BC Tory MP says salmon inquiry tainted by conflict of interest

Vancouver - Conservative British Columbia Member of Parliament John Cummins is breaking Tory protocol by speaking out against the appointment of a former Department of Fisheries and Oceans employee as an advisor to the Cohen Commission.

The Cohen Commission announced the appointments of "six eminent advisors," who will "provide independent scientific advice" to Bruce Cohen in mid-April. The Commission is examining the possible reasons as to why the Fraser River sockeye salmon failed to return in 2009. The controversy is swirling around the DFO-appointed advisor, Dr. Brian Riddell. Ridell worked for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for 30 years, and now works for the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which received nearly $2 million last year from the DFO. The other five experts appointed are Dr. Carl Walters from the UBC Fisheries Centre; Dr. Paul LeBlond, a cryptozoologist and ocean scientist; Dr. John Reynolds of Simon Fraser University; Dr. Patricia Gallaugher, Director of SFU’s Centre for Coastal Studies; and Dr. Thomas Quinn of the University of Washington. Cummins said the problem is "... The clear expectation of a judicial inquiry is that it will be presided over by an unbiased judge and supported by a neutral staff who can in no way be identified with the matter under review. This is clearly not the case with the Cohen Inquiry into the decline of the sockeye salmon in the Fraser River." Cummins went on to say "In staffing his board of scientific advisors Justice Cohen has shown a complete disregard for the most basic principle of any inquiry and most certainly a judicial inquiry and that is the strict neutrality of the presiding justice and his staff with regard to the issues and organization being investigated." The Department and its “scientific advice” are the target of the Cohen Inquiry, said Cummins. The Terms of Reference laid out by the Federal Government “direct the Commissioner to consider the policies and practices of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans … including the Department’s scientific advice.”" Cummins alleges

"... Riddell claims there is no need for a judicial inquiry into DFO’s management of Fraser River sockeye. Riddell has already concluded that the collapse of the mighty salmon runs is merely a “science issue” and advised that if the judicial inquiry highlights the need for more research “then it could be worthwhile.”"

Riddell, who became the Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Salmon Foundation last year, wrote a column published in Straight in 2009, stating

"It should be recognized though that management of Fraser River sockeye salmon is widely recognized as one of the most intensively and well managed resources in the world."

In his column, Riddell maintained that an inquiry into the decline of the salmon would be futile because there is not enough research about the salmon after they leave the Fraser River. However, by Riddell's own admission in an article published in IFR "... Currently, about 98 per cent of the salmon leaving our rivers and streams won’t make it home to reproduce." The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) provides funding to British Columbia "stream-keepers," in an effort

"... to achieve healthy sustainable and naturally diverse Pacific salmon stocks through strategic and focused efforts where people and resources are mobilized to work together to achieve commons goals."

The PSF also prides itself on its success "... in bringing salmon back, stream by stream." The Fraser River Sockeye have been noticeably in decline since the 1990s, a fact noted in a 2006 study called Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Benchmark Study. There is a noticeable discrepancy between Riddell's continued insistence that "... we currently have the strongest public policy support for salmon in Canada’s history" and the decline in sockeye stock noticed commercial fishermen and environmentalists over the years. While shockingly severe, the Fraser River sockeye crash last year wasn't completely unexpected, given the continued documented trend of the diminishing sockeye population in the Fraser fishery. In 2008, the DFO reported the Fraser River sockeye population was at a 50-year low. Sockeye stocks in Alaska have not suffered the same declines as those in the Fraser River. Alaska saw its 12th largest salmon harvest in 2009. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans also holds the opinion that the Fraser River sockeye collapse was a result of mysterious events impacting on the ability of the salmon to survive in the ocean, as reported last summer by Burnaby Now. An Investigation into the Poor Survival of an Endangered Coho Salmon Population, a study of Coho Salmon who swim through the Fraser River to access the Pacific, published by Plos One in May 2010, concluded that out-migration mortality rates were the key factor impacting the population of the Coho salmon. The baby salmon, in other words, were found to be dying en-route to the ocean, with very few making it to the Pacific. The Cohen Commission will hold hearings to investigate and report on the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River, and make recommendations for improving the sustainability for that fishery. Cohen has been given jurisdiction over the DFO, and he could require the DFO to make changes to its policies, practices and procedures regarding the management of the Fraser River sockeye. The Commission is accepting public submissions through its website. Cummins has served two terms as the Conservative Party's critic of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.