's Science Advisory Committee. The Forum was established to investigate the management of both wild and farmed salmon in B.C. Forum chairperson John Fraser has stated that the extinction theory is not supported by the Forum's own research. Mr. Krkosek and environmental activist and researcher Alexandra Morton will make a presentation and answer questions during the meeting.
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is preparing a critique of the study. Dr. Brian Riddell, Division Manager for DFO's Pacific region said that the conclusions of this study are not supported by the evidence in the study itself. "If anyone actually understands the trends of the pink returns in the Broughton they are inconsistent with a rapid decline to extinction", he said.
Marine researcher Dr. Kenn Brooks and some 20 other fisheries biologists have sent a letter to the journal Science, voicing their concerns about the study. Stating that the work is based on questionable assumptions that have not been documented, the scientists claim that the authors of this and other published studies have failed to substantiate a cause and effect relationship between salmon farms and sea lice in B.C.
