Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: IronNoggin on August 01, 2023, 04:41:45 PM
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Scientists Level New Critiques of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Scientific Rigor
Twenty-five years ago, after the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery, Jeffrey Hutchings, a preeminent fisheries scientist and professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, sounded the alarm that Canada’s federal fisheries department was allowing “nonscience influences” in critical decision-making. Writing at the time, he said, “There is a clear and immediate need for Canadians to examine very seriously the role of bureaucrats and politicians in the management of Canada’s natural resources.”
Today, a new crop of researchers is once again imploring Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to change its ways. At the core of their concerns is a number of systemic and structural ways in which DFO gathers, parses, and handles scientific information, and how that advice is passed on to decision-makers.
“DFO has a legal duty to protect and conserve fish for Canada,” says Gideon Mordecai, a researcher at the University of British Columbia who specializes in fish viruses. “We’re saying that legal duty is not being met.”
In a new paper, Mordecai and his colleagues lay out their critiques of how DFO handles—or mishandles—scientific advice.
https://hakaimagazine.com/news/scientists-level-new-critiques-of-fisheries-and-oceans-canadas-scientific-rigor/
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Great article. For those interested in hearing the perspective of a muzzled fisheries scientist, read "Not on My Watch" by Alexandra Morton. Aquaculture presents a significant impediment to success for salmon migrating past the pens and needs to be stopped. Governments should be funneling money into river and estuary habitat restoration, that's the best way to improve salmon stocks.