DFO’s Genomics Lab on the Chopping Block 

We often use this space to criticize “DFO” (the Department of Fisheries), but we’re generally referring to particular parts of that enormous bureaucracy that are actively damaging wild salmon populations. One part of DFO for which we’re eternally grateful is Dr. Kristi Miller-Saunders’ genomics lab. She has pioneered incredible tools that help pinpoint exactly what ails a fish and where it comes from. That’s how she knew that salmon farms presented a clear risk of disease transmission—a fact she bravely insisted on sharing with the scientific community and her bosses, despite all attempts to muzzle her. 

Now, Dr. Miller-Saunders has retired, and the word is; her position is not going to be filled. 

Scientists from around the world appreciate and continue to use the tools developed here in Canada but instead of rewarding the work, those other parts of DFO that we usually talk about are thinking they’ll defund it. 

Read the letter to Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson, authored by Dr. Gideon Mordecai, University of British Columbia and signed by sixteen prominent fisheries scientists from across Canada, the U.S. and Norway [here].