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Two senior scientists at the Canadian fisheries ministry are suing a former
colleague, Ram Myers, for defamation after he accused the ministry of
suppressing scientific reports that disagreed with government policy. Myers, now
at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said that pressure from the ministry
prevented publication of a paper that he co-authored. The paper claimed that
seals were not responsible for declining cod stocks, contrary to the
government’s position. Myers also publicly backed an article in the Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science in June that said the ministry had
refused to publish data showing fish stocks were lower than official estimates.
This, the paper alleged, had contributed to the collapse of the Newfoundland cod
fishery and the decline in numbers of Pacific salmon.